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[SOVIET ‘ELITE’ SCHOOL] Radishchevka nashikh dnei [i.e. Radishchevka of Our Days]

Slivkin, B., Goldberg, G.

Moscow: Uchgiz-Narkompros RSFSR, 1931. Item #498

124 pp.: ill. 22x16 cm. In original photomontage wrappers. Very good, foxing of the wrappers and endpapers.

First and only edition. Very rare. One of 5000 copies.

This book is written by two former students of the Radishchevka - the A.N. Radishchev model school #7 of the People’s Commissariat for Education, the best school in the Soviet union. Children of the Soviet elite attended the school like Marshak, Tupolev, Proko ev, etc. Sadly many of that elite was later in 1930s called enemies of the state and sent to camps or executed.

The A.N. Radishchev model school was created in 1918 on the base of Elizabeth Institute for Noble Maidens (a nishing school), originally founded in 1825 which accepted children from noble and wealthy families. After it’s cease a part of the girl students orphans were left there in what was to become a school. Some of the teachers remained on their positions as well. The teaching staff of the school consisted of highly quali ed teachers of the classical old school (Favorsky, Shevlyakov, Erik and others). Their method of teaching consisted in encouraging pupils to work independently, and for those who wished to study the subject more closely organized circles. The school differed in composition of the students as well. To get into the school one had to pass exams. At school, the children of the old Bolsheviks, political prisoners, and children of prominent gures of Soviet science and culture, the children of TsAGI, children of the command staff of the military school and units. A feature of the school was the absence of a party cell. Such model schools were also a eld of experiments in a newly formed country in 1920s. Teacher’s stuff created their own concept of educational work. In schools, there was an active introduction of practices of psychological testing, the bundling of classes, the organization of the school regime, etc. Children were admitted to admission on intellectual development, which was later condemned, as it did not correspond to the spirit of «group education» of the Soviet man. Interesting that this was the rst school to change old forms of teaching. For example in 1924 Dalton plan was introduced: a few hours a day students could do what they want which gave a push or initiative to show off. Another thing was cease of groups, students were studying in links. There were no obligatory lectures which made students more responsible for their studying and time scheduling.

In the book authors described short history of the school and focused on current state of the studying process from insider’s perspective as well as interesting stories. Numerous rare photographs from the life of students are in the text. The photographs show many activities in which students were involved: chemical and biological experiments (club of timiryazevtsy named after the famous biologist), photo club, radio club, aeromodelling club, after-school likbez lessons for illiterate, military club and others.

Such schools were a rare thing and existed only for a short period of time in a form described above.

No copies in Worldcat.

Price: $1,200.00