Summer Schools for Junior Chemists in Russia Michael G. Goldfeld Institute of Chemical Physics. Russian Academy of Sciences, and Division of Education, Central Council, D.I. Mendeleev Chemical Society, Moscow The challenge of finding, supporting, and working with @Redchildren has been ignored for almost 60 years in theoretical pedagogy and teaching practice in the former Soviet Union. At both the social and official levels, people are gradually beginning to realize what great potential @Red children represent, and to realize that the future depends on their development. This paper briefly reviews some of the problems of traditional Soviet education and gives an overview of a novel chemism summer school program that is being offered for outstanding students. Soviet Education With the exception of a few fine arts schools requiring early specialized training in choreography, music, and painting, all schools historically have been kept within rigid limits. Their syllabuses are absolutely identical regardless of the locality, ethnic population, etc. Even in the largest cities, less than one percent of teenagers have had the opportunity a t the final stage of their secondary education to attend special schools and classes with an emphasis on science or math. However, even these special schools did not escape the rigid ideology that controls every type of educational establishment from kindergarten through postgraduate study For example, the study of literature has been completely politicized, and the obvious absurdity of operative textbooks on Soviet history has resulted in the suspension of both teaching and examination in the subject. It was not until 1987-1988 that this rigid educational system began to change gradually as part of the general democratization process in this country. The principle of a "United Soviet School" which operated over many decades has been ahandoned officially. The necessity to adapt the education process to the particular students involved is being recognized slowly. Mathematics and natural sciences, being less ideological in nature than history and literature, have not been as deeply damaged during the past decades. In these disciplines, experts have traditionally had the opportunity to contribute to the education of teenagers through extracurricular activities. For example, a system of national pupils' olympiads in physics, chemistry, and math (and in recent years, in computer science)took shape more than 20 years ago. Millions of teenagers have been involved in these olympiads on varying levels from local to national. Chemistry Summer School for Soviet Students References I d reflect American experience in conducting summer chemistry schools for giRed teenagers. In the former Soviet Union, similar summer schools for junior chemists have been run on both national and regional levels since 1969. For example, in August 1989 the Fourth National Summer School for Junior Chemists, which simultaneously became the First International School, was conducted under the auspices of the Mendeleev Chemical Society and Federation of European Chemical Societies (FECS). The month-long school involved 282 Soviet students between the ages of 14 and 17, including 233 boys and 49 girls, 190 of whom had been participants of the National and International Chemistry Olympiads of 1988-
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Journal of Chemical Education
1989. In addition to students from all over the countrv. teenagers from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, West ~ e r m a n g France. Hunearv. and Poland (30 foreim students altogetherjpartihpited in this event. The schwl program included a variety of activities.
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First, an optional basic course of general chemistry, which tnok 1 112 h every day, covered general conccpra, including
structure and bonding, reactivity, and reaction mechanisms. Second, brief courses (two to six sessions per topic) covered more specificchemistry fields such as coordination chemist ..~~olvmer . .. and hiooolwer science.. orwnic svnthesis. mol e d a r structure, a& spectra. *Third, presentations were given by specialists actively engaged in fields such as enzyme chemistry and technology, chemical aspects of gene engineering, chain reactions and laser chemistry, chemistry of superconductors, and chemical ecology.
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All these classes were taught by highly skilled lecturers, includine universitv orofessors and leadine researchers of'~ciences,who were izvited by the from Mendeleev Chemical Societv. Throueh informal contacts. students developed valua6le relaconships with these nrominent scientists. who had been s~eciallvselected for their nontrivial views .and their eagerness tb share their exoeriences with the students. i n addition, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students of the two leading chemical higher educational establishments (Moscow S t a t e University a n d the Mendeleev Chemical Technology Institute) were involved in working with the teenagers. These students, themselves former Chemistrv Olvm~iad~ a r t i c i ~ a n. teave s . small group presentations on such subjects as organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, radiochemistry, and chemical ecology. was rather intensive. The most The chemistrv . Dromam - zealous students spent over 6 h a day in chemistry classes. The sessions covered a great variety of topics, and because several of the sessions overlapped, students had to choose which sessions they wanted to attend. Thus, the studentsa t least the Soviet ones-found themselves in a rather unusual psychological situation, because they had never been offered such choices in their traditional Soviet schools. The chemistry concepts presented during classes were reinforced through nontraditional means. For example, all participants had the opportunity to work in a computer classroom equipped with 20 personal computers. These computers featured original programs developed by experts from Sofia University (Bulgaria) and from Moscow. Students also met with the editorial board and authors of the popular monthly magazine Khimiya i Zhizn (Chemistry and Life). In addition, 170 of the most outstanding students participated in a two-round problem-solving competition.
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Cultural and Social Programs In addition to chemistry courses, the summer school featured cultural and social programs. Meetings held in the evening hours provided a forum for the discussion of a varietv of tooics of eeneral interest. For examole. discussion topi& inciuded "ihtellectuals and their ~osition in Society"
and "The Art of Chemistry and Chemists in Art". Subjects like "Militarization of Consciousness and our Times," "Perestroika Through our Eyes" (an exchange of views with foreign students and representatives of various of the former Soviet Union republics), and "We and They (The Generation Gap)" sparked heated discussions. In addition, experts delivered lectures on such topics as astronomy and the history of Russian painting. Pmvisions were made for English and, when necessary, French interpretation. Through the summer school's sporthealth program, the students were able to enjoy the facilities of Orlyonok, where the school was held. The s~ort/healthDromam inthreecluded swimming in the Black sealtwice a day dav hike in the sumundine area. Orlvonok (which means ~ i k l Eagle) e is situated in aresort area of the Soviet Union that has a picturesque landscape and a pleasant climate. The camp is believed to be one of the best children's recreation places in Russia. Near the end of the program, a scientific conference was held. The voung scientists reported on research they had conducted-eith& independently or under the supe&sion of exoerts at the universities of their native towns. One of the participants gave a presentation on the oscillatory reaction of phosphorus oxidation accompanied by twinkling luminescence. His report was later published in the magazine Khimiya i Zhirn. Another participant, whose experiments had been supervised by qualified chemists from Dnepropetrovsk Polytechnical Institute, reported on his experimental data concernine oxime-nitmne tautomerv. a phenomenon which had never before been observed. 1n;ddition, a Bulgarian student reported on the synthesis of a new medical preparation. Other students presented simpler studies of educational rather than scientific sienifiLance. All reports were reviewed, either by other pakidvants or bv aualified adult experts. The moht6-long summer khool culminated in a dramatic fireworks disvlav. The exverts in charge of the event succeeded in making the display interesting and yet safe for the students to enjoy. Teachers' Seminar Within the framework of the summer school, an international seminar on the problems of chemistry teaching was held. Thirty teachers participated, among whom six were
foreign teachers who accompanied teams of students visib ing Russia. The 23 sessions of the teachers' seminar considered the situation and trends in school chemistry courses, the problems dealing with the creation of new textbooks on chemistry, the organization of special schools with an intensified wurse of study in chemistry, and the computerization of school chemistry. Drawing from the results of mass testing, psychologists offered the participating teachers insights on the characteristics of the intcllectuallv eiRcd tfenaeers who oarticipated in the summer schooi. ?he results i f the miss testing have since been studied extensively, and as a result some improvements in the programs of chemical olympiads and summer schools are already being introduced. The summer schools have pmved to be a rewarding and promising way for scientists to contribute to the education of giRed students. Many previous summer school participants have become highlv skilled researchers, and summer school proved to b;? -cia1 in their choice bf a career. Giving international status to the chemistry schools has provided new opportunities for contacts among people from different countries and so has facilitated the communication and collaboration that are so important to the study of chemistry. And we must not overlook the fact that international summer schools can raise the prestige of chemistw, which is not too high - at -present due to ecological challeng&. The school organizers have discovered a phenomenon unknown to the Soviet system before-the new generation, brought up in the atmosphere of democratization, greatly differs fmm those of the past in that it possesses a greater sense of self-respect, nonconformism, and indevendence of views and opinibns.~eare witnessing the birth of a new national intelli~entaiathat we hope never will know and nor allow the rihirth of the atmosphere of fear, the neglect of intellectual and humanitarian values, and the ideoloeical pressure and hypocrisy typical of the epoch which-is sinking into oblivion. Llterature Clted 1. Fsnell. M.:Pfeil. R.: Cmtto. A,: J. Chem Ednc. lSW 65. 150.
5. Seaffe,C .W. J. J. &ern Edue 1986 63,190.
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