Drawing, family science: what innovations await the school curriculum

Recently, parliamentarians have spoken a lot on the subject of school education. And it does not matter whether they are in the relevant committee or not, whether they themselves understand the subject of discussion. Drafting is widely heard – the Duma Committee on Education is pressing for its return to schools. And more recently, Nina Ostanina proposed introducing the subject of “family studies” into schools – in defiance of childfree and other alien values. In addition, schools are offered to introduce and revive the cleaning of classrooms by children, and training and production facilities, and NVP, and badges and ties …

First, about Gestalt with drawing – it was closed the day before by the Minister of Education. Having said that “drawing did not leave the school.” The basics of drawing are taught as part of the Technology program, and are studied in depth in specialized engineering classes.

It seemed that even in official reports on the topic, one could see surprise at such a desire to return drawing with a pencil to children. With an abundance of design programs, and even neural networks, which visualize in a minute and a half, including drawing anything. But since not only the Duma “enlighteners”, but also “defense, metallurgical, and other companies” in the person of Alexei Dyumin, chairman of the State Council commission in the “Industry” direction, asked for drawing, the department promised: “Perhaps in the subject “technology” we will strengthen the component associated with drawing.

At the end of March, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, Nina Ostanina, was taken aback by a new subject in the school curriculum – “family studies”. “Family science will prepare boys and girls to not give up on having their children. Because, as Ostanina said: “We have a childfree movement – it is an independent ideology, and for many it becomes a conviction: “Why?” The deputy also clarified: family science is the way to the rise of demographics.

But if someone believes that, in the interests of demography, they will talk about sex with teenagers, and a new subject will replace the Ethics and Psychology of Family Life, which has died in Bose, he is deeply mistaken. Children, according to the deputy, should understand that “traditional values” are opposed to “replacing these values ​​with freedom of sexual relations.” Probably, in order to combat childlessness and population decline, schoolchildren will be told that children are found in cabbage.

By the way, about cabbage. According to the plan of the Duma members, borscht and stools are returning to schools. And not only “labor” as a subject, but also labor in a broad sense: subbotniks, shifts, cleaning, CPC (educational and industrial complexes) … Olga Kazakova announced the bill on the return of labor education to children. Like, labor made a man out of a monkey. And from a Marxist man, but from Russia – USSR … “Whatever technologies appear, borscht itself, as they say, will not be cooked”, – Kazakova argued. And she remembered how it was before: “duty in the classroom, work shifts, subbotniks. “And it never occurred to anyone that the state uses child labor, exploiting schoolchildren,” – MP added.

In general, if we summarize the proposals of our deputies and senators, a sudden, largely contradictory picture emerges. The growing youth should be interested in history, especially the history of Russia, and lean on the exact sciences. Develop creativity and digital literacy – but at the same time plan stools, cook borscht, wash windows and wipe floors at school.

Gender is not clear at all. Everyone should always be ready and engage in NVP: run crosses in gas masks, shoot, provide first aid and dig shelters. But girls should cook and iron, boys should do carpentry, and all this to the detriment of computer science and programming, which took hours of “work” at Technology before. And in “family science”, if it appears, the relationship of the sexes is taboo.

In principle, deputies now and then recall “traditional education” and try to introduce it into schools. But for the speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, this is the Soviet school, without a doubt. And for vice-speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, rather, a men’s gymnasium or a real school in pre-revolutionary Russia.

– We must not forget that education is not only the most conservative, but also the most planned sphere of society, – says an expert in the field of education, Mariy Bushueva. – In addition, the activities of schools are tied to local budgets, which are also planned ahead for at least 3 years. So all innovations are slow business. Especially with regards to new subjects or programs. They will not be introduced without the development of a standard, changes in the regulatory framework, and this will take 7-10 years. Exception – it is the ROV or changes in the course of modern history.

In general, of course, any proposals, especially if they concern children, must be very well thought out, peer-reviewed, and tested. Our schools are already overloaded, the programs are inflated, the children have little rest, the teachers can hardly cope. It is necessary to be very careful about the topic of the school in general. And some of the proposals create the feeling that something pricked someone or got into his head, and now, they offered it. Or for purely opportunistic reasons, sorry. Without thinking about how this or that proposal will affect children, teachers, affect the life of the school and individuals.