Russia needs less talk, more action
We need action on the ground, not high-flying abstractions
As Maria noted in her last entry, she believes the social dialogue in Argentina is heading the wrong way – and it seems that every country faces such points in its development. As I look back on my university years, I agree with her.
Sometimes there is too much talking and not enough real action (I don’t just mean the educational sphere only; it can be noticed in all of Russian economic or political life). With all due respect to the talented and brilliant professors and teachers of previous generations who helped several Russian geniuses (mathematician Grigori Perelman, for example) to reveal their potential, I would like to see changes in educational life. What’s quite interesting is that many of my fellow students feel the same; the demand for a new model is in the air. At the same time, those in charge of social institutions are a bit puzzled about the future – as a result, society moves both forward and backward. It reminds me of a fable where three animals have to make enormous efforts to move a carriage, but the carriage remains stuck in one place because they couldn’t come to an agreement.
Documents for senior year research in linguistics
What do I mean by “backward?” All of the red tape and bureaucracy is one example. It’s especially apparent when students prepare their final year research projects. But those pushing forward are stronger. It makes me glad to hear when people are doing things not for bureaucratic abstractions but for concrete goals, like when friends of mine say they are doing something for particular people (working as a tutor or launching their own projects, for example). That is a lot better than hearing they are working for abstract things like “customers” or “corporations.”
I hope the conference devoted to education – Global Media Forum, which is taking place in Germany this week and where my fellow bloggers are in attendance – will result in significant action (especially with the many participants from other continents in attendance). And I hope it will prompt people or small organizations working in education to promote learning and to encourage others to be not just another face in the crowd but to stand out with their own ideas and goals.
It’s like playing chess where you learn to think ahead in order not to lose. Once you adapt the strategy of chess to real life – you’ll benefit!
