The
unseen-before pace of technological progress, the spread of urbanization, as
well as the accessibility of education to almost every individual, have greatly
changed the society. However… 50-60 years ago, children of 10-11 years read
more, wrote better, and had stronger math skills.
Has
the curriculum become more difficult? Not at all. The
school program is just the same as it always was. The standards have even been
somewhat lowered. The schoolchildren now suffer from the lack of physical
movement, vision losses, posture problems, and overload. They loose interest to
studying.
Perhaps
it is the case that the people have become less clever? Not so. IQ scores of
children today are even higher than those of their peers from 1950.
The
cause of the education problem lies in a different domain. The scientific and
technological revolution changed everything except the methods of education. It
took 200-220 lessons for first graders from the middle of the XIX century to
learn the basic skills of reading, writing, and counting. Today, in the
beginning of the XXI century, the norm is exactly the same. In fact, it takes
even longer to study elementary grammar and algebra today than 50 years ago –
just compare the curriculum plans.
The
efforts to improve pedagogical practices in Russia have been started in the
1970s. The most prominent among the newly-devised approaches is the system of
studying reading, grammar, mathematics, and the English language devised by a St. Petersburg scientist
Nikolai Zaitsev.
Fifteen
years of the system’s use in Russia,
the former Soviet Republics, and other countries (including the US)
showed these results:
•
Many parents in Russia
teach their under-school-aged children at home with the use of Zaitsev’s system. In Russia, no one is surprised to see
3-4-year-old children read and count
•
Children of 4-5 years learn to read and count after 10-12 hour-and-a-half-long
sessions. First graders accomplish the same in a single week
•
Vision and correct posture are not only preserved;
they are improved (reputable scientists support this claim). The number of
problems associated with the lack of physical movement is also reduced.
The
latter observation shows the particularity of the Zaitsev’s
system. Zaitsev’s tables are placed on all walls in
the classroom; they surround the students. The tables are always used during
the explanation of the material and its review.
Any
question of the teacher can be answered by using the information in the tables
as a guide. To succeed, one must make optimal decisions, carrying out the task
in as little steps as possible – selecting the right table, row, column, and
cell.
Because
Zaitsev’s system allows free and active movement
during the learning process, the students are able to think clearer and to
concentrate on the tasks better. The lessons are structured in a form of a
game. Over a hundred intellectually-stimulating games have been developed for
that purpose. The pace of studying with Zaitsev’s
system exceeds that of conventional learning methods. Everyone has good grades.
Everything is successful. The result is that Zaitsev’s
approach removes the stress, improves the psychological climate in the class,
prevents conflicts between the student and the parent, the student and the
teacher, the teacher and the parent. Zaitsev’s
education materials include a series of manuals that cover various subjects.
Each set of materials may be used equally well by a large group of students or
by a single individual. Zaitsev’s materials cost
considerably less than usual teaching textbooks that cover topics in a
fragmented way.
Possible collaboration with US
partners can occur along the following lines:
1.
Participation in publishing additional copies of already-existing educational
materials; creating new computer-based learning programs, electronic games,
etc.
2.
Participation in developing education programs for learning to read and write
in any language.
3.
Creating new programs on basis of Zaitsev’s education
approach and copying them.
Collaboration with education
establishments:
1.
Distribution of Zaitsev’s education materials by
organizing lectures, courses, or seminars.
2.
Training perspective employees and creating specialized centers that operate on Zaitsev’s basis.
3.
Teaching instructors and entire faculties; supplying them with materials.
N.
Zaitsev Educational Methodology
Tel.:
+7 – 812-1162479
+7
– 812 - 2477013
