By MIKE DAVIDOW aN me be perfectly frank. I perite Only as a reporter of Sent ot ny wife, Gail, and I ' schoo] a Moscow boarding OF retarded children. . are Parents of a son, now co with us in the Soviet eDilepsy Who has suffered from Since if ae gue been retarded at j Sc we saw at Special ae No. 103 in the Bauman Ry tc of Moscow filled us with r these handicapped chil- With rect it also left us torn before oe and bitterness. For Ness an ~ was the life and kind- have usefulness that should €en our son’s and that of hundr » creds of thousand like him in the US. s of others Th 150 children larger, Moscow school, which is stages for those in the early Ourst of retardation, is in a size aa ted brick building the Schools N° of our big city public childres Yet it houses only 150 age,» from 8 to 16 years of 8B ae Small student body is chiatrigt by 30 teachers, a psy- a sizeah) Nurse, two cooks and . able staff of house work- 25 € teachers (they are paid Salary) st above the normal ) are all specially trained. sch %Scow has 21 such boarding childne, housing 6,000 retarded Ih wdain Shogtettion there are part-time pao for those children whose ine want to keep them at @ told a meeting spon- bor by the city health de- “Ment at least one-fourth treatment. But, Goman ? states have no facil- ublic or private, for it Mentally troubled mes and another 24 ve no public institu- to take in children from nd middle - income id two-thirds of all ¢ youngsters “are. tterally lost, bounced Md from training schools ind ‘ormatories, to jails, _ whipped through all sini hey ease i they vanish, $ for presentation soon Ongress, IN THE U.S.S.R. Schools prepare retarded | ‘Preparing for life’ When we expressed surprise at the size of the teaching staff, Nina Sergeyevna Ivanova, the school’s director, looked puz- zled. “But we are preparing children for life,” she exclaimed, with heavy emphasis on the last word. That about sums up the atti- tude and atmosphere of Special School No. 103. Everything — curricula, teach- ers, workships — medical and psychiatric care, four nourishing meals a day, spacious surround- ings that include a park-like playground and orchard, and, above all, human kindness are instruments for involving the pupils in Soviet life. Representatives of Moscow plants arrive at the school a couple of weeks before gradna- tion to interview prospective employees. Almost all get jobs at full regular wages—the boys in radio repair, typographical and book binding, factories; and few unable to work receive a state pension. Bright atmosphere Flowers and pictures, both bright and colorful, adorn the clean spacious corridors, stair- ways and dormitories. Space and sunlight, invited in by nume- rous picture-frame windows, en- hance the atmosphere of secure calm. : My wife and I have had suf- ficient experience with U.S. private and state “schools” not only to appreciate the import- ance of atmosphere but to de- tect when it is merely a facade to conceal inhumanity and indif- ference. But what we saw in school No. 103, from the kind and efficient Nina Ivanova, to the motherly babushkas (nan- nies), who welcomed us as they took our coats, was no facade, as was evident from what we saw in the work of the school. ‘Twice the pleasure’ Why did -she choose this work, we asked Nina, who had graduated from Leningrad State . University as a history major. “Because it’s twice the pleas- ure to see our children advance and to know they will find their proper ‘place in life,” she an- swered. As she spoke, Nina smiled at two boys waxing the corridor floor. Each had a brush attached to one leg and with evident en- joyment were dancing ryth- matically over the floor. “Don’t they dance well?” Nina asked proudly. Another teacher, Ivan Fomi- chov, presented us with the handiwork of a pupil in his car- pentry class. The boy singled out for special praise was among the most retarded, and he beam- ed with joy. Nina hovered over them all like a mother, “Remember chil- ren,” she said, “you are seeing American Communists. Don’t forget to tell your parents.” Song and dance skit In every classroom we visited there was ample cause for what Nina had described as “twice the pleasure.” There were the poems the children of the third class recited with such fervor, the dresses the girls sewed with such skill, the books the boys neatly bound, the impressive wood carving and cabinet mak- ing displayed -in the corridors, and the delightful song and dance comedy skit being re- hearsed. Both in the classrooms and workshops the attitude adopted toward the children was one of confidence in their ability and accountability for their tasks. Rewards for work well done include special trips and public acknowledgement, and there is admonition for failures. ‘We too count’ Neatness of appearance, in dress and in care of rooms, were more than surface niceties. They reflected pride and self-respect, the feeling that “we too count”. The school curriculum was the usual one for an eight-year school but the level of work was. approximately half of the normal school. Class size was not more than 16 but we saw many that were considerably smaller. Stress is on visual educ- ation. “Children can’t think in ab- stractions, they must see to learn”, Nina emphasized to us. All around them, in their clas- ses, corridors and workshops, rooms—the children were pre- sented with vivid and beautiful things. Daily schedule The pupils get up at 7:30, have breakfast at 8, and then start. their. classes. “Juniors”, first four grades, have classes from 9-12:30, seni- ors until 2:30 p.m. Dinner is at 1:30 p.m., there’s a “snack” at 4 for juniors and at 5 for the seniors, and supper is 7 p.m. for the former and 7:30 for the latter. In between, there are ex- tensive periods for rest, games and walks. Frequent excursions to all parts of the city are or- ganized. Weekends at home The children spend weekends at home with their parents, and summers either at Pioneer camps or on vacations with their parents. “No children re- main in Moscow during the summer,” Nina told us. What about those without parents (there are 20 such child- rent at the school), we asked her. She said there was no lack of requests by other parents to take them home on week-ends, holidays or on vacations. “We make sure those who make the- offer can provide our children with the proper home environ- ment,” she stressed. What do parents pay? We finally came to what in our country is considered the $64,000 question. What do the parents pay for this schooling? More than half pay nothing, since the charge is based on many considerations, ‘size of family, income, special prob- lems. But the other half do pay. “How much?” we asked. “They pay from 8 to 10 rubles a month” (1 ruble—$1.11) she told us in all seriousness. My wife and I exchanged glances and we did what any American parents would do who hes suffered the “price” of re- tardation in our country. We burst into laughter. It was not without bitterness. As we prepared to leave we came upon a visiting parent. children for life Young Communists #* * hit unemployment The Initiating Committee for a Young Communist Organiza- tion has issued the following statement on summer unem- ployment: . With already: half a million unemployed in Canada, nearly two million high school and university students are out of school for the summer. Sub- stantial numbers of these de- pend on earnings from summer employment to continue their education. As many as 75 per- cent of those seeking jobs will not find them, a_ situation which even by government es- timates is worse than last sum- mer. * Why, with an undeveloped Northland, with substantial poverty “amidst plenty,” with a growing urban crisis, with employed workers forced to work extensive overtime, is there unemployment? Students and unemployed young workers across the country are asking this question, some for the first time. And not a few of them are finding answers: unemploy- ment depressed wages, keeps inflation ‘within bounds” with- out decreasing profits, even allows profit rates to increase while permitting the monopo- “How do you like our school?” she inquired. We told her we liked it very much but were filled with thoughts about the retarded in the U.S. who did.not meet with such care from their government. “But why? Why?” she asked. “You are such a rich country.” : —Daily World lists and their governments to wipe out any wage gains by in- creased prices, taxes and inter- ests rates. Young people are learning that unemployment and capital- ist exploitation go hand in hand. It is not possible to be rid of the former without get- ting rid of the latter. But we must add something. The youth need to be politically organized. In the first instance such organization serves as a means of self-defense and ad- vance for the youth. Political organization of youth is needed for the day to day struggles of young people for job security, decent pay, opportunities to culture and education as well as the struggle against unemploy- ment. Ultimately, if these prob- lems of youth are to be solved, if unemployment is to be el- iminated young people must be organized. to unite with socialist minded workers to win working class control of the economy, to end exploitation of man by man, to see to it that youth reap the benefits of a socially owned economy where the means of production are owned in common and used for social benefit, not private profit. We invite young workers and students who share this pers- pective to join with us, to form clubs of the Young Communist League at work, at school or in the community. To be put in touch with the League organ- izer in your area, please write < us at 24 Cecil Street, Toronto 130. PACIFIC TRIBUNE —JULY 11, 1969 —Page 5 prea a tl.