Ruble on talent

On the public procurement website, on August 17, 2012, a new order was published for the state procurement of the Ministry of Education and Science [1]. Within its framework, it is necessary to implement the project “The testing and implementation of the model methodology of normative per capita financing of costs for the pedagogical support of the formation of talented children in the general education system” worth 9 million rubles. In this state procurement, I see only one thing - the desire to make a lot of money due to new developments does not matter what. This is a harmful project and it must be canceled.

In the concept of a nationwide system for identifying and developing young talents, approved on April 3, 2012, and a complex of measures to it does not say anything about per capita financing of schools based on a formalized concept of “young talent”. This idea is vicious for many reasons:

1) there are no reliable mass methods for determining talent, especially in elementary school;

2) hanging the label “talented” to children is harmful to their development;

3) the hype will begin by schools and parents around the receipt of a label;

4) there will be a “services market” to prepare schoolchildren for a label;

5) there will be demand and offer to buy a shortcut;

6) children will have to periodically confirm the label, which will entail stress;

7) The presence of a shortcut on one subject will prevent the student from changing his hobbies, i.e. To interfere with freely develop, since financing of the school will depend on its label.

If we want to stimulate the development of talents, then first of all we need to finance the developing educational environment, i.e. Successful teachers and successful schools. Typical examples are Kolmogorovo boarding school at Moscow State University and Lyceum “Second School”. I myself am a graduate of the second school and I can confidently say that the key to great success and students and teachers is a special educational environment that is created in such specialized schools.

On the other hand, the question of encouraging schools, which show high achievements in work with ordinary and capable children, has not been worked out. In other words, everyone cannot be compared by the Unified State Exam or Olympiads, it is necessary to compare schools with a comparable contingent of students - here, as in sports, there are competitions in lightweight, on average or heavy, as there are games for professionals, lovers or paralympic games.

Alexander Kovalji ,
deputy. Director of the Lyceum "Second School"

1. Http://zakupki.gov.ru/pgz/public/acters/info/common_info/show?notification=4080321