At the September 2008, just before the new school year had started, the interview was done by the magazine “Class Hour” (the magazine for the parents, teachers and students). In role of interviewed was the director of the “Speed – reading school” Vasilieva Lidia Lvovna.
The Magazine: - what will be if a talented teacher starts to learn a child?
Vasilieva Lidia Lvovna: I will answer quoting Sergeev Boris Fedorovich, the author of the book “The Brains’ Paradoxes”: “the whole genius may be called the special type of mental abilities. If parents don’t use the exceptional methods for starting and developing the genius children up to the age of 2 – 3, this child will never be a talent. And if talented kid will face with the “middle – minded” teacher who doesn’t know about the system of development education, for example at the kindergarten or at school, it will be reasonable to remember the proverb: “…”
Anti - intellectualism is a thing more clinging than intellect and genius. The way is coming: let the teacher be ordinary, but mastering the methods of intensive development, he will make every child talented.
The problem is - many teachers are wearing the mask that such notion as “intellect” doesn’t exist!
- We have a constant partnership with “Speed – reading school by Vasilieva”. It is time to ask some questions to its leader.
You are speaking that the rate of reading aloud must be at least 180 – 200 words in a minute.
- Yes, it’s true. Our speech apparatus is adopted at that temp of reading, and it is not monotonic. Logic stresses, tone formation allowed to the listeners not only to listen, but to understand the speech. The best understanding of the text is taken place by the pupils. That’s why they perceive the information not at the level of summing lexical meanings, but at the level of thoughts. By the rate of reading less 120 words in a minute the understanding of the text became worse.
The majority of secondary school’s pupils read low “Approximate rapidity characteristics of educational-cognitive processes”, and the temp of reading is involved stronger than all the facts together.
- What is the result slow reading?
- As a result, slow – reading pupils don’t have the formed knowledge by the majority of school subjects. Are you agree that the rate of reading 45 – 100 words in a minute don’t allow to do the home task, but even to read the texts by the subjects for one time. The level of understanding and remembering depends on the rate of reading. That’s why; the slow – reading pupil should read the text twice or even three times.
- What do you think about the system of tutoring?
- The system of tutoring, that blossom with the great colors in our schools even takes the situation worse. What’s a necessity for the pupil to work during the lesson, if the teacher after it will teach this unworkable pupil one more time (because pupil’s parent pays big money for the teacher for his repetition). There is no skills – no mental working capacity. And no development of memory and consideration, the thinking doesn’t develop too. The tutoring can be justified only in one case – the pupil had missed the lesson because of the legitimate reason, and it is necessary to work his missing themes. And that’s all.
The lower of progress is showed at the 5th form. At the 4th form up to 70% of pupils have good marks, but at the 5th form their number is fallen down. The great majority of them have unsatisfactory marks. At the 5th form some of them stop doing home task, they think that only written are compulsory.
- When we are speaking with the parents they say in the table their children have “good” and “excellent” marks but…
- At the Speed – reading school the specific of work with the students is formation of the skills and knowledge according to the school subjects. For example, the verbal intellect contains the tasks on the understanding of the words and meanings, and their interrelation.
Obligatory work on the activation of the lexicon, and that is paronyms, and synonyms, and antonyms, and homonyms. Renewal the memory’s bloc contains the knowledge of the rivers, countries, cities, capitals, dates and etc. Tasks on the developing arithmetic – practical thinking, logics make a trouble for the children, because they don’t know what is the algorithm of process this or that tasks. Analytical reading is supposed that the pupils know about the structure of the text, plot, composition, the ways of thought’s composition, dominants and thesis). It is difficult to “take something out” from the blank head; it is necessary to work with school theme also.
- Why do you think that additional education is necessary?
- Aim of the additional education is not only to teach reading, not only to increase the temp of reading, but also to teach the children to adopt the information for the first presentation, to develop all kinds of memory, to activate all mental processes.
The teachers cannot achieve the necessary results, learning at least 30 pupils. That’s why teachers must explain to the parents about additional education.
- What is the rate of reading for the pupils that are finishing primary school? What is the temp of reading for the class and home tasks?
- These are the most popular questions that parents ask. Look one more time at the “Approximate speed characteristics of learning and cognition processes”.
Class 1987
aloud words/minute 1987
silently w/m 2008
aloud w/m 2008
silently w/m
reception class 30 - 50 --- 30 - 50 ---
1 80 - 90 --- 80 - 90 ---
2 90 - 100 100 - 110 90 - 100 100 - 110
3 100 - 110 110 - 120 100 - 110 110 - 120
4 110 - 120 130 - 140 110 - 120 140 - 160
5 120 - 130 180 - 220 130 180 - 220
6 130 - 140 230 - 250 140 250 - 280
7 140 250 - 270 150 280 - 300
8 150 270 - 280 160 300 - 340
9 160 280 - 290 170 340 - 400
10 170 - 180 290 - 300 180 - 200 400 - 440
11 180 - 220 310 - 330 200 - 220 440 - 480
The first part of the table – is normative document. Was it recalled? Was the volume of information by the school subjects cut rapidly? No, it increased many times. Now, why do the norms are taking the correction at many schools? The answer is on the surface. Not to show to the parents and the society that school is not able to teach reading. If a pupil will read 80 words in a minute after finishing the elementary school, doing home task will take about four hours at the 5th form. But the lesson is cannot be stretched, and the teacher is not able to give the whole material, and it will be given for doing at home. (The second part of the table – the counting, that was made at the Speed – reading school, based on the ordinary school’s material).
When you looking at the diaries to the pupils, you having the question: who takes the responsibilities from the deputy teacher to control the volume of the home tasks? Even teacher gives a lot of information as if a pupil studies only his subject.
My experience is based on the work with the upper – pupils showed that they are sitting long hours at the books. And that is not good. The scientists said that for the best keeping of the information it is necessary to sleep at least 6 – 8 hours a day. The brain sorted, grouped, classified and archive the information nearly at that time. That is the warranty of that we can take it out.
And if a life limited only for learning? And what about sport, theater, additional education? And meeting with the friends? Should we stop it?
- Today a lot of people are nervous about the counting of teachers the payment according to the fullness of the classes. What do you think about it?
- The decision to pay for the fullness to teachers will lead to that fact that control system of forming the skills and abilities become more formative and not because of that all of the teachers will be “…” – even the best teacher is not in the condition to guarantee the quality of education with the great number of pupils.
The decision to pay for the “quality of education” will lead to the situation that the teacher will take the marks, “closing eyes”. There is nothing more dangerous than unwarranted mark. As a result – the comfort for children and parents. And the problems in knowledge that doubled each day. The quality of education – are not the marks in the table. “Unsatisfactory” mark – is a sign to the teacher, parents, that the pupil doesn’t master the theme. But this mark – mustn’t be the fact and the pupil has the right to repast the theme. The head teacher must take the attention not at the satisfactory marks, but at the correcting marks. These decisions are reasonable only in the condition of economic proofness for the teacher and the high level of social responsibility. Do you think these are high words? Without this the realization of the taken decision will be the diversion according to the younger generation.
There are things that cannot be neglected in our work. If a teacher of primary school wants his pupils will take only excellent marks – he must do the demands of “Approximate speed characteristics of learning and cognition processes”. That’s why at the end of final education the pupils must have the rate about 120 words in a minute. Is it real?
- There are a lot of new subjects at schools. What is your opinion?
- To my own opinion, it is not necessary. New subjects and faculties must be strictly signed (the main idea – is not to overwork children. And it will be if the educational process organized incorrect. The parts of the brain must be overworked at least 5 – 7 minutes, otherwise the abruption of the information had place. The emphasis must be done at the harmonic development of the person, that’s why it is a base from which a pupil will take the recourses for self – development.
- Is this a problem only for Russian education?
- Not really. There are a lot of schools in England that are beginning to close. Absolutely illogical description of the reasons of such decision: the conditions don’t allow to guarantee the quality of education. But the repair and the modern equipment of the schools don’t teach the children to work with the increased streams of the information. On the official site of the Education Department there is an article about the problems of the education and the reasons why the tests were institute.
- What are you dreaming of?
- My dream is to open the private school. The private schools begin to return to the State and Municipal schools. It is accountably, but, in my opinion, it is not right, in fact there is a great future for these schools. The school must be small and controlled, the education is based on the vertical, that’s why the principle of the succession. I like to open this school in the country, at the ecologically district. The first steps are taken in it.
The children are coming to the complex of developing programs at the age of 5. My strict opinion is the character depends on the whole development of a person’s intellect. The intellect interrelates with the insistence, hard working, responsibility, mental flexibility, and the skill to take the responsibility on you. Well, I am speaking about these qualities of person according to the children. After a lot of years working at Speed – reading school and control the information, I see how the children changed by the methods of “Wunderkind”, I understand how it is important to learn the children correctly, how it is necessary the image of a teacher. The class will be at 10 pupils and no more! For the special subjects there are groups at 2 – 5 pupils. This will allow to carry the material to every pupil at each lesson, to create the conditions that will guarantee the result. The developing programs are: the first step: 5 – years children; the second step: 6 – years children.
The norms are developed for each steps of education. At the moment of entering to school the pupil must, for example, to read, to master the information for the first presentation (that’s why to master the ways of keeping even thematically don’t linked information). The pupil should have the skills to work with the text, to develop all the types of memory, the ability to classify the perception, to switch on the one way of mental activity to the other. But the main is the pupil should have the ability to fell the necessity to take the new knowledge, to be able to organize his educational process.
- What are the subjects that you have planned for the kids at new private school?
- The first is the complex development program “Wunderkind”. Everything is provided in it. That is a guarantee that the educational process doesn’t bring out the mental tiredness, abruption of the information, and overwork. There will be additional lessons: Monday: music and voice – training; Wednesday: art and molding sculpture; Friday: dance classes; Tuesday and Thursday: physical training. All the lessons are continuing at the 30 minutes, and the additional are 60 minutes. First of all it is necessary to hold the sets of 5 and 6 – years pupils; the 4 groups at 10 pupils. Next year our 6 – years pupils are ready for school, and we open 2 first classes. We hold the 5 – years pupils again. And now we will rise for year to year at the number of 20 pupils. At that time when our first pupils will finish the school we will have 220 – 240 pupils. And that is the maximum.
- And how do you solve the personnel affairs?
- The school will rise step by step. The teachers, kindergarteners, doctors and the servitorial stuff would be chosen. It is enough to look through the contract, which I making with the teachers, to understand that to enter in our school will be not easy. It is dangerous to learn from those who are not the specialists. It is more dangerous to learn from those who are not loved the children and attitude to them as a way of earning money. The parents must be calm for their children at all points. The exactingness of the teachers must combine with the kindness.
- Will this school be free for any desirous?
- Not, really. The education is not cheap nowadays. I have my own school at least 17 years, and I invest in it, and I know that it is not possible to economy on it. It is assumed that some questions will be decided at the Investment Committee of the school. I am a teacher, but not a businesswoman. And every affair must be done with the specialists of high level. The high level of the staff will take the right to the director to present them the highest demands and to guarantee the result of the education.
- What can you say in the conclusion?
- I want to set eyes at the one side of education: from class to class the volume of information increased. But the legal position of the pupil doesn’t change. At the senior class the collaboration of “pupil – teacher” is rather better. The pupils must to understand that the education is directed to them, to fell the pleasure from that their memory becoming better, and are reading faster from day to day, and are knowing more and more interesting from the lessons. One of my pupil asked me why none of my pupils didn’t abstract from my topic, even didn’t turn the head. I never raise the voice and don’t punish even with the words. If something is not right I just do the pause in my description. Some seconds are enough to the children to understand why I am silence. The teacher and the pupils are in common position at school. They have equal rights and duties. I came to teach, and I adore doing it; the pupil came to study and he likes it. If you don’t like you business, you will never captivate your pupils. And the main rule for the teacher is “to become for your pupils as for your own children”.
