Professor Andrei Toom Was Living

¶ … Professor Andrei Toom was living in Russia, he became disillusioned because children of workers and poor peasants were given the opportunity to go to school and received good grades regardless of what they did or did not learn. Thousands of people who were considered "educated," were not.

He believed that really good education is the most valuable contribution that a country's scholars an make towards its democratization. The great French Revolution was prepared by the Age of Enlightenment. That was why the Russians could not win the space war. They did not care to be educated. They did not care to learn. They only cared for their careers and were leery about independent creative thought.

When he went to Moscow University, Professor Toom's best teacher, therefore, was the one who truly made him think creatively. It was the one who wanted students to solve nonstandard problems. Professor Toom loved the fact that he had the opportunity every year to try to solve five problems that were new and unlike all others. By just solving one of these problems, he felt that he could truly succeed as a mathematician.

He also enjoyed having Russian students who always wanted to learn something new from him. These students did not want to learn anything "trivial." They wanted to learn something new and different from the norm. He gave all his students "A's" because he did not want them to worry about grades or about dealing with the authorities of the school. However, it did not matter. They were not in the class because of the grade, but because t hey wanted to learn. Getting the good grades made them want to learn all the more. Unfortunately, because his classes were taught in this fashion, Professor Toom got the reputation of being a rebel and becoming part of political clashes. As a result, he emigrated to the United States.

Professor Toom thought it was going to be wonderful teaching in the United States. He had read a great deal of Western literature, science and mathematics and found them very creative. Also, because he knew American supported democracy, he went back to his belief that this meant everyone wanted to have the best education possible. He expected the classes to be completely different from those in Russia. He thought that the students would want to think creatively and independently. No longer would he be bothered by the authorities because he tried to teach more than what was in the books.

That was why he was so disturbed by what he found. The students did not want to learn anything new. They only wanted to learn what was in the book. They became angry when Professor Toom's tests included mathematical equations that were not exactly as those they had done in class. They all wanted good grades. That was the number-one priority. They would rather get all a's and learn nothing than get B's and C's and actually learn something new.

This has completely confused him. He thought that American would be different. He realized, however, that none of the students wanted to think. Sadly, he also realized that Russia may have not won the space race, but either did the United States. Education in both of these countries was the same -- students were only concerned about the outcome.

He said to his students: "Suppose you fly in a plane. What is more important for you: the pilot's real competence or his papers that certify he is competent? Or suppose you get sick and need medical treatment. What is more important for you: your doctor's real competence or his diploma?" He would answer, of course, that you need to know how to fly. You need how to treat someone who is sick. However, many of students felt differently. Their first priority was to get papers that certify that they are competent rather than to develop real competence.

Unfortunately, this situation is getting worse all the time in the United States. Since the "No Child Left Behind" program, increasing numbers of teachers are now teaching to test. If the students do not do well on the State tests, then the school will not receive as much money from the government. Thus, teachers' salaries are based on how well their students take a test -- now how well they think or if they are creative. Similarly, a principal of a school or a superintendent of a city is only concerned about how well his teachers' students do on the examinations.