The Promising Elementary School Program: Reviews, Textbooks, Planning

If it is often difficult for parents to understand the peculiarities of school programs, then children even more so cannot find differences between existing educational and methodological complexes. But the choice of a school and an educational project is a very responsible matter, on which, without exaggeration, the effectiveness of a child's further education depends. In order not to bite your elbows, it is important to make the right choice in favor of teaching methods for elementary school students. According to reviews, "Promising Elementary School" is a specific educational program that has its pros and cons.

Briefly about the authors of the educational and methodological complex

This project, like other educational and methodological complexes, is the result of the collective work of scientists and practicing teachers of leading Russian universities. Unlike the traditional system of education, the program "Perspective Primary School" is a variable product of educational developmental methods, the authors of which are outstanding Russian scientists D. B. Elkonin-Davydov and V. V. Zankov.

The creator of the course for elementary school students was Roza Gelfanovna Churakova, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor at the Academy for Advanced Training of Educators. Being the project manager, the author responsibly approached the selection of teaching aids and textbooks in all disciplines. These manuals are included in the package "Promising Primary School":

• “Literacy (learning to write)” and “ABC” for grade 1, the authors of which are professors Yu. A. Agarkov, M. G. Agarkova.
• "Russian language" for elementary school students was prepared by M. L. Kalenchuk, N. A. Churakova.
• "Literary reading" - the author is Doctor of Philology N. A. Churakova.
• "Mathematics" (textbooks and workbooks) were developed by A. L. Chekin - Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
• "Informatics" (from the second grade) - authors E. P. Benenson, A. G. Pautova.
• "The world around" - the entire training course is presented by candidates of pedagogical sciences O. N. Fedotova, G. V. Trafimova and S. A. Trafimov.
• "Technology" in the "Perspective Primary School" was published by the candidate of pedagogical sciences T. M. Ragozina, I. B. Mylova.

The educational kit also includes textbooks in music, physical education, fine arts and English (S. G. Ter-Minasova "Favourite"). It should be noted that the textbooks on the subject "World around" have not received appropriate reviews from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for implementation in the educational process. 3

Development of a project on federal educational standards

Let's try to understand the features of this school program. The first thing to note is its compliance with the GEF. "Perspective primary school", according to the authors and well-known domestic teachers, is an effective mechanism for the development of the individual qualities of each student. The goal of the project is to develop the skills of independent learning in the child. The student should not be just a led participant in the educational process.

The conceptual provisions of the education system "Perspective Primary School" fully comply with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard. In addition, each item of the program is characterized by individual and collective orientation. That is, the introduction of the project into the educational process involves the use of a personal approach to each student and, in general, to the children's team.

Basic principles of the project

• The formation of personal qualities that meet the requirements of modern society on the basis of tolerance for its multinational, cultural and confessional composition.
• Aiming at obtaining the highest learning outcomes as a system-forming element of the educational process, in which the formation of the student's personality occurs due to the assimilation of ordinary educational activities, knowledge of the world around.
• Ensuring the achievement of the set goals by mastering the fundamental educational course.
• Guaranteed continuity and consistency of preschool, primary general, basic and secondary (complete) education.
• Accounting for personal age, psychological and physiological characteristics of students.
• Determination of the role and degree of importance of certain types of activities for setting goals in the course of the process of education and upbringing.
• Providing a variety of organizational forms, taking into account the developmental characteristics of each student (including gifted students, children with disabilities, speech defects, etc.).
• Providing conditions for the growth of creative potential, the desire to learn the unknown, interact with adults and peers.

Comprehensive development of the student

The tasks of primary general education also include the development of the student's creative abilities, his interest and desire for learning. It is in children studying in the lower grades that they nurture moral and aesthetic feelings, emotional and value criteria for a positive attitude not only to themselves, but also to those around them.

In the “Perspective Primary School” section of the educational and methodological package for grade 1, the authors proceed from humanistic considerations, relying on the conclusions of psychologists: absolutely all children are able to study well if the appropriate conditions are created for this. And one of these is a student-centered approach to each student.

Universal program for elementary school

When compiling the educational material and choosing the style of its presentation, the authors took into account several important features. According to their feedback, the "Promising Elementary School" can be considered a universal program because:

• Textbooks, workbooks and other manuals are optimally suited for students of different ages. It is known that a child of both six and seven or eight years old can be a first-grader.
• All students have a completely different level of preparation. Children who attended preschool educational organizations go to grade 1 with the necessary base of oral and written skills.
• There are also significant differences in the topographic affiliation of the audience being trained. So, according to this educational program, not only urban, but also rural schoolchildren are trained.
• Differences in the levels of Russian language proficiency among students, as well as the presence of a large number of speech therapy problems in the lower grades.
• It can be used for classes with different occupancy, including for schoolchildren of a small class.

Features of compiling educational material

It is interesting that the educational and methodological package is based on the close relationship of the course "The World Around" with other disciplines. According to the authors, the basics of this subject have firmly “sprouted” into both the Russian language and mathematics. Without knowledge of what is around us, the child will not be able to fully develop and become literate. The only thing that raises doubts is the lack of recommendations from the Ministry for the manual "The World Around" from the teaching materials "Perspective Primary School".

Textbooks and workbooks corresponding to this program are created according to a single principle: from the first to the last page, they are all permeated with images of bright characters named Misha and Masha. The guys who appear in the books also have parents, friends, classmates, pets, etc. Throughout the year, they grow up with the students, gaining knowledge by doing their homework. Agree, the game stirs up the interest of primary school students in learning. On the other hand, it is not clear how useful the presence of such illustrations is. So, for example, in workbooks for many tasks, two solutions are proposed - one Mishino, the other Mashino. Will it not become a habit of the child to choose an answer at random? In the end, choosing the right one out of two options is much easier than solving the problem yourself from beginning to end.

Description of the project in general terms

It is impossible to put an unambiguous assessment of this complex and say how effective it is in the learning process. Any criticism, however, as well as a recommendation from parents, is purely subjective, and therefore in practice there are the most controversial reviews about the "Promising Elementary School". It is not difficult for a person who is far from the current education system to conclude that this is an educational and methodological program:

• Based on traditional approaches to teaching and educating children of primary school age.
• Designed to make the child independent and purposeful.
• It is not always easily perceived by students, and therefore requires the help and assistance of parents, especially in terms of doing homework.

What most often causes dissatisfaction, reviews

For parents of children entering grade 1, Promising Elementary School may seem like a "raw" and imperfect project, full of flaws and shortcomings. Often in the reviews you can find the dissatisfaction of parents about the lack of information on a particular topic. In fact, the key goal of the developers of the complex is to teach students to independently work with sources of information and correctly apply the data obtained.

Starting from the second grade, the teacher uses several dictionaries, as well as reference books and encyclopedias, in Russian language lessons. In this context, it would be more correct to perceive the textbook as a self-instruction manual. Manuals in all subjects are built in the same way, each topic looks something like this: table of contents - questions and answers to them - terms (dictionary words, definitions of concepts) - conclusions. The teacher is only required to set the right direction for work in the classroom and at home, coordinate the actions of students and prepare the "ground" for finding the right information. However, students will have to search for it on their own.

If you pay attention to the responses of parents, their dissatisfaction with the joint implementation of lessons is striking. "Perspective Primary School" is an educational project that aims to develop the skills of independence, initiative and self-control in primary school children. At the same time, the authors themselves recommend not to deviate a single step from the teaching method, which is based on the principle of “solving the traditional in an unconventional way”. In practice, most children 7-10 years old cannot cope with tasks without the help of their parents. Well, there is nothing left but to wish them patience and tirelessness. Apparently, parents will have to study again.

How teachers evaluate the "Promising Primary School"

There are enough examples of discussion of this educational program on the Web. Among them, there were no complaints not only about textbooks, but also about workbooks. The "promising elementary school", according to teachers, is inferior in some aspects even to the traditional education system:

• The tasks are not highlighted in any way against the background of the text on the page - neither in font nor in color. It is not very convenient for teachers to navigate the material.
• Many teachers have the impression that the course "Mathematics" has not been finalized, since there is no system in the learning process, as evidenced by the "blurred" structure of educational and methodological planning.
• "Promising elementary school" involves the use of several parts of textbooks in all subjects at the same time, since each of them contains tasks that refer to other sources for information. Children are forced to carry stacks of books in their briefcases.

The main disadvantages of the program according to parents

Parents in their reviews of Promising Elementary School often describe the program as strange, designed for children with a low level of preparation. The reasons for these responses are:

• A large number of typos in all educational materials.
• Inconsistency of tasks in mathematics with the general course. Parents are not always able to help in solving problems, because they themselves do not see their main essence, logical meaning.
• The facelessness and monotony of all the textbooks of the complex. Especially often parents complain about the content of the "World Around".
• In the Russian language, children are given very few capital assignments, which hinders the formation of written skills. According to the responses, the mathematics course for grade 1 is also considered too simple: for almost a year only the numbers of the first ten and actions with them are studied.
• The topics that are easy for children to understand and perceive are suddenly replaced by complex ones, which once again indicates the lack of consistency in the compiled educational materials.

Of course, the learning outcomes that schoolchildren show in final examinations largely depend on the teacher. But, in accordance with this program, a considerable burden of responsibility falls on the shoulders of parents. They also have to go into all the details of the educational process of their children in grades 1-4 in order to help them do their homework. At the same time, teachers pay special attention to the inadmissibility of using ready-made homework assignments (GDZ). In "Promising Elementary School", if you look, everything is completely clear without that. Banal senseless cheating from the solution books, of which there are plenty on the Web, contradicts the main principle of this educational project - the independence of the student.