The Odyssey of a North American Educator
By: William Jimmerson Holloway
"ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE": THE HOLLOWAY GLOBETROTTERS
Canada
Julia and I went from Detroit to Windsor in Canada in December 1945 while I was matriculating at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Graduate studies and rearing a family of three children: Wendell, Arnett, and Lynn, left little time for foreign travel. Now firmly established in Washington with me having Career Professional Status in the Office of Education, we decided to travel abroad during our vacations in the Summer.
Mexico
We decided to take an unescorted tour of Mexico City and its environs during July 1969. We spent ten days viewing sites in the City and visiting one of the nation's largest open air markets. A visit to the Mexican Achaeological Museum was a fascinating experience, as was the visit to Xochimilco, the unique floating gardens. A highlight of our trip was a visit to the University of Mexico.
Europe
At the end of my first year at the Ohio State University, we spent the month of July 1972 traveling throughout the continent of Europe. Anne Lawton, wife of my former colleague at Willow Hill Junior High School, who was teaching in Prince Georges County, Maryland, got
two tickets for us at the special rate secured for the County's educators. Thus the Holloways and the Lawtons were among the forty teachers flying from Friendship Airport, Baltimore to London, England.
Our three days in London enabled us to go on tours that included Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. We also saw the colorful Changing of the Guard.
We crossed the English Channel by ferry, having lunch aboard. A new motorbus with driver met us when we landed in France. This was to be our mode of transportation as we visited most of the countries in Europe.
The highlight of our visit to France was seeing Paris. On tour we saw the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de la Concorde, Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysees, and the Louvre.
Upon leaving Nice, we visited Monte Carlo in Monaco, one of the smallest countries in Europe. We saw the famous Casino built in 1878, the Place des Armes, Princes Palace, Avenue de Beaux Artes, and Cathedral of Monaco.
In Germany we visited the Heidelberg University, one of the country's oldest and most famous educational institutions. Also in Heidelberg we viewed the Old Bridge, and the Heidelberg Castle.
One stop in Austria was at Innsbruck in the heart of the Alps in the State of Tyrol. Our hotel room, high in the mountains, faced the Inns River. On a starlit night it was a memorable picturesque view. We saw the Maria Theresieu-Strasse, the Hofburg, and the Golden Roof.
Viewing the Swiss Alps in their beauty and splendor was unforgettable. Our visit to Lucerne was highlighted by a colorful walking tour, featuring the romantic Old Town.
Some of our friends had told us that Rome, Florence, and Venice must be on the "must" list for any trip to Italy. Visits to these three cities were ones that we highly enjoyed.
In Rome our tours included the following: the Piazza Venezia, Circus Maximus, Colesium, Arch of Constantine, Spanish Steps and the Basilica of Saint John Latern, the Cathedral of Rome.
En route to Florence we stopped in the Republic of Pisa and viewed the famous Leaning Tower. Florence was a very charming city. Still
standing clearly in my mind is the magnificent statue of David by Michelangeo. Also, our tour guide took us to see: the Piazza Del Duomo, Cathedral of Saint Maria del Fiore, Palazzo Vechio, Uffizi Gallery, and the Church of Santa Croce, the burial place of Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli.
Enchanting Venice was built on 117 islands with 150 canals and 400 bridges. It is truly one of the world's most unique and romantic cities. We had lunch one day at Saint Mark's Square. All transportation is by boats and the waterways are the traditional streets. We took an evening cruise on a gondola with a team of serenaders. Other memorable Venetian sites were: the Clock Tower, Saint Mark's Basilica, Moors, Doges Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs.
The Netherlands was our last stop and we enjoyed exquisite East Indian cuisine for our first meal in Amsterdam. Our tours there covered the Flower Market, Royal Palace, Rembrandt's House, and the House of Anne Frank. A canal cruise enabled us to see many of the city's outstanding sights.
We returned to Baltimore with many pleasant memories and gifts for family and friends. The Lawtons were excellent company and Ann's sense of humor was always evident.
South America I
I made plans to study the educational systems on my future visits to foreign countries. On one of my trips to Washington, D.C., I registered with the United States Department of State's Cultural Division. They agreed to have the staffs in United States Embassies arrange for me to have conferences with outstanding educators where I planned visits. My first trip after this was to Caracas, Venezuela, where I requested that they arrange conferences for me at the University of Venezuela.
Our visit took place in August 1973. On our first day there we had lunch at the Embassy with the Cultural Attache. He invited Julia and me to his home for dinner with him and his wife that evening.
I had a meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. at the University with a Professor there who had studied at the University of Minnesota. Just as I planned to call a taxicab, the telephone rang and I was informed that
my appointment was canceled because students were rioting at the University and that they would notify me when it would be safe to visit. My first conference was held mid afternoon on the same day. During my week's stay there, I held conferences with faculty and officials regarding the organization of higher education in Venezuela. Also, I distributed copies of the Office of Minority Affairs newsletter, The Drum, to them.
Our weekend was spent relaxing at the Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
South America II
In 1975 I asked the State Department to arrange for me to contact officials in universities in Lima, Peru; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Julia and I decided to spend our Christmas Holiday on this trip. We went on an escorted tour with twenty-two other persons traveling from New York to Miami to Lima.
Peru
Our tour of Lima covered the following: the Cathedral, Government Palace, San Francisco Convent, and the Monastery of the Barefoot Friars.
The officials at the Embassy arranged to have some Peruvian educators confer with me regarding organization and financing higher education in their country. I left copies of The Drum with them.
We spent Christmas Day in Lima, which was our first such holiday abroad.
Argentina
We landed in Buenos Aires later in the evening, then had an early morning tour of the city with the following highlights: Teatro Colon, the lavish Opera House; the Ninth of July Avenue, one of the world's widest boulevards; and the Casa Rosado, the President's residence.
This is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with its European architecture, broad boulevards, and colorful sidewalk cafes. To me its beauty reminded me of Paris.
After lunch I called the embassy and a lady in a very agitated voice
said: "O, Dr. Holloway, are you alright? You have arrived at a terrible time. We are in the midst of a revolution."
Then a flashback. We noted armed soldiers at the airport but I, like the others in our group, just considered this as normal in a South American country. Of course the newspapers were carrying this news in Spanish, and no person in our group had fluency in this language. Meanwhile, back home this event was front page news and headline news on television and radio, and Wendell, Lynn and Arnett were fearful for our lives. We were blithefully on our way, enjoying the sights and sounds of this charming city.
I visited the Embassy, where they arranged for me to talk with some local educators. I left copies of The Drum with them.
On this trip too was the President of our tour company, and he explained that some "Young Turks" in the military were planning to oust Madame Eva Peron and seize the government. The older, wiser heads in the military convinced them that in a few months they were going to oust her with no bloodshed. They were right. As a special treat he arranged for us to visit the ranch of one of his wealthy friends. We saw some of the Gauchos demonstrate their horsemanship. It was a marvelous exhibition. The beef barbeque was exquisite. All of us enjoyed this rich Argentinean hospitality.
Brazil
Rio de Janerio with its attractive beaches and spectacular views of Sugarloaf and Corcovado is one of the world's most beautiful and vibrant cities. On our tour we saw the Copacaba Beach, Flamingo Park, and the Soccer Stadium. Unlike Peru and Argentina, the official language of Brazil was Portuguese. The officials at the Embassy had an excellent interpreter for me in my conferences with Brazilian college officials. They were very interested in The Drum.
Julia and I took a special trip atop Corcovado Mountain, where we saw the historic, gigantic statue of Christ the Redeemer.
At a special indoor arts festival, I saw a young man wearing a scarlet and grey Ohio State University sweatshirt. At intermission time I walked across the arena where he was seated and identified myself. In
our conversation I found out that his mother had studied at the Ohio State University. She was not present but I sent my best wishes to her.
On our last full day in Brazil, Julia and I took a special automobile trip to Sao Paolo, the largest city in the nation. It was a very attractive governmental entity approximately the size of New York City. We had lunch at the Hilton Hotel there. My biggest surprise was seeing the large number of Japanese businesses and industries.
We observed New Year's Day in Rio in 95 degree weather. The temperature was slightly above freezing the next day when we arrived at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City after a memorable and richly rewarding visit to Peru, Argentina, and Brazil.
Julia returned to Washington and I went back to Columbus. She did not like Columbus and she returned to her teaching position with the Washington, D.C. Public Schools. Normally, I would spend one weekend a month in Washington and she would return to Columbus for a weekend two weeks later. My work often took me to Washington once or twice monthly. In the Spring we would meet in New York City and see two or three Broadway plays. On one occasion, she took in a performance at the Metropolitan Opera Company.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Early in 1976, in response to an article describing the work of the Citizens Exchange Corps (CEC), I received information regarding its work. It was an American nonprofit, nonpolitical private organization sponsoring educational and cultural exchange visits by citizens of the United States and the Soviet Union to promote mutual understanding and trust between the two countries.
Early in our Spring Quarter, I was invited to lunch by one of its Board members who was working as a Visiting Professor at the Ohio State University. Soon afterwards I had a letter from the Corps' President inviting me to join the 1976 Summer tour and serve as a lecturer. In a conference regarding this, Provost Kuhn agreed to pay half of my expenses and I could charge the other half to my budget. The only stipulation was that I would share some of my experiences with some members of the University community. Julia and I made plans to spend our August vacation in the Soviet Union.
My research provided me with the following background information.
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
The Soviet Union extends for over 6,800 miles from east to west, crossing eleven time zones. Its area of 8,649,489 square miles, one-seventh of the world's land surface, makes it the largest country in the world. Its territory is on two continents—Europe and Asia. By population it is third in size, after China and India. In the 1970 census, the USSR had 241,748,000 inhabitants. Moscow is its capitol city.
The USSR is successor to the Russian empire of the tsars. After the 1917 Revolution, four Socialist republics were established on the territory of the former empire, the Russian and Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics, and the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics. Subsequently, further constituent union republics were set up, the Turkmen and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic on October 27, 1924, and the Tadzhik SSR on December 5, 1929. On December 5, 1936, the Kazakh and Kirqiz SSR's were established in Central Asia. On that same date the Transcaucasian Republic was abolished and its three constituent republics - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, entered the USSR as republics in their own right.
In March 1940, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed. August marked the formation of the Moldavian, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanians SSR's. In 1956 the Karelo-Finnish SSR became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. This made a total of 15 which is the number today.
The Citizens Exchange Corps planned to visit the following republics:
Republic Capitol Area Population-1970
Russian Moscow 6,592,812 130,090,000
Kazakh Alma-Ata 1,048,339 12,850,000
Uzbek Tashkent 174,170 11,963,000
Turkmen Ashkhabad 188,455 2,158,000
NATURAL RESOURCES
1. LAND
The USSR has approximately 551,557,600 acres of arable land. This is about one-tenth of the total. In addition there are more than 750,000,000 acres of natural pasture land.
2. VEGETATION RESOURCES
The principal natural vegetation resource is timber. Thirty per cent of the total land area is forest.
3. ANIMAL RESOURCES
Fur-bearing animals form a major resource: mink, sable, ermine, beaver, fox. Many varieties of fish are caught with an animal catch of 6,500,000 tons.
4. MINERAL RESOURCES
The USSR has enormous supplies of coal, about 53% of the estimated world reserves, more than the rest of the world.
The USSR is one of the world's oldest oil producing countries. Petroleum production exceeds 300,000,000 tons annually.
5. WATER POWER
The USSR has resources of power in the form of hydro-electricity. It is estimated that they have 11% of the world's power potential.
ANTHROPOLOGY
The USSR is a multi-national state inhabited by 115 major and minor ethnic groups. Russians form the largest of these groups.
I was informed that there were going to be nineteen educators in the group and that we would be meeting with our counterparts there. There were four university professors and we were scheduled to meet with professors on the tour. Julia was scheduled to meet with elementary school teachers who were her counterparts. The schedule also called for a visit to a nursery school, a Pioneer Summer Youth Camp, and the Ministry of Education in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Diary
August 4-23, 1976
In order to fully meet my responsibility to the Ohio State Univer
sity, I decided to take pictures for slides and collect books and magazines about education. I also kept the following Diary.
Wednesday, August 4
Bill Johnson came by at 8 a.m. and took me to the Columbus International Airport, where we had breakfast. I left at 10 a.m. for Kennedy Airport in New York City on American Airlines, arriving at La Guardia at 11 a.m. and took the bus to Kennedy. I met Julia at 12:15 p.m. and we went to the Braniff Council Lounge where Helen Carr visited us.
Orientation was held in the Friendship Lounge and CEC President C. Grant Pendell presided. Introductions were made and each stated his or her personal interests. He announced that Dean and Mrs. Bowman were in Sweden and would join us in Finland.
One major change was noted in our schedule. Bukara was substituted for Samarkand due to damage from a major earthquake earlier in the year.
Places of visits, counterpart meetings and special tours were to be arranged by the Soviet officers. CEC had made the following requests:
1. Leningrad—Elementary School Visit
2. Odessa—Childrens' Polyclinic (Handicapped Children) Visit
3. Alma - Ata—Pioneer Youth Camp Visit
4. Moscow—Comrades Court Visit
5. Askabad—Horse Farm Visit
6. Tashkent—Pioneer Youth Camp Visit
It was announced that I would lecture at the University of Tashkent.
We were given the following schedule:
Wednesday, August 4
Depart Kennedy Airport on Finnair 104 at 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, August 5
Arrive Amsterdam - 8:25 a.m.
Leave Amsterdam - 9:25 a.m.
Arrive Helsinki - 12:25 p.m.
Leave Helsinki. Finnair 712-2:25 p.m.
Arrive Leningrad - 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, August 8
Leave Leningrad - 7:29 p.m.
Arrive Odessa - 9:54 p.m.
Tuesday, August 10
Leave Odessa - 12:45 p.m.
Arrive Ashkhabad - 8:19 .m.
Thursday, August 12
Leave Ashkhabad - 2:15 a.m.
Arrive Bukara - 3:35 a.m.
Sunday, August 15
Leave Bukara - 5:55 a.m.
Arrive Tashkent - 6:45 a.m.
Tuesday, August 17
Leave Tashkent 5:25 p.m.
Arrive Alma-Ata 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, August 19
Leave Alma-Ata 5:57 p.m.
Arrive Moscow 10:22 p.m.
Sunday, August 22
Leave Moscow, Finnair at 7:05
Arrive Helsinki 6:30 p.m.
Monday, August 23
Leave Helsinki 11:40 a.m.
Arrive Amsterdam
Leave Amsterdam
Arrive Kennedy Airport 5:05 p.m.
All travel within the Soviet Union would be by Soviet aircraft Aeroflot. We were to start in Leningrad and finish in Moscow.
We left Kennedy Airport on time and had dinner circa 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 5
We had a chance to shop in the Duty Free Store at the Airport in Amsterdam while refueling took place. We flew to Helsinki where we changed planes. In Leningrad, after going through Customs, we were transported to Hotel Sovetskaya and assigned Room 753. All hotel
arrangements were made by Intourist, the official national travel bureau.
Friday, August 6
At 10 a.m. we began a tour of Leningrad. Palace Square is the historical, architectural, and topographical heart of the City. From the middle of the 18th Century, Russia was governed from this spot. Peter the Great commissioned the most outstanding architects in Russia and Europe to build his capital on the Neva River, where the climate is mild. He made it the imperial residence in 1712.
The dominant Winter Palace was erected on designs by the Italian architect Rastrell in 1754-64. It is an immense baroque palace three stories high. One side faces the Neva while the main facade faces the Square. From autumn through spring this was the residence of the Czars.
Smolny Institute was originally a finishing school for daughters of the nobility. It was built in 1748 in classical style with five domes and Grecian columns. In 1917 it was central headquarters for the Bolshevik Party. Lenin joined them on October 25. The statue of Lenin is very imposing.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral is now a museum.
The War Memorial Cemetery is the resting place for many who died in World War II. An honor guard is always present.
The Cruiser Aurora is permanently moored on the Neva Near the Nakhimer Naval College. On November 7, 1917, it sailed up the Neva and trained its guns on the Winter Palace, which was used by the Provisional Government. For a long time it was used as a training ship. In World War II her guns helped to defend the City. In 1948 it became a floating museum.
Outside of one of the largest museums in the Soviet Union is a magnificent statute of Aleksandr Pushkin, the towering giant of Soviet literature. Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837), was the most famous Russian writer of his time. His mother's grandfather was Abram Hannibal, the Negro General of Peter the Great. Pushkin is to the Soviets what Shakespeare is to the English.
At 2 p.m. we met with our Soviet counterparts in Friendship Hall.
The Soviet educational system requires students to study three languages: their local tribal dialect, Russian, and a foreign language. English was the most popular foreign language, so we had no communication problems during our tour.
The Russian educators in my meeting were: Dr. Helen Petrova, Director of the School for the Arts and Dr. Helen Konsantinouskaga, Professor of English at the University and a member of the Peace Committee. They described their work in education.
We were told that a ten year compulsory education program is required of all. After that they may go to a technical school, go to work, or take examinations for admission to the University. They styled their examinations as vigorous and may be taken more than once. All costs for education at all levels are borne by the State. Special schools are planned for workers. The school terms were ten months. During the summer, Youth Camps are held with special emphasis on physical culture.
I gave a brief description of my work and passed out copies of The Drum. Their questions were very interesting, revealing the vast differences in our two education systems.
One interesting feature I noted was that whenever they completed their education, the State had a job for them.
After the group meetings we heard a lecture by Professor Mezhevich, who was a Senior Research worker. His topic was "City Planning in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics."
Saturday, August 7
This was a rainy day.
We had a wonderful tour of the Hermitage. This Museum has one of the world's richest collections of masterpieces by hundreds of artists, including Renoir, Rembrandt, Picasso, Matisse, and Da Vinci.
At 7:30 in the evening we went to the beautiful Opera House and were treated to a delightful light opera.
Sunday, August 8
We visited the Ethnographic Museum and saw artifacts from all over the Soviet Union.
Our final visit was to St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was now an outstanding museum.
At 4:30 p.m. we left the hotel for the airport, where we had dinner. We departed for Odessa at 7:29 p.m., arriving at 9:54 p.m. We were transported to the Black Sea Hotel.
Monday, August 9
Our morning tour revealed Odessa as an attractive port on the Black Sea. There was an outstanding statue of Pushkin on the square named for him. There was a memorial to the Lost Sailor and we viewed the changing of the honor guard.
After dinner we took a ride on the Black Sea on a commercial vessel. We rode the bus back from the Arcadia stop. A jeep ran into our bus, but no one was injured. We had help from a woman engineer who showed us how to return to our hotel. I gave her a Kennedy half dollar and she expressed thanks for this memento.
Tuesday, August 10
After breakfast we went on a shopping tour and had lunch at the Airport. We left for Askhabad at 1:20 p.m. and arrived there six hours later. Intourist transported us to the Hotel Ashkhabad. The temperature earlier in the day had reached 119 degrees Fahrenheit. Our rooms had only fans to help us cope with the heat.
Wednesday, August 11
Ashkabad, the capital of the Turkmenian Republic, was called the "City of Love" by the Turks. Founded in 1881, its population in 1970 was 266,000. A terrible earthquake nearly destroyed the city in 1948, but it was rebuilt into a modern city.
Our morning tour took us to see the monument to Lenin. We followed this with a trip to the Hippodrome to see camels and horses. The horses were the most beautiful ones I had ever seen. I put on native clothing for a ride on a camel. I had a picture taken of this for posterity.
After lunch we visited a carpet factory. Their wool carpets were internationally famous and this factory had won five gold medals for excellence.
We had tea with the Factory Director, who was an engineer. Present
were two women who were heads of the local Communist Party and the Workers Union.
Following this we traveled to the lovely Kopet-Dagh Mountains, where we had tea and an opportunity to swim in an attractive lake.
Thursday, August 12
We left early for a trip to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan Republic. The city was founded nearly 2,000 years ago and once stood on the caravan routes from the Near East to India and from Asia to Eastern Europe. After an earthquake in 1966, it emerged as a modern industrial city specializing in textiles, agricultural machinery, electrical appliances, and refrigerators.
We arrived around noon and checked in at the ultramodern Hotel Uzbekistan. It was a beautiful building with air conditioning. Its appearance reminded me of the UN Building in New York City.
Situated in the center of Soviet Central Asia, this republic has a population of 12,500,000, representing more than 60 nationalities. Rich soil yielded abundant harvests. Its cotton supplied the textile industry with much of its raw material. Fuel, grain, and metal are the main economic elements. Uzbek writers, composers, actors, and artists have created splendid national works. The eminent poet and philosopher, Alishir Navoi, lived and worked in ancient Samarkand.
Conferences of African and Asian writers, international film festivals, and important official meetings were held in Tashkent.
Fifty years ago Lenin signed a decree establishing the University that bears his name. Among the other institutions of higher education are pedagogical institutes, a medical institute, and a polytechnic institute.
The Alisher Navoi Public Library has nearly 4 million volumes and has a valuable collection of rare manuscripts relating to the ancient culture of the peoples of Asia.
Friday, August 13
Food at the Hotel Uzbekistan was excellent. We began our day with the following breakfast: melon, cheese slices, yogurt, eggs upside down, brown bread sliced-light and dark, coffee and tea. After breakfast we met in front of the hotel to board our Intourist bus.
We saw trolleys taking people to work. Only a few small automobiles were seen.
On April 26, 1966, a tremendous earthquake struck Tashkent and left 75,000 families homeless. More than 20,000,000 square feet of living space was lost. The whole country participated in providing for these families and in rebuilding the city. The old houses were replaced by ultra-modern apartment buildings.
We stopped at the V.I. Lenin Museum. This was opened during the 100th year after Lenin's birth. The wide marble steps led up to a beautiful, imposing building. Inside there were memorabilia covering the entire span of Lenin's life. This was really a branch of the Moscow museum, but smaller, newer, and more attractive.
We viewed the memorial to the workers of the Soviet Union who helped to build the nation.
We stopped at a memorial to the Soviet literary greats. Among the Uzbek Classical writers were: Alisher Navoi, Babur, Mishrab Mukim, and Furkat. Niyazi was a revolutionary who wrote philosophical and realistic poems.
The Cotton Ball fountain was next to the Opera House. It was closed for the summer as usual. It was named the Alisher Navoi Volshoi Uzbek Opera and Ballet Theatre, after one of their great literary figures. The public library of over 4 million volumes was also named after him.
We saw and admired a striking memorial to Soviet Heroes who defended their country in past wars.
We stopped at a department store and went inside to inspect the merchandise. We did not see the wide variety of goods that are commonplace in the USA.
Our next stop was at a major market. The women who sold fruit wore very colorful clothing. The melons were delicious. They tasted like a cross between a honeydew and a cantaloupe.
I went in the clothing market and bought a pair of bedroom slippers for three rubles (about $1.35). The workmanship was not good.
As we headed back to our hotel for lunch, we passed a large government building near Karl Marx Square.
After relaxing for a few minutes, we went to the dining room for lunch. We enjoyed the following menu: salad—tomato, cucumber, and onion; raw herring with horseradish; borscht (hot soup; delicious); baked meat pie (lamb and beef); green peas in potato chips shell; fried potatoes; rice; cole slaw with beet juice; pita (native flat bread); beer, mineral water, and hot chai; green tea; and grapes.
Uzbek cuisine was rich and varied. Its dishes were tasty and spicy. We rested for a few minutes and then resumed our tour.
The Moslem architectural influence was seen everywhere. Our first stop was at a school for training Moslem Ministers. Next we visited the Ministry of Education. We were honored to have a speech by the Deputy Minister of Education for the Uzbekistan Soviet.
The Deputy Minister made arrangements for us to visit a kindergarten. On the first floor we saw a picture of Lenin. Lenin once said that "the kindergartens were the schools of communism."
Our next stop was at a ten year school. Since it was summer and schools and institutes and colleges were closed, we did not enter. The beautiful mosaic on a wall adjacent to the school was an example of the artistry and color so evident in the Asiatic section of the Soviet Union.
Our final stop for the day was at one of the technological institutes.
We returned to our hotel at 5 o'clock and had an hour to rest and prepare for diner. Since the temperature was 90 degrees, we had to hit the showers and dress. Promptly at 6 o'clock, the waiters and waitresses began putting the food on the table. For dinner we had the following: sardines; black caviar (sturgeon); red caviar (salmon); grapes; sliced cucumbers; Uzbek sausage; braised beef; rice; fried potatoes; slaw with beet juice; sliced brown bread-light and dark; coffee, mineral water, tea, plum punch; vodka (Stolichnaya), 40 percent Russian proof (equals 70 percent British proof); and melons.
After dinner Julia and I and a few others went across the street and walked around the park.
At 8 o'clock we climaxed the day with an Uzbekistan Folk Concert. Along with the five-piece orchestra were two singing and dancing stars—one female, the other male.
Saturday, August 18
After an 8:30 a.m. breakfast, Julia and I went on a walking tour with Dean and Mrs. Bowman. These were college professors from one of the University of California units.
We visited the University of Tashkent and the Tashkent Branch of the Lenin Museums. After Lenin Square, we went to an indoor food market and a nearby museum. We saw some beautiful paintings there. We returned to the hotel for lunch.
After dinner we witnessed an Uzbek wedding party in the hotel. To me it was quite unique. Uzbekistan music was furnished by the band.
Sunday, August 15
This was a day for rest and relaxation, for we had followed a full, activity-packed calendar since leaving Leningrad.
We did take another walking tour with the Bowmans after lunch.
Monday, August 16
We visited the Ministry of Education for the Republic of Uzbekistan. The following officials were present:
Dr. Sharipova - Deputy Minister of Education for Uzbekistan (a woman)
Dr. Brajavo - Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Chief, Chair of Psychology, Tashkent Pedagogical Institute
Mr. Oredochi - Chief of the School Department, Ministry of Education
Mr. Varibiki - Chief of Pre-School Education, Ministry of Education
An address was given by Dr. Sharipova, who presented the following information.
1. 170 schools prior to Revolution of 1917. Only 2 percent of population could read and write. Today there are 7,200 schools with 3-1/2 million students.
2. 105,000 students in Technical Secondary Schools.
3. 192 research institutes with a staff of 300,000 scientists. 700 have Doctor of Science Degree and 10,000 Ph.D.
4. Pre-school education has high priority. Lenin called them the "Schools of Communism." 1/2 million children 0-6 attend them.
5. Special programs on cooperative farms.
6. Pioneer Clubs and Camps.
7. 20 Pedagogical Institutes in Republic.
8. 900 foreign students from 26 countries. Aid to developing nations.
9. Special boarding schools: gifted and mentally retarded.
10. Foreign language begins in 3rd year.
11. Schools 6 days a week.
12. Health and physical culture emphasized.
13. Typical school subjects: math, history, geography, Uzbek and Russian.
After visiting a nursery school, we had lunch there with the Director of Nursing School Education at the Pedagogical Institute as our hostess.
Following this we went to Friendship House for a meeting cosponsored by the Uzbek Friendship Society and professors at Tashkent University. I delivered a lecture in English that was immediately translated into Russian.
In my speech I discussed the development of higher education for Blacks in the post Civil War United States. I discussed the beginning of Howard University in 1867 developing as a liberal arts college. Hampton's development showed the development of technical education and was founded in 1868. Some very interesting questions were asked.
Paul Robeson was praised during the discussion period since he had delivered concerts in the Soviet Union. Former President John F. Kennedy also received praise, as he was a hero among the Soviets. We were told that Kennedy half dollars were desirable as gifts for favors. Those that I gave were graciously received.
I passed out copies of The Drum there.
Soviet Uzbekistan Today is published by the Uzbek Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries in Russian, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. In issue 12(170) in 1976, it carried the following account of my speech:
At the Uzbek Friendship Society
"The Uzbek Friendship Society received a group of tourists from the United States. Their trip was organized by the "Exchange of Citizens Corps"—an organization set up in 1962 to promote contacts between Soviet and American citizens.
"At a meeting with the activists of the Uzbek Friendship Society Doctor William Holloway, Professor of Ohio State University and a member of the American group delivered a lecture on the education of national minorities in the United States. This aroused great interest among the schoolteachers and lecturers of higher educational establishments of Tashkent who attended the meeting."
At the final meeting with my educational counterparts, we exchanged gifts. From our sessions I was able to get the following picture of education in the Uzbekistan Republic.
Structure and Administration
The USSR Ministry of Education in Moscow and the subordinate ministries of education supervise pre-school, elementary, and general secondary in each of the 15 Republics.
The USSR Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education supervises universities and other higher education institutions and specialized technical schools.
A primary function of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education is to meet the Central Government's determinations for trained manpower. The primary function of the Ministry of Education is to provide a basic general education for the nation's youth.
One of the chief tasks of the Elementary-Secondary General Educational School is the formation in the young generation of a Marxist-Leninist world view, educating them in Socialist internationalism, Soviet patriotism, and readiness to defend the Socialist homeland.
Pre-Schools - Nursery and Kindergartens (age 0-6)
Compulsory education begins at age 7
Primary Schools - Grades 1-2
Eight Year Schools - Incomplete secondary - Grades 1-8
Secondary Schools -Complete secondary - Grades 1-10
Vocational-Technical institutions for those who complete 8 or 10 year secondary general education school.
Higher Education
Technical Institutes
Research Institutes
Pedagogical Institutes
Universities
My meetings here added a rich dimension to my history of education.
Tuesday, August 17
We left Tashkent at 5:25 p.m. and arrived in Alma-Ata at 6:45 p.m. and were taken to the Hotel Kazkstan. This city is the capital of the Kazakstan Republic, which is second in area and third in population in the Soviet Union. It was here at Baikonur that Yuri Gagarin accomplished the world's first manned space flight.
Kazakstan lies in the southwestern corner of the Soviet Asia. Its area is 1,696,875 square miles and contains a population of 12,850,000 persons, second only to the Russian Republic. It is large enough to accommodate Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden within its borders. More than 40 percent of its population are Russians, about 30 percent Kazakhs, and the rest are Ukrainians, Tartars, Uzbeks, Viguvs, Koreans, and Germans.
Alma-Ata is situated at the foothills of the northern slope of the Translli Mountains. It is a large industrial city, producing the following products: carriages, textiles, rolled steel, champagne, machine tools, and clothes.
This picturesque city is surrounded by numerous orchards and vineyards. The world famous Oporto apples grow here, and the city is called the "father of apples."
Alma-Ata is a city of science. It has the Kazakh Academy of Sciences, research institutes, general and specialized secondary schools, and institutes of higher education, including the Kazakh State University. We were told that every fourth citizen in the capital is a pupil or a student.
The city has the Philharmonic Society, a circus, museums, art exhibitions, and the Kazakh Film Studies.
With its fine high rise buildings, wide avenues and shady parks, it is one of the greenest and most beautiful cities in the Soviet Union.
We took a morning tour of the City, viewing the Lenin Monument
in Lenin Square and the Pushkin Memorial Library in Pushkin Square. We saw a beautiful new park dedicated to their war heroes.
We also saw the following on this tour:
1. The House of Soviets on Soviet Street
2. Monument to the Revolutionary Fighters
3. Monument to Abai Kunanbaer, their preeminent national poet
4. Abai Opera and Ballet Theatre
5. Academy of Sciences of Kazakstan
6. Kazakstan Central Museum
We went on a trip to the Observatory in the Ala-Tau Mountains near the city. We passed by miles of apple orchards en route.
Wednesday, August 18
In the morning we took a trip to the beautiful Kaktyube Mountains. We passed the Alpine Ice Stadium, which seats 12,000 for hockey and skating.
After lunch we met with our counterparts in Friendship Hall, which was a very beautiful building. Discussion in my group was very interesting as we exchanged information about our experiences in higher education. The structure of education in this republic was the same that we studied in Uzbekistan, which was the model in use throughout the Soviet Union.
These counterpart meetings were followed by an address by a professor of economics at the University of Kazakstan.
A film showing the progress of the citizens of this republic was shown. Following this I distributed copies of The Drum.
In the evening we saw the Opera "Kyz-Zhibek" at the Abai Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Thursday, August 19
A part of the Soviet educational program was summer camps covering the two months following the ten-month school term. We were taken to the Young Pioneers Camp near Alma-Ata at the foot of a mountain range.
At the camp we were met at the entrance by two lines of Pioneers on each side of the road. They gave carnations to us as the band played
native music. They seated us in the reviewing stand for their morning outside assembly. Awards were presented for excellence in the various activities at the camp. A mini-track meet was held by individuals and relay teams.
Our tour of the dormitories found them to be neat and clean. The older students resided in three-story buildings while the younger ones were housed in open one-room dormitories.
The activity rooms had pictures of Lenin and there were many books and pamphlets. We were told that no formal classes were held but that students could pursue their intellectual interests with adult guidance.
A very large apple orchard was used for activity areas out of doors. Students were permitted to eat apples at all times. This was not a commercial orchard.
We concluded our visit with an informal session with the Camp Director and his Area Supervisor.
We left Alma-Ata at 5:57 p.m. and flew nonstop to Moscow, arriving there at 10:22 p.m., where we were taken to Hotel Intourist.
Friday, August 20
Moscow is the official capital not only of the Soviet Union but also of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. It is the Seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the citadel of Soviet power, of the Supreme Soviet and all other federal government organs and offices. It lies in the central zone of the great Russian Plain, between the Volga and Oka rivers. All the great rail lines radiate from it. It is the focal point of all air traffic.
Moscow's history covers about 2,000 years. Prince Yuri Dolgoaky built its first Kremlin, a wooden fortress, in 1156. The present Kremlin is a rectangular fortress encircled by 1.5 miles of towering brick walls that rise as high as sixty feet and loom as thick as twenty feet. It is not only the seat of Soviet government but houses priceless collections of art and displays of unforgettable architectural treasures.
Russia's first printing plant was set up in 1558. Its first university opened in 1775. During the Nazi invasion, Hitler's troops were stopped
during the bitter winter of 1941 almost under the walls of the City and for months afterward the city was repeatedly attacked from the air.
The following activities comprise the economic life of the City: machine building, metal working, oil refineries, publishing, brewing, film making, manufacture of machine tools, building materials, automobiles, trucks, aircraft, chemicals, paper products, textiles, and clothing.
In 1970 the population was 7,061,000.
We saw the following on our tour of the City of Moscow:
1. Symbol of the Land of Soviets statue
2. Sadoyo Circle Boulevard
3. Arabat Square
4. Alexandrovosky Garden
5. Main Telegraph Office on Gorky Street
6. Moscow Department Store on Lenin Avenue—GUM—the larg- est department store in the world
7. The Kiev Railroad Terminal on the Moskva River
8. Skyscraper on Smolensk Square
9. The Polytechnic Museum
10. Moscow University
The visit to the Kremlin was a memorable event, for this was the center of Soviet power. The art treasures and jewels we saw were priceless. We also saw the Gold-domed Cathedral within the Kremlin walls.
St. Basils, the Cathedral of the Archangels, was built in the middle 1500s.
Our hotel was near Red Square, and viewing it at night revealed a very picturesque scene.
Saturday, August 21
This was a free day, as we had no counterpart meetings scheduled in Moscow. Julia and I went to Red Square and saw the embalmed body of Lenin in his tomb. We did some shopping in GUM, where I purchased a gray wool winter hat for my souvenir and some mementos for our children.
We visited the Pushkin Museum, the second largest art museum
after the Hermitage, which we saw in Leningrad. The Central Lenin Museum provided to be very attractive and interesting.
Traveling on the Moscow Subway System revealed their penchant for artistry, as there were imposing paintings in each station. It was a very efficient transportation system.
Sunday, August 22
Professor Antonini's parents were Russian emigrants who had come to the United States. She was collecting material on churches throughout the Soviet Union. She worshipped in a church every place we visited. Today she permitted me to accompany her.
A taxi cab took us to a church about 15 minutes from Red Square. I noted that nearly 90 percent of the worshippers were women. They were dressed in somber grey or black clothes. It was a Catholic Church. The priest conducted the services in three languages: Latin, Russian, and English.
Later when I raised the question about the small number of males, I was told that those who were interested in rising to positions of influence and power in the government stayed away from these institutions.
We left Moscow via Finnair and arrived in Helsinki at 6:30 p.m. On a walking tour we saw the spectacular Rock Church, the Finlandia Hall and the striking Sibelius Monument. The stately buildings were very imposing.
When we went to bed at midnight, the Sun was shining brightly. This was my initial taste of seeing the midnight Sun.
Monday, August 23
We left Helsinki at 11:40 a.m., and after a refueling stop at Amsterdam, we arrived at Kennedy Airport in New York City at 9:30 p.m. Thus a highly memorable trip to the European and Asiatic sectors of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics came to an end.
Conclusion
Our visits to South America, Europe, and the European and Asiatic sectors of the Soviet Union enabled us to meet many peoples of different cultures, contributing a rich dimension to our education. I was now eager to share some of these experiences with some of the citizens at the Ohio State University and in metropolitan Columbus.
