Even though I am 49 years old, it was I who passed the competitive selection in my city. In total, 40 compatriots went to the States, and we were divided into four groups. Our group of ten people studied the workings of the American education system. The other teams consisted of lawyers, small business representatives, and ecologists.
By the way, knowledge of English was not required - four wonderful translators worked with us in the USA. The Library of Congress covered all expenses. We were even reimbursed for toner and postage costs for correspondence; we just had to provide receipts.
The international organization Friendship Force International took care of our accommodation. It was founded in 1977 by Wayne Smith with the support of President Carter and his wife. There are 350 of its branches in the USA alone.
During the trip, we visited schools, colleges, universities, and scientific laboratories - we got acquainted with the American education system at all its levels. We did not manage to talk with students - they were on vacation, but teachers and administrators came from their holidays to meet with foreign guests. That was very nice of them. The level of material support left the strongest impression. Apart from that, it is hard to say definitively where we are weaker or stronger than Americans.
It was striking that in the US primary education system, all students take an IQ test, based on which they are placed into gifted group 'A' or groups of average and C students - 'B' and 'C', respectively. But this by no means implies that a student in group 'C' can be given up on. If a child tries hard and shows determination, he or she can move to group 'A'. Closer to graduation, students focus more on specialized subjects.
Education at colleges for local children is free; it is financed from the local budget. Visiting students partially pay for their studies.
In higher education institutions, there is no division into groups as we are used to; each student studies individually within the framework of independently chosen subjects. Sometimes, some lectures are attended by 800-1,000 people.
Nobody monitors attendance - a student moves to the next year after earning the required number of points. In contrast, social behavior is very strictly controlled. The dean for educational work (the 'morals police') said that if a student is caught drunk, they are suspended from classes for a semester and replaced with mandatory lectures on the harms of drunkenness. They do not refund the tuition for such a missed semester. So lectures on a healthy lifestyle end up being paid.
Our group visited the largest university, Stony Brook University - it is a separate town with its own residential neighborhoods, a hospital, and a service sector. One of the university's buildings was built for $15 million and donated by a graduate, now a millionaire, Charles Wang. The huge building has only five or six lecture halls, and the rest of the space is a recreation area. The corridors have such fountains that the noise of the water makes it hard to hear the person next to you.
At Stony Brook's hospital, we visited the surgical department. Surprisingly, we were not required to wear gowns and masks. Sterility was not demanded of us, even though there were infants nearby.
While we were traveling around their universities, we managed to establish business relations with many American colleagues. I, for example, agreed with the vice-rector for research at Stony Brook to exchange scientific materials, news, and publications. Now we will be exchanging scientists under various programs. For example, their university can invite a scientist to conduct joint research. They have unique equipment that we cannot afford, but we have strong physicists and mathematicians who can test their theoretical developments there in practice.
A day before departure, we visited Brookhaven National Laboratory, a zone closed to ordinary mortals; all movement is only with passes. It houses the world's largest synchrophasotron, where interesting fundamental research is conducted. I gave the director of this laboratory an apple made of Nikolskoe crystal. She was very pleased - it turns out the apple is a symbol of New York.
By the way, in America it is not customary to inquire about the well-being of others, but they are certainly not poor. When we eventually asked an English teacher why she, so young, had stopped working, she said that her pension of $100,000 a year is enough for her. Now she enjoys life and travels.