How did socialist state education work in Eastern Europe? part 2

“On the Barricades” s05e28

This is the second episode of an “On the Barricades” series devoted to busting myths about “Marxist education” by explaining the presence of Marxism in the universities and general education system of the former Eastern bloc countries during socialism, in contrast to the present reality after three decades of capitalist restoration.

In this episode hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski continue dissecting this history which is seemingly lost to both the Left and pro-capitalists, of how school worked and on what ideological basis, in the school systems of the former Eastern block. Unlike what we currently have in the capitalist world, socialist education was based on a common curriculum studied uniformly throughout the state. And yes, school uniforms were a must. But why were such standardizations integral to the project of building socialist consciousness and society? How were teachers in these schools seen and valued by society– and what about those who were “forced” by the state to relocate to the rural areas to raise the educational level there? How did state policy and new property relations governing the agricultural system allow, for the first time, a huge portion of the rural youth and girls a chance at education? What was the “Pioneer” or “Hawk of the Nation” movement which prepared children for citizenship? What was the role of nationalist rhetoric and how did Romanian education eventually prop up a cult of communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu?