Education: Ivan v. Johnny

One measure of a society, says Cornell Psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner, is the way it raises its young: "The concern of one generation for the next." In his new book, Two Worlds of Childhood, he outlines the child-rearing practices of the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which he has visited nine times since 1960. Although the Russian system has its limitations, Bronfenbrenner finds it more efficient than the American approach in achieving its goals.

Bronfenbrenner sees the U.S. system as perilously deficient: "If the current trend persists, we can anticipate increased alienation, indifference, antagonism and violence on the part of the younger generation...

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