Education: Yuppies Under the Skin

It seemed such a nice, harmless idea. A Moscow school principal was casting about for a topic to assign as a theme to 300 youngsters ages ten to 13. He came up with the sturdy standby: "How I Would Like to Live When I Grow Up." Perhaps there would be evidence that the students had absorbed the aspirations of New Soviet Man, an idealized citizen devoted to the good of society and for whom the Communist Party has searched since 1917. Only 18 months ago, President Konstantin Chernenko reminded the nation that "the molding of the New Man is an imperative...