Looking for a “Perfect Teacher”. A review of the books: Pokoleniya VShE. Ucheniki ob uchitelyakh [HSE Generations. Students about Teachers]. Moscow: HSE, 2013.

Abstract

The two-volume set Pokoleniya VShE (HSE Generations) was issued to celebrate twenty years since establishing the National Research University — Higher School of Economics. The book Uchitelya ob uchitelyakh (Teachers about Teachers) allows the reader to get an idea of the academic environment that gave birth to scientists who now head scientific schools. In Ucheniki ob uchitelyakh (Students about Teachers), young HSE researchers tell about those who became their mentors and helped them pave their academic ways. The first book is aimed at those who have interest in contemporary history of Russian science and education, while the second one might be useful for prospective students, helping them understand what teachers may be like or even choose one. Expertise, ambition to raise the University’s ethos in their disciples, approachability, and self-irony are the key characteristics of a teacher described in this book.