Radu GOLOGAN
The Olympics, the Brains Flee and the Romanian School
As an international Math olympic in the early 70’s, I’ve been preoccupied since college
with the preparation of gifted children for school Math contests called – after a Russian
borrowed terminology form the 50’s – Mathematics Olympics. Aside from that, Romania
has initiated the international Math Olympics in 1959, that was an inspiration for the other
subjects; the term Olympiads is an invention, took from a mistranslation, by the Romanian
organizers; it is unanimously accepted today (in English the correct term is Olympics).
Starting with 2001, I’ve been the coordinator of the national Mathematics olympics and
responsible with the selection and preparation of the Olympic teams for the international
contests. I take part, as a member of the jury and leader of the Romanian delegation at the
international Olympics. It is an unpaid activity, done with the passion of the fantastic
intellectual environment around exceptional children and probably with the nostalgia of the
years when I used to be a student and I was admiring the ones guiding us.
Most of these children become after many years of study our colleagues and collaborators
in Mathematics research; and this happens even when their activity takes place in other
countries. The teachers group (including students) with which we are working is very
professional and passionate.
It is a small group, coming from many towns of the country and it is rarely paid for this job.
I can say that there have been situations when the teachers had become sponsors. About the
olympics, the Romanian school and the brains flee, the mass-media speaks in clichés,
preconceptions or patterned interpretation. That’s why I try to present a personal point of
view that is, to the best of my knowledge, accepted by the great majority of my colleagues.
Although things are not too different from other subjects (computer science, physics and
chemistry), I will talk strictly about aspects related to Math.
I will start with an essential determination: the school contests Math is the so-called
elementary Math, so it doesn’t include notions and results of university level. It comprises
actually the culture and Mathematic training that are supposed to be known at a high school
level and some knowledge of first and second Math faculty level. Even though, most of the
Math facts that are objects of these contests contain elements and techniques for research
Math and generate the same intellectual sublime perfume. The access to non-elementary
Math, the research object of this science needs years of top university studies. That’s why it
is accessible to only gifted children. We have to mention that the Olympics offer a limited
time for solving the problems, which implies a sports-like preparation and an important
psychological and physiological strength.
In fact, many important Mathematicians had not been in the top at Olympics, because their
way of thinking was not adapted to quick reasoning. More so, there is no rule that says that
the olympics will become researchers; starting with the 90’s, approximately 40% had
chosen different careers: economics, computer science, banking, even medicine.
Secondly, a leitmotif of the media presentations about the international results is the idea
that populism adept politicians embrace, about the fact that we train exceptional children
that leave the country with the capacity and knowledge of top specialists, being used by
other countries. I cannot deny the fact that this is partly true, and the young people’s exodus
following the revolution has reached worrying percentage. I can say that the phenomenon it
is in normal limits, even less than the one from France to USA. More important is the fact
that the 15 year-experience shows the necessity of other perceptions of the phenomenon.
First, the exceptional children, at least in Math, they are not desperate to leave after
graduating high school. Generally they leave only when they obtain a complete scholarship
in a top American university, like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, where the undergraduate
education does not offer more knowledge than the Romanian schools, but a degree will
have the value of a "select club membership" for their entire career. Besides, almost all the
former olympics – and I’m talking about the ones that attended top universities – made
themselves known in an exceptional way, which contributes to another perception about
Romania, other than the one given by the 90’s. Here is a true story: in the Princeton
campus, after telling the nationality the response of a person on the street is: "You are
Romanian? That means you are studying for a doctorate level in Math "; then: "why are
you, Romanians, so good in Math?".
More so, the Romanian researchers that take university positions abroad contribute in a
substantial way to the Romanian lobby I was talking about and to the research in the
Romanian centers. It is, in fact, proven that, through commonly initiated programs, with the
help of Mathematicians that live abroad, the Romanian Mathematics research, developed
here, had the best 10 years in history. An example will sustain all the above. The contest for
research jobs, organized this summer at the Mathematics Institute, brought to an incredible
competition two young doctorate graduates from prestigious universities and with
published papers in important magazines. This proves that if there would be founded
special university positions for each science and culture field, that would be well paid (not
only taking into account the seniority!) and offered following a serious contest (with
international commissions) – as many countries do – we could see the beginning of the
brains “exodus” back home.
A third aspect, which is subject to governmental structures’ attack when it is about the
olympics’ performances, is the discussion about the discrepancy between the quality of the
current educational system and the exceptional preparation of these children; that is, are
they the representative product of the Romanian school? I answer "Yes", also mentioning
that the Romanian educational system is not as disastrous and irreparable as it is sometimes
defined. I will not insist upon this aspect, even though I have enough arguments that can
boost my affirmation. We will keep having top olympics because we have the native talent,
the parents who will help them and guide them upon the first signs of a talent, and the
secondary school teachers with the help of whom the children discover the first
satisfactions of intelligence.
Society should facilitate their access to communities of children with the same level of
training. Mass-media should make them feel that society gives them the attention they
deserve following their work and talent and not to eulogize easy successes, false talents or
images of destructive attractions for society. The final purpose of mass education is to give
the minimum necessary knowledge and the maximum achievable practice preparation for a
total adaptation to the informational society.
I hope I will not be accused of elitism, but I am convinced that the information era will
change society more than we expect. So many forms of the intellectual beauty had
dominated the world for thousands of years but, unfortunately, the progress roller had
decimated the intelligent machine and Romania will find a new place in the new form of
civilization only if the great majority of society will be formed of "decent educated people
and responsible executives". The top intellectuals will come out in schools and society will
have to guide them towards cultural and scientific excellence. And even if they leave their
country on professional and financial reasons, we have to make them feel extremely
important and belonging to the Romanian culture and science.