“Forever in leather gloves, so as not to make prints”: high school students will reveal the secrets of intelligence

In textbooks on literature and the Russian language, it is planned to include a section “Calling” with materials including on the topic “Defense of the Fatherland”. Intelligence.

- If about Stirlitz, then fine, says Marianne, the mother of the capital’s ninth grader. He's more of a movie hero than a real person. By the way, my son Danka's "17 Moments" never watched, no matter how much I persuaded. Ew, he says, noir, in the sense of c/b. And also about old-school spies. I began to explain to Danke that Stirlitz was not a spy, but a spy. I don't care what he said. I tried, but I couldn't explain. And if adults can’t, how will modern children understand the exploits of scouts of the past? About modern, I understand, it is impossible to disclose, and about those about whom it is already possible, our children, I am afraid, will not understand. Scouts are not on the embrasure chest rush, there everything is fine, and at the same time they have no Internet or mobile phone. For our kids, it's like running after a mammoth with a stick.

A study of RuNet-themed chats shows that Marianne is not alone. Although on the subject of fighters of the invisible front, popes have noticeably intensified.

- I barely persuaded my son to watch a series with me about scouts, says the father of a tenth-grader from New Moscow. The series itself is new, but we are talking about the 80s of the last century, the Soviet Union is in a state of cold war, perestroika is not far off, foreign intelligence agencies are activated, they are opposed by our young intelligence officers. I watched with enthusiasm, and my son made fun of every episode! And why, he asks, do they have outside, when a beacon with geolocation can be installed? So that there is no unemployment in the organs? Oh, Dad, look, they're bookmarking, and these days it's an article. And so on. My son is not a fool and, of course, understands that at that time there were no beacons, and bookmarking in the age of the Internet remains the most reliable way to transmit an encrypted message, just he is not interested.

- And I 16-year-old granddaughter, seeing the news that the scouts will be held in Russian, found on the Internet a song by Vysotsky about the English spy John Lancaster, who “forever in leather gloves, so as not to make prints”, — says the grandfather of the Moscow schoolgirl. Remember, John Lancaster single-handedly, mostly at night, clicked something in which the infrared lens was hidden, and then in normal light appeared in black everything that we value and love, which the team is proud of. That's how they see the scouts! But at least they know Vysotsky, and thank you for that!

To be fair, there are parents who saw the arguments against intelligence in the school curriculum as a reason to pay attention to the stated topic.

- People who associate their lives with intelligence are ready for the fact that they will not have fame, says Natalia, the daughter of a foreign intelligence colonel who gave almost 30 years of his life as an illegal. Far from the question, people do not understand why someone needs it – neither you fame, nor honor, nor special money, many do not even have a normal quiet life with their family. But the work is both jewelry and every second associated with a risk to life. At the same time, in the families of such people, who devoted their own fate, and accordingly, the life of their loved ones, to the protection of the Motherland from an invisible enemy, respect for themselves and their cause is carefully transmitted from generation to generation. And even if the official secrecy of the work of a family member is not removed, the family members at least approximately know the degree of importance of what their loved one did for their country, and are proud of it. And children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren understand how such work requires investment. Illegal scouts will give odds to many actors, living for years in the image of another person, and even away from home, in unusual conditions, in foreign realities and customs. The families of scouts respect the profession from generation to generation, realizing that the main failure and failure is if some granddaughter ever suddenly asks something like: “And since my grandfather was a spy, where is our wealth?”.

In services that love silence, consider this addition to the school curriculum a good solution. The generation that grew up on Hollywood thrillers sees in their work only action and gadgets, while real intelligence is intellectual labor, discipline and sacrifice. Students today lack critical thinking, and through documentary essays it is important to show that true patriotism manifests itself in the ability to work for decades in the shadows, so that real heroes do not turn into “spies” in the eyes of grandchildren.

Some parents are already concerned about what personalities will be included in future textbooks. Apparently, among the heroes of the invisible front, they have their sympathies, dislikes and preferences. However, the choice of heroes for textbooks remains the prerogative of expert commissions and the Ministry of Education. The intelligence services say that the point is not in specific names, but in the fact that the very fact of informing schoolchildren that the defense of the Fatherland is not always an armed struggle, but also a painstaking intellectual work that requires a lot of related knowledge - from foreign languages and diplomacy to the intricacies of etiquette and professions used as a "roof" (if a scout works, say, under the guise of a doctor, he must, like other doctors, be able to treat people and do his job). Intelligence in this context becomes for teenagers not only a topic for spy fighters, but also an example of a profession whose representatives can invisibly influence the course of world history.

According to experts involved in the compilation of such materials, the key in this context is to separate the concepts of “spy” and “scout” in the minds of the younger generation, which in popular culture are often put in one row. And, preferably, not according to the kindergarten principle, when “our” is a scout, and “them” is a spy, but more in-depth. In particular, one of the main goals of the new rubric is the deconstruction of myths. It is important that students clearly understand the fundamental difference between the two concepts.

And since, judging by their statements in chat rooms, not all parents understand this difference, we give a brief educational program, what is the difference:

The question of what information can and should be communicated to 16-17-year-olds is still a matter of debate among both methodologists and security experts. The specificity of the service implies the stamp “secret”, so the training material should be balanced. But intelligence veterans and intelligence historians agree that the emphasis should be on personality, not methods. In their opinion, the presentation of materials about the work of intelligence should stand on three pillars:

- A modern schoolboy lives in conditions of information war, emphasizes the capital’s history teacher Oleg Filimonkin. Understanding how the state works, who protects its interests, and why security requires not only weapons but intelligence is part of civic maturity. The heading “Calling” in Russian language textbooks is a tool for forming a value foundation. Through texts about scouts, students will be introduced to samples of courage that do not require public recognition in life. It teaches modesty, loyalty to the word and understanding that behind every quiet day in the country is the painstaking, invisible work of professionals.