Essentials of pedagogical profession. Учебное пособие

18)придавать особое значение, подчеркивать

19)обращаться, взывать к

20)заменять, замещать

21)обращаться, относиться

8.Discussion. Discuss the following questions in small groups. You may need to use different sources to find the information necessary for argumentative discussion. Then, choose one of the questions and write an essay.

1)What`s the difference between Korczak’s system of education and traditional system used at his time?

2)Advantages and disadvantages of Korczak’s pedagogical system?

3)Define the following things: co-management, co-hosting, cornerstone, co-education, co-responsibility.

4)Is Korczak’s educational system used today? Where?

5)Compare Korczak’s ideas with the ideas of other outstanding pedagogues of the past.

Unit 5.

The Educational Theory of Anton Semenovych Makarenko

Text 1.

Anton Semenovych Makarenko

Anton Makarenko was born on March 13th, 1888 in Belopolie, Russia, in the family of a construction worker. He worked as a teacher and became famous when he agreed to take care of orphans in the1920s. These were the years that followed the October Revolution. A bloody civil war had ensued leaving thousands of children orphaned and homeless.

The Soviet government established colonies to house these children. They were unhappy places and many children ended up running away. Then from 1926 till 1928, Makarenko headed a children’s labor colony named after a famous Russian writer Maxim Gorky.

Makarenko established several “children committees” in the colony assigning a specific responsibility to each committee. In line with the Soviet working-class propaganda and policies, he taught

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children how to grow crops, sew clothes, clean the colony territory, play musical instruments, and cook food in addition to many other work activities.

Makarenko’s colony produced remarkably better results than other similar institutions and Soviet propaganda exploited his success. It described his actions as “the new word in pedagogy,” and depicted him as proving the Communist claim that they could “create a new breed of individual.” In time Makarenko became regarded as an innovator in education throughout the world.

Actually, his success was more a result of his unique personality than his application of Soviet doctrine. After Makarenko died, no one else could achieve what he had. In addition the educational system created by Makarenko went far beyond the original communist way of teaching, as well as beyond any other pedagogical theory. It was quite different from the socialist system that communists envisioned for the colony, but rather an entrepreneurial establishment, a model that Soviets later disapproved of.

Makarenko’s ideas were translated into many languages and shared throughout the world. He did not take traditional approaches to education that the Soviet government was used to. At first they were supportive, because government officials could see the impact that Makarenko was making. However, soon the authorities got worried that those free-thinking individuals that Makarenko was raising would become a threat to the government.

The Soviet government did not support individualism – individuals are difficult to control. The Soviet Board of Education started seeing more and more issues with Makarenko’s methods and emphasis on democratic methods and eventually removed him from his position. Makarenko, who put his heart and soul into his job, died soon after being fired. His views, however, affected hundreds of Soviet orphans and gave them ground for growing up into successful adults. Even though some of Makarenko’s methods are now criticized for overemphasizing the importance of the collective, the time period and the political regime in which he taught should be taken into consideration.

(Abridged from https://www.newfoundations.com)

1.Give detailed answers to the following questions:

1)When did Makarenko become famous?

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2)How did the Soviet government solve the problem of neglected children?

3)Who was the first children labor colony named after?

4)What skills did Makarenko develop in his colonists?

5)Why did Soviet propaganda exploit Makarenko`s success?

6)What was the reason for Makarenko`s success?

7)What was Makarenko`s system of education like?

8)Why did the Soviet government disapprove of Makarenko`s system of education?

2.Give the Russian equivalents to the following words. construction worker; to take care of; bloody civil war; labor colony; children committees; similar institutions; create a new breed of individual; became regarded as; application of Soviet doctrine; original communist way of teaching; entrepreneurial establishment

3.Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

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Text 2.

Makarenko`s pedagogical ideas

Theory of Value

What knowledge and skills are worthwhile learning? What are the goals of education?

Makarenko strongly believed that the goal of a true educator was to raise worthy citizens. Therefore, he concentrated on teaching his students the skills that he thought would benefit society. Makarenko emphasized that the purpose of education was to make children’s transition into the real world easier. He also thought that education should be “goal-oriented” and these goals had to match societal needs.

Theory of Knowledge

What is knowledge? How is it different from belief? What is a mistake? What is a lie?

According to Makarenko, knowledge is the product of experience and practice. Belief is an opinion that is formed on the personal level. Knowledge is gained through observation of others and the world. It is a combination of many opinions held by different people who reach consensus. This is why Makarenko always encouraged students to share their opinions. He had no problem with students making mistakes, because through becoming aware of them they gained true knowledge.

Makarenko accepted mistakes, but did not tolerate lies. A mistake is not intentional. A lie is a deliberate deceit. When students lied to him, he would always try to evoke a feeling of guilt in them in front of the whole colony, which would afterwards be followed by a punishment. He claimed that he did this only to his “friends,” because he believed in them. If that did not work, he would expel them from the colony so that they do not corrupt other members.

Theory of Human Nature

What is a human being? How does it differ from other species? What are the limits of human potential?

Makarenko was humanistic. He thought that every child was potentially good and can achieve a lot if pointed in the right direction. He knew that people are capable of becoming aware of their drives and mistakes and learning from them. He gave each transgressing child an opportunity to confess and make up for their missteps, because for him being human meant having flaws and learning to deal with or correct them.

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Makarenko believed in the freedom of choice. To give children such freedom, he would always include at least one option that would definitely not be picked by the child. This method proved to be very successful.

He showed affection for the children, emphasizing that the colony was their family. He made them feel worthy by assigning duties to them and praising them for successfully completing the tasks.

Theory of Learning

What is learning? How are skills/knowledge acquired?

Makarenko limited theory and concentrated on the practical application of knowledge. Even with such subjects as history or literature, after reading a certain piece or learning a fact, he would ask students how they could apply that in their colony. Those were not hypothetical questions. He actually took student’s suggestions into consideration and then came up with ways to apply them. Students did not simply read books on how to grow crops or how to build a fence. They actually did it under Makarenko’s guidance. Therefore, learning for them was not simply an act of memorizing some terms and action sequences, but it was by performing actions that they learned. This ensured that those skills would be encoded into their long-term memory.

Makarenko did not administer written tests; he gave life tests where each child could complete assignments to his or her full potential and be praised by the whole colony for doing a good job. This sense of pride, Makarenko believed, was the best tool for learning.

Theory of Transmission

Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the curriculum be?

Makarenko’s principles, though based on teachings of Lenin, Marx, and Engels, seemed to be foreign to people at the time. Education in Russia has always been very traditional and teacheroriented rather than student-oriented. Makarenko did not have a specific set of rules when he started the colony, but his one clear rule was strict discipline. Nevertheless, he felt that this has to be coupled with a greater amount of respect for the learner in order for knowledge to really be transmitted.

A key aspect of teaching that Makarenko recognized was the ability to recognize the importance of emotions. The children that Makarenko worked with were orphans and he recognized that before knowledge could be imparted they had to feel cared for and their emotional state had to be stabilized. Moreover, these kids did not

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recognize any authority because they had been given too much freedom when they were let out on the streets.

With respect to methods, Makarenko relied heavily in intrinsic motivation. Although he did get the government to provide proper housing, clothing, and candy for the kids, he did not concentrate on material goods. He placed his main emphasis on the kids’ impact on their country, long-term gratification, and potential for deeply rooted happiness. He made them feel proud of what they did and made them feel needed.

Makarenko felt that even though extrinsic motivation is important, it makes people selfish. But he did feel that punishment is essential for learning. He did not see such punishment as establishment of dominance, but rather as a way to give the child a feel for situations that he or she would encounter in real life.

Theory of Society

What is Society? What institutions are involved in the educational process?

Makarenko felt that society was of the utmost importance. He rejected the idea that society was a crushing mechanism that necessarily strips everyone of their individual identity. However, he also did not believe in blindly following the higher authorities that controlled that society. And even though he believed that collectivism is a major component of a healthy society, he also saw self-governance as an essential part of collectivism. He thought everyone should have a say. He also recognized and praised the individualism in every student and knew each one’s strengths and weaknesses. Makarenko maintained that the only people who should have a say in the educational process are the teachers and the kids.

Theory of Opportunity

Who is to be educated? Who is to be schooled?

One thing that made Makarenko distinct was his belief in equal opportunity. He saw potential in every child and believed that if they were approached the right way they all could learn. He only had a few children that he gave up on for the sake of saving others from their bad influence, but he spent a long time trying out different approaches before he felt pressured to do so.

Makarenko maintained that everyone must be educated and he did not discriminate between children based on gender and provided education for both girls and boys of all ages up until they legally became adults. Since the Soviet Union was a mixture of dif-

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ferent cultures, he also accepted every variety of ethnic groups into the colony.

Theory of Consensus

Why do people disagree? How is consensus achieved? Whose opinion takes precedence?

Makarenko’s colony did not have many disagreements between students. He established a system that resembled a town hall meeting with elements of a temple. Everybody agreed on the basic aspects of morality and good character. But Makarenko always let students decide what was best from them.

Considering the fact that the colony grew up to 400 students, opinions varied. Students often tried to turn to Makarenko and ask him what his opinion was on the subject, but he wanted to teach them to think for themselves, so he let the older students lead those debates. Each child had the right to self-expression. These debates were highly organized, especially since there were no microphones at that time, and everyone listened respectfully to each other until the group reached consensus.

(Abridged from the original text provided by https://www.newfoundations.com)

1.Read the following questions and give detailed answers:

1)What is the aim of a true educator?

2)What skills did Makarenko teach?

3)What is the purpose of education?

4)What is knowledge according to Makarenko?

5)How is knowledge gained?

6)What did Makarenko encourage his students to do?

7)What was Makarenko`s attitude to mistakes? Why?

8)What did Makarenko think about lies?

9)What did he do if a colonist lied to him?

10)Why did he expel colonists?

11)What did Makarenko think every child can achieve?

12)What did being human mean for Makarenko?

13)How did he make colonists feel worthy?

14)Was theory or practice more important for Makarenko? Why?

15)What did Makarenko do with colonists` suggestions?

16)What was learning for colonists?

17)What type of education was traditional in Russia?

18)What clear rule was used in the colony?

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19)What was a key aspect of teaching according to Makarenko?

20)What did Makarenko place his main emphasis on?

2.Think of the Russian equivalents to the following words. worthy citizens; product of experience and practice; reach consensus; gain true knowledge; acquire knowledge; a deliberate deceit; evoke a feeling of guilt; corrupt other members; show affection for; for successfully completing the task; practical application of knowledge; take into consideration; under one`s guidance; memorize some terms and action sequences; long-term memory; to be coupled; intrinsic motivation; the higher authorities; essential part; aspects of morality and good character

3.Match the definitions to the words given on the left.

4. Choose the right words from the table and fill in the gaps.

1)Young and elderly people cannot ……….. alcohol as well as other adults.

2)His latest movie has won high ………. from the critics.

3)She was ……….. from school at 15.

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4)They managed to ……….. access to secret files.

5)The new law rightly …………. parental responsibility.

6)This course is useful for students who are in ……….. from one training programme to another.

7)The conference is a good place to ………… information and exchange ideas.

8)He could have been a great man, but he was ………. by power.

5.Discussion. Discuss the following questions in small groups. You may need to use different sources to find the information necessary for argumentative discussion.

1)What knowledge and skills are worthwhile learning?

2)What are the goals of education?

3)What is knowledge? How is it different from belief?

4)What is a mistake?

5)What is a lie?

6)What is a human being? How does it differ from other species?

7)What are the limits of human potential?

8)What is learning?

9)How are skills/knowledge acquired?

10)Who is to teach? By what methods can he or she be taught?

11)What will the curriculum be?

12)What is society?

13)What institutions are involved in the educational process?

14)Who is to be educated? Who is to be schooled?

15)Why do people disagree? How is consensus achieved?

16)Whose opinion takes precedence?

Project work.

Find the information about Russian and Soviet educators-inno- vators, choose one of them and make a presentation to share with your fellow students.

You should include information about:

–important facts from biography, which led him/her to pedagogy;

–career and achievements;

–pedagogical ideas and methods;

–your choice of this person

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EXERCISES FOR SELF-CHECK AND ADDITIONAL STUDY

1.Read the following questions and try to remember as much information as you can. Who of the famous pedagogues (Comenius, Pestalozzi, Montessori, Korchak, Makarenko) did the following?

1)Who is known to be the “father” of modern education?

2)Who worked with mentally disabled children?

3)Who believed that education develops the powers of “head”, “heart” and “hands”?

4)Who engaged children in production of a magazine?

5)Who was the member of a religious group?

6)Who didn`t tolerate lies?

7)Who claimed that a teacher is not a lecturer, but a facilitator?

8)Who was concerned about the poor?

9)Who tried to protect the children`s mental and emotional welfare?

10)Who supported learning languages?

11)Who fought for children`s rights?

12)Who lectured throughout Europe?

13)Who gave children the freedom of choice?

14)Who had to leave his native country because of war?

15)Who is known all over the world under pseudonym?

16)Who tried to raise free-thinking individuals?

17)Who was nominated for a famous prize?

18)Who organized Children`s committees?

19)The main goal in his education system is self-education.

20)Who recognized the importance of emotions?

2.Which definition is right for each point?

c)the introduction of new things

2)headmas- a) a priest in some branches of the Christian church

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