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The article is subjective and expresses the personal opinion of the author.
For the childhood of the outstanding teacher and writer of the Soviet era, Simon Soloveichik, there was war and life in evacuation. In his youth, he worked as a pioneer leader, and then taught Russian language and literature at the library college in a small town. Even then, the young teacher thought about the principles on which the system of education and training in the Soviet Union is built.
His ideas formed the basis of the so-called pedagogy of cooperation. It is as if Soloveychik lived in a reality parallel to traditional Soviet pedagogy, in which the main line was “eradicating the child’s evil nature” (laziness, weak-willedness, cowardice). And the harsh suggestion of the norms of society: collectivism, camaraderie, steadfastness and neglect of one’s feelings.
Nightingale was an incorrigible idealist. And the ideals that he defended are those to which modern society is now reappearing: kindness, humanism, inner freedom and moral values, reinforced by convictions from the inside, and not planted from the outside.
“Love and conscience,” Soloveichik wrote in his book “Pedagogy for All,” is the oxygen of the moral atmosphere into which each of us plunges with the first breath, with the first cry. Not all of us believe in the power of love and conscience, we even doubt their existence (is there love? Is there a conscience?), But any weakening of them makes life unbearable. For each individual and for all together. ”
He became the author of several books, the co-founder of Teacher’s Newspaper, from which the newspaper “First of September” grew up in the 1990s, the screenwriter of the program “Hour of Apprenticeship”. The father of three children, Soloveichik generously shared in his books observations of his own sons and daughter.
Moreover, his works and thoughts are surprisingly modern. The film “Hour of Apprenticeship”, dedicated to Soviet pedagogy, looks like a description of the principles of the ultra-modern school somewhere in Scandinavia. And the belief that coziness will help children see the beauty of science, and discussions about how not to overload with cramming and at the same time stimulate students to develop, and the idea that the teacher’s inner freedom affects his relationship with students and their attitude to the subject.
Primacy of freedom
Freedom is a key concept in the writings of Soloveichik. Internal freedom is the basis of development: both moral and intellectual. You can’t teach her, you can only bring up by example and the right attitude with the child. Freedom is not equal to connivance or, as Soloveichik puts it, to liberation from discipline. Freedom at school is not chaos, but the right to think outside the box, ask questions, feel like a person, even if you are in the position of a younger student. And the teacher can and should bring up this freedom and be its example.
"... children are drawn to free people, trust them, admire them, thank them. Whatever happens at school, an internally free teacher can be a winner. A free teacher accepts a child as an equal person. And this creates an atmosphere around him in which only a free person can grow. ”
The main question of such a teacher, according to Soloveichik, should be: am I oppressing children? And if you have to force them to something, does this justify the goal? “I think for their benefit, but am I not killing children's talent for freedom?” Before me is a class, I need a certain order in order to conduct classes, but am I not breaking a child, trying to subordinate him to general discipline? ”
The child’s humiliation, condescending attitude, and harassment are the way to stop development, curiosity and interest in learning, and in general to something new. Cramming and boring material “for the middle peasants” is one of the reasons why children do not like to learn, Soloveichik considered. This does not mean that only talented children should attend school. On the contrary: Soloveichik shared the Soviet ideals of learning accessible to all. But the tasks that the school gives the child must be difficult and inspiring for the child: he must feel that he is truly developing. And heavy workload is not an indicator of this yet.
Adults, children and the relationship between them
Psychoanalysis in the USSR was banned. It is all the more surprising that Simon Soloveitchik actually reproduces in his works the ideas of the theory of object relations, which at the beginning of the 20th century were formulated by Western psychoanalysts Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicot, Michael Balint and others. Education, he wrote, depends on three variables: adults, children and the relationship between them.
For example, when Soloveichik writes about mother-baby communication, he describes the process of containerizing emotions and gradually accustoming the child to cope with his feelings, with which his parents help him.
“A small, still baby child screams in his crib, calls for mom, she is in the kitchen, she hears, she feels in her voice that nothing bad happened, and she ... is not in a hurry. She finishes her affairs, then goes to her son, but without reproaches - which, they say, scream, I hear! - No, she goes with the confession: - You are calling me, but I am not coming? Mom is bad, she didn’t come right away! ”
A very small child, explains Soloveichik, needs unconditional recognition of his feelings and desires, and also a strong belief that the world is basically fair and kind. Such idealism serves as protection for children, without which they will simply be scared and unbearable to live. But gradually the child grows, and it becomes important for him to learn other aspects of life, to learn to cope with troubles.
But you can not deceive the child and prepare him for a fabulous life. Sometimes a parent needs to acknowledge the imperfection of the world: for example, a teacher behaved unjustly. Yes, unfortunately, it happens, not everyone at school will treat you kindly. But at the same time it is necessary to teach the child to hope for the best. How to combine it? Just like adults get along with the contradictions of life. Pity the child, acknowledge the difficulties, express hope that he will cope with this situation, and if necessary, help.
Independence as a goal of education
Another point of education, which is often talked about by modern psychotherapists and about which Soloveichik wrote in his writings. The phased separation of the child from the parent and preparation for adulthood is the main goal of his education and upbringing.
“We must raise and put up a helpless baby born on our feet, so that it is healthy enough, sufficiently developed and trained, strong in spirit so that it does not hang on people and does not depend on them.”
For this, the teacher advises, parents should moderate their anxiety. Inevitable injuries, deuces, as well as periodic disapproval of others - from guests to aunts in the yard. Children do not always behave perfectly, they should not. “Taught by my own bitter experience, I tell everyone: do not be ashamed of your children with strangers, normal children with strangers always behave worse than usual, they come into contact with strangers in this way, this is good, not bad. Do not be ashamed! ”
Specific knowledge and skills are not a value. Value is an opportunity to grow
To drive dogs in the yard, Soloveichik jokes, is also development. The child must develop both mentally and physically. And sometimes the manifestations of this development: noise, running around, loud screams - violate the comfort of adults and their idea of decency. But suppressing nature will certainly “take revenge”; you cannot suppress a child just because it is inconvenient.
And vice versa - circles and sections that seem to be designed for development do not always actually correspond to this. The teacher cites an example of a mother who gives her daughter to the figure skating section. Is it beneficial to the child or to the detriment? It is important to see how the girl herself reacts to these exercises. Maybe it will flourish and will actively develop. Or maybe it will be suppressed and lose interest in everything. Curiosity, interest in the world are indicators of the child’s inner vitality, and maintaining it is more important than maintaining discipline or good grades.
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