Intermediate Russian Podcast | Slow Russian | Episode 3 - Tolstoy and his school

Hello everyone! This is the third episode of the podcast Hack Your Russian Intermediate. My name is Lyudmila and I am a teacher of the Russian language. In this episode of the podcast, I want to tell you about the most beautiful teacher Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Yes, you heard me right. Lev Tolstoy, known for his works such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina and so on, was not only an outstanding writer, but also an amazing teacher. I really want to share with you his wonderful ideas about education, because they can also help you understand how to study languages and many other subjects more effectively. Lev Tolstoy was against the usual system of education and strict teaching methods, when children were beaten for bad behavior and mistakes, forced to memorize texts, and prohibited to express their opinion. He traveled a lot and analyzed education systems in different countries, and he was amazed that even in the most prestigious and best schools in Europe, children were constantly punished and used for learning as the main method of teaching. In the Russian Empire, at that time, education was also based on the authoritarian regime, so Tolstoy decided to create his own folk school in Yasnaya Polyana, the estate of the Tolstoy family. Let me tell you how the lessons were held in this school, and maybe you, just like me, will want to get into this school for at least one day. In Tolstoy's school, village children from 7 to 15 years old studied for free. In total, the school had about 40 students and 4 teachers, including Lev Tolstoy. Tolstoy taught children mathematics, history and physics. In the school, they also taught Russian, reading, writing, ethics, labor, mathematics, drawing, physics, history, natural sciences, singing, drawing, gymnastics and religion. The lessons began at 8.30 in the morning, but there was no clear schedule at school. Students could come at any time, or they could not come if they did not feel like it. In this school, children were not forced to study, they were instilled with love for knowledge. Tolstoy completely canceled homework, marks and punishments in his school. Teachers did not force children to learn information. They talked to them and developed their critical thinking. During the day, the students also did gymnastics, played sports games and walked through the forest with the writer. And after the lessons, teachers could go sledding in the winter or swim in the summer with their students. The teacher in Tolstoy's school was not just a source of knowledge, but an example for imitation. The teacher's role was to interest the student and make the learning more individual and creative. Here are some of the principles of Tolstoy in teaching in his school. The harder it is for the teacher, the easier it is for the student. It is necessary that the student is not ashamed of the teacher and his comrades. What the student is taught should be understandable and entertaining. Give the student such work so that every lesson feels like a step forward in the study. It is very important that the student is not afraid of punishment for bad learning. And the last lesson should be equal to the strength of the students. Equal means at the same level. Equal to the word size. Tolstoy's school in the 19th century was a revolution in education. Many experts from different countries came to this school to study their experience. However, any revolutionary ideas at that time were prohibited, even in such areas as education. The government decided that Tolstoy's ideas were too dangerous for society, and Tolstoy was forced to close his school after three years of its existence. This school was reopened after his death. The younger daughter of the writer opened this school in 1928. But, unfortunately, the school was burned during the war. Already after the war, the school was rebuilt and opened in 1948. Fortunately, this school still exists today. It is called Tolstoy's Yasnopolyansky Educational Complex. I will leave a link in the description, if you are interested. This is a rural school. 233 students study here. I am very glad that the school administration and teachers continue Tolstoy's remarkable experience and use his principles of education. I think that Tolstoy's ideas about education are just wonderful. Today, they can be compared with the education system of Finland, which I am a fan of. At the beginning of the episode, I told you that you will find important ideas for learning languages in this issue. So, one of the main ideas of effective learning, according to Tolstoy, was that the study of any subject should be based on interest. If you are not interested in any topic, you will just learn it. You cannot force yourself to learn something, because it is not effective at all. For example, you want to improve your conversational skills in Russian. You need to identify with your interests, find interesting materials on these topics, download documentaries and other possible materials, find a Russian-speaking person with similar interests on the Internet, for example, in communities, and offer him or her to discuss this topic, share experience, and so on. Thank you for listening to this episode. I am very glad to share this story and life of Tolstoy with you, because it was thanks to his ideas that I wanted to teach. And in my teaching methods, I also try to use his wonderful ideas. You can find a link to the text of the podcast with the analysis of words in the description of the podcast. Also, if you are interested, subscribe to my Instagram profile and YouTube channel, where I post useful and interesting materials for those studying Russian. In the description of the podcast, I will also leave my email address, where you can write to me. I will be very happy if you send me audio files, on which you will share with everyone your experience of learning the Russian language. I think that many listeners of the podcast will find it interesting and useful to hear your experience. Thank you again for listening. I wish you a wonderful day. See you soon!