Листи В. Сухомлинського про ціннісне ставлення до світу живого як джерело біографістики

Abstract

The article is dedicated to disclosure of a little-known aspect of Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi’s pedagogical heritage – epistolary, which raises the topic of ecological education of junior schoolchildren and older children, the formation of their ecological worldview. It has been revealed that the teachers’ correspondents were extraordinary personalities – psychologists O. Andreyeva, O. Hubko, writers B. Ryabinin, I. Yefremov. It has been found out that the purpose of their professional activities, supplemented by their own ideas and beliefs, was to preserve and increase the natural environment, in particular animals, especially those living near humans. In their letters, the correspondents discussed a wide range of issues: the content of school education, the problem of children’s suicide, juvenile delinquency, the gap between upbringing and education. It has been found out that the above-mentioned scientists and writers shared V. Sukhomlynskyi‘s views on the role and importance of nature in a child’s life, attached great importance to the nature-based education and upbringing. They also contributed to the emergence of V. Sukhomlynskyi’s new ideas and views on childhood ecology. An appeal to the epistolary legacy has proved that it was an integral part of his work. It contains many original and valuable ideas, but they have not been clearly studied yet and require further consideration and analysis. Applying a microhistorical approach which focuses on personal interpretation of events and greatly enriches understanding of everyday facts, the importance of such explorations has been concluded, since they provide an opportunity to explore the birth of new ideas about environmental education, their origins, principles and impact on Sukhomlynskyi’s personality.