"Connecting the past, present and future generations": reflecting on the main promising ideas of K. D. Ushinsky’s methodological legacy (to the 200th anniversary of the birth)

Abstract

The paper explores the most significant aspects of K. D. Ushinsky’s biography and pedagogical legacy relevant to the modern practice of liberal education. The biographical information about the famous teacher we provide testifies to the special influence of his family, gymnasium teachers, famous university professors on the formation of K. D. Ushinsky’s views and activities. Moreover, the paper also gives important biographic facts which describe the founder of scientific pedagogy as a talented novice teacher at the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl, where he won students’ genuine love and devotion. We analyse and comment on the outstanding educator’s main ideas related to the issues of native language teaching based on the principles of nationality (narodnost). In addition, drawing on Ushinsky’s wellknown works, we discuss the problems of creating universal schoolbooks for teaching the native language and speech and the basic requirements for the selection of didactic material for language courses with compulsory upbringing and developing potential. We focus attention on the critical issues of the anthropological and humanistic tradition in studying language and speech, the objectives of special comprehensive teacher training as well as the formation of teachers’ responsibility towards schoolchildren in education and upbringing.