Mother tongue in schools of the Mari region in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries
The article is devoted to the introduction of “Christian” education system by N. I. Ilminsky in the non-Russian environment. On March 26, 1870, the system was legally formalized in the “Regulations on measures to education of foreigners living in Russia”. With regard to the Mari primary schools, the system by N. I. Ilminsky included the following main elements: 1) creation of an extensive network of Mari schools for foreigners; 2) training of Mari teachers, through the newly established network of educational institutions; 3) organization of translations and publication of textbooks in the Mari language. The principles developed by N. I. Ilminsky for many years of experience and careful observation, originally found application in the territory of the Mari region in the activities of Kazan brotherhood of St. Gury, a little later - in the Vyatsky Committee of the Orthodox Missionary Society and then in the zemstvos. Identified sources make it possible to review the program and methods of learning, a list of school subjects, the organization of the educational process as a whole in the primary schools of the Mari region. The techniques differed little from neighboring regions where in the non-Russian medium cool-task system of school education was actively implemented. Among the subjects taught, the law of God, reading and writing in their native and Russian languages, arithmetic and penmanship were everywhere in the first place. Despite the difference in terms of training and the list of subjects taught, the students had the opportunity to receive initial literacy. It is significant that the curriculum and teaching methods gave solid knowledge, and many of his disciples tried to educate themselves and expand their knowledge even after their completion.