The Pedagogical Poem

The pedagogical achievements of A.S. Makarenko are impressive. In 1920, near Poltava, he headed a colony for juvenile offenders and in a short period managed to create a true commune from a motley group of homeless children—a cohesive and motivated workforce. The life impetus that Anton Semyonovich gave to his students allowed them to become successful individuals and achieve high status in society. Clearly, mere faith in humanity was not enough for such success. In 1917, Makarenko graduated with a gold medal from the Poltava Teachers' Institute; however, the educational and pedagogical approaches accepted at that time were clearly not suitable for working with the children whom the troubles of the revolution had turned into asocial beings. It is no coincidence that the colony under Makarenko's leadership was unofficially called the "colony for the defective." The methods of upbringing that Anton Semyonovich devised were, so to speak, "on the fly." Several years later, he presented this unique educational experience in literary form in a book that Maxim Gorky called the pedagogical poem—a book about reshaping the psyche. It is not surprising that the "Pedagogical Poem" has been translated into many languages of the world. Over time, its text underwent editorial revisions. In this edition, it is published according to the first complete edition of 1934-1936. This unusual and unparalleled work has universal significance. It is relevant even today. Some believe that Makarenko's pedagogical gift is so unique that attempts to convey it are doomed to failure. This is not true. Anton Semyonovich's main precept is that a person who seeks to teach and educate others must, first and foremost, be a successful and knowledgeable specialist in any field. Without this, pedagogy turns into empty chatter. Read Makarenko's book, and you will understand this for yourself. The illustrations in the book were created by the Honored Artist of Russia A.G. Slepkov. Anatoly Grigoryevich studied at the I.E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, and then collaborated for many years with the publishing houses "Art Literature," "Children's Literature," "Baby," and others, creating hundreds of illustrations for the works of Tolstoy, Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, Sholokhov, Gaidar, Andersen, and many other outstanding writers. Anatoly Grigoryevich has the talent to accurately convey the images of literary heroes in his drawings. This is immediately noticeable in his illustrations. Many originals of his works ended up in museums and private collections. They are kept both in Russia and abroad: in England, Holland, Denmark, France, the USA, Japan, and other countries of the world.