I. S. Mikheev's contribution to the development of methodological science and education of non-Russian peoples of the Middle Volga region

Abstract

Introduction. The methodological heritage of Russian teachers of the past is of interest to the modern theory of pedagogy and educational practice. The purpose of the article is to generalize the methodological views of a prominent scientist of the second half of the XIX – first half of the XX centuries Ivan Stepanovich Mikheev (1876-1940). The relevance of the pedagogical heritage of Mikheev is explained by the correspondence of his methodological views to the attitudes of modern Russian specialists in the field of teaching Russian language and literature among the nonRussian peoples of the Middle Volga region. Materials and methods. The leading research methods are the analysis of scientific literature and the biographical method, as well as historical, regional and axiological (value) methodological approaches. Results. I. S. Mikheev proposed a system of teaching non-Russian peoples to read and write in their native and Russian languages. He suggested starting the development of literacy in the native language of students. After mastering elementary skills, they had to move on to teaching in the Russian language in the so-called "conversational lessons". Mikheev called his teaching approach "the method of whole sentences." For those who speak oral native speech, the main thing is to master written speech, that entails the need for a sufficiently detailed study of grammar. For "nonRussian-born" children, the most urgent task is to master live conversational speech. In conditions when schooling usually lasted no more than two or three years, the task of mastering grammar shouldn′t have been brought to the fore. Discussion. The idea, – teaching an unfamiliar language by the method of whole sentences, – was put forward by Mikheev as a basis of his methodological views. It found further productive development in modern methods of teaching foreign languages. The innovation of Mikheev's approach consisted in the fact that he pointed out the fundamental difference in approaches to teaching Russian to Russian and to non-Russian children. The methodology developed by I. S. Mikheev included at the initial stage the elaboration of the simplest syntactic formations instead of tedious memorization of grammatical forms. Hence pupils acquired the ability to compose simple, but whole sentences in a relatively short time. That′s they were able to express their thoughts in the correct Russian language. Mikheev's approach required completely different methods and textbooks of the Russian language for Russian and for non-Russian schoolchildren. The methodological ideas of Mikheev are still relevant today, and represent a significant value for modern Russian pedagogical science and education. Modern teachers of multiethnic regions of Russia highly appreciate and actively use the heritage of Mikheev. Conclusions. A prominent methodologist, philologist and educator of the non-Russian peoples of the Middle Volga region, Mikheev made a significant contribution to the development of education and methodological science, periodicals and literature. Mikheev's methodological ideas are still relevant today, and are of considerable value for modern Russian pedagogical science and education. Modern teachers of multiethnic regions of Russia highly appreciate and actively use Mikheev's legacy. The theoretical and methodological works of I. S. Mikheev, his children's books and dramatic works include axiological, humanistic content, and to this day have a significant impact on modern methodological thought. That′s why, it deserves the most careful further study.