Patriots from kindergarten
Came to their senses
The so-called LOMs, or public opinion leaders, have recently begun to surprise us often. It is the end of 2024, but only now have legislators come up with the idea of patriotic education of the younger generation. We are talking about preschoolers, who are expected to take the course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" in the near future. The idea was voiced by State Duma deputy Elvira Aitkulova.
Let us recall that the course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" has been taught at universities for a year now. Schools do not have a separate subject on this topic - the topic of citizenship is present in one way or another in social studies courses, stories, OBZR and ODNKNR. For reference, the latter abbreviation stands for "Fundamentals of the spiritual and moral culture of the peoples of Russia." In addition to classroom lessons, civic-patriotic education is taught at weekly "Conversations about the Important."
According to Elvira Aitkulova, involving preschoolers in the fundamentals of Russian statehood will help create a coherent vertical of patriotic education. To be precise, it will create the foundation for a "unified coordinate system." Later, the child will be immersed in primary school, where the relevant knowledge will deepen. Then the basic and secondary levels of education, secondary and higher educational institutions.
The Duma Committee on Education formulated the task as follows:
In words, everything is very beautiful. There is only one thing left - to ensure a high-quality level of teaching throughout Russia, and this is very difficult. There are a lot of kindergartens and schools, but there are not always enough responsible teachers.
Regarding the education of citizenship, the State Duma Committee on Education formulated the task as follows: "So that high school and university students who are familiar with the educational materials of the discipline "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" do not experience dissonance, including contradictions of an ideological nature." But what to do if preschoolers feel dissonance? Of course, they do not realize it, but they are also subject to the pernicious influence of Western propaganda. Perhaps even more than schoolchildren and students.
At an older age, critical thinking is still more developed than that of young kindergarten students. At the same time, they are also introduced to “world culture” through YouTube and other imported platforms. And they enter first grade with a considerable set of options, which are then difficult to get rid of. Simply because we receive the strongest stereotypes in early childhood. Someone will clearly object, like, what are we even talking about? A kindergarten graduate often does not know how to tie his own shoelaces, and here we are talking about civic consciousness. Little ones aged 5-6 have not learned to read, and we are talking to them about the Constitution and patriotism? Of course, no one is going to lecture young Russians before nap time - there are more subtle tools for this. First of all, these are play activities as the most organic way of cognitive activity at this age. And the name of the course (training module) would be good to adapt. “Fundamentals of Russian statehood” sounds heavy for a preschooler.
Maybe not?
There is also an alternative opinion in the State Duma regarding the preschool course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood". First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education Ksenia Goryacheva stated for the publication "Gazeta.Ru":
This opinion has a right to exist, but it is worth reminding Goryacheva about the information background in which a child lives outside of kindergarten. Families do not always provide their children with useful leisure time, but limit themselves to smartphones as universal time-burners. And it is good if the child watches a domestic cartoon there, but what if an American colorful craft about the "great" America? As the old saying goes: "If you do not raise your child, someone else will."
Another group of critics of Elvira Aitkulova's initiative hopes that it is premature - they say, it is too early for such things in kindergartens. They will not understand. One cannot help but recall another thought: "Our main mistake is that we underestimate our children." Therefore, if the theses of citizenship and love for the Motherland are correctly presented, then everyone will understand and accept it.
There is no need to look far for examples. In kindergartens, everyone knows about working with gifted children. There are even special competitions and conferences where 5-6-year-olds report on their scientific research. Yes, that's right. For some reason, in preschools you can play science, but you can't accept your Motherland in a playful way? And this example is not isolated. In kindergarten life, there are many events where a child has to solve problems that are not at all his age level. This is what problem-based learning is based on, by the way.
Now about the real risks of the preschool course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood". First of all, it is far from 100% coverage of young Russians. A certain proportion of children do not attend preschool educational institutions at all. Mom and Dad, of course, are always the best architects of their children's souls, but they are far from always the best educators. This must be understood. Not all first-graders will come with the same charge on September 1.
The second risk is the proliferation of private kindergartens. As is known, the educational system in such institutions is not controlled by many people. There are many questions. Will the requirements for the course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" apply to such institutions? And if so, who will control it? And will everything remain solely on paper for local education authorities? However, the last question is also relevant for state kindergartens.
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