War
and Peace and Anna
Karenina are famously penned by world renowned writer Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. While everyone knows of his literary contributions
to society, many remain unaware of his theories of educational pedagogy and his
attempt to reform education in mid-nineteenth century Russia. “Tolstoy is widely known and adored as a
novelist, but less so as a philosopher and preacher. Tolstoy the teacher is
even more obscured by time, even though he created a new methodology of
teaching literacy and basic knowledge” (Basinsky, 2013). In 1859, Tolstoy opened an innovative school
on his family’s estate at Yasnaya Polyana
(Clear Glades). At its core was an educational credo that
encouraged children to explore their own interests through means that were
beneficial for themselves while not forcing them to conform to a rigid
curriculum (Basinsky, 2013). Interestingly,
almost fifty years later, Maria Montessori’s theories and work would express a
similar philosophy. While Montessori
conducted her work independently from Tolstoy, one must consider the
implications the Yasnaya Polyana Schools,
or Tolstoy Schools as they would come
to be known, would have in the future of Montessori schools in Russia. Afterall, it was Tolstoy’s own daughter,
Tatiana, a product of her father’s school, who visited Montessori’s Casa De Bambini in 1910 where she witnessed
the “embodiment of her father’s ideas” (Hilturen, 2013).
Tolstoy’s vision of a new type of education stemmed from his
own experiences as a student. Having
been educated mainly by private tutors through his childhood, Tolstoy’s
schooling could hardly be considered anything but bourgeoisie. Nevertheless, he became disillusioned by the
stifled system, eventually dropping out of Kazan University. Souder writes, “Tolstoy stated, ‘My work on
[Catherine the Great's] Instructions and [Montesquieu's] Espirit des
lois opened up for me a new field of independent mental endeavors whereas
the university with its demands...hindered me’” (2010). While travelling across Europe to research
educational methods prior to opening his school, “Tolstoy was disturbed by the
educational systems that he viewed… He
abhorred the compulsory nature of schools and the intense amount of
regimentation in nearly every facet of the West European scholastic system”
(Souder, 2010). Instead, Tolstoy’s
vision of education was steadfast in promoting individual freedom in both
educational growth and development of personality. In fact, Tolstoy’s schools grew to be, “associated with the traditions of natural and
free education, and the applied ideas of nature-based, non-violent, and
humanistic pedagogy” (Boguslavsky,
2010).
From these influences and his own didactic intuition,
Tolstoy’s educational philosophy would anticipate the progressive twentieth
century student-centered educational theories of Dewey, Nyesiyama, Steiner, and Montessori (Scheuerman, 2010). Montessori educators will find wisdom and
truth within Tolstoy’s instinctual pursuits in providing opportunities for
autodidactic learning while supporting the spiritual nature of the child. It brings to light Montessori’s own thoughts
on education, which she highlighted in the preface of From Childhood to Adolescence:
My vision for the future is no longer of people taking exams
and proceeding on that certification to secondary school to University, but of
individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of
their own activity, through their own effort of will, which constitutes the
inner evolution of the individual” (Montessori,1973).
Certainly, Montessori’s vision also reflects the educational
ideals set forth by Tolstoy in his Yasnaya
Polyana schools almost fifty years prior.
Tolstoy also maintained that access to education should be a
right for all members of society, rather than an endeavor reserved only for the
privileged or elite. The Yasnaya Polyana School, offered free of
charge, was not just for his own children, but for all children of the estate’s
peasants. Later, the school expanded and
even grew to include children of surrounding towns. A free education for all was a radical idea
given that popular thought, as revealed by Catherine II, was that “too much
education for the chern’ (plebes) was dangerous for the social order…” (Eklof,
1996). As Tolstoy solidified his own
opinions of education, he made clear his thoughts on public education:
I've been busy with a school for boys and
girls...progress...has been quite unexpected. [The state-run academies] are
useful but in the same way as dinner at the English Club would be useful if it
were all eaten up by the steward and the cook. These things are produced by all
70,000,000 Russians, but are used by several thousand...The most vital need of
the Russian people is Public education...[This] hasn't begun, and never will it
begin as long as the government is in charge of it (Souder, 2010).
Tolstoy with the peasant children at Yasnaya Polyana.
Photo retrieved from http://humweb.ucsc.edu/bnickell/tolstoy/celebrity.html
Tolstoy’s aspirations to offer a free, quality, public
education to any one desiring it was in striking similarity to the historical
beginnings of the Montessori movement.
In fact, the Casa de Bambini, “was created for children living in the slums of Rome as
part of an attempt to improve conditions for the working class and counter the
effects of poverty” (Hernandez, 2015).
Even now, Montessori’s wisdom of the impact of personalized learning for
social change is a phenomenon that is currently growing in the national
spotlight through the formation of public Montessori charter schools and
organizations dedicated to promoting public Montessori education. Sara Conter, founder of ‘Montessori For All’
further supports this notion in her view on equality in education, “We truly
believe equity requires children from different backgrounds to be educated
together” (Hernandez, 2015).
Undoubtedly, Tolstoy would have favored today’s movement of public
Montessori charters that strive to become “drivers of innovation and social
justice in public education” (Hernandez, 2015).
Tolstoy’s intuitive Montessori approach at the
Yasnaya Polyana School can also be
sensed through the methods of instruction and curriculum offerings. A notable sign adorned the threshold of the
classroom reading, ‘Enter and Leave Freely’ (Simmons, 1968). Tolstoy believed freedom and originality were
necessary to promote learning and progress in education. This type of learning, based on student
interest, was at the core of Tolstoy’s educational ideologies and can be
identified in a description of a typical Yasnaya
Polyana school day:
During the morning, elementary and advanced reading were
taught, composition, penmanship, grammar, sacred history, Russian history,
drawing, music, mathematics, natural sciences, and religion; in the afternoon
there were experiments in physical sciences and lessons in singing, reading,
and composition. No consistent order was followed, however, and lessons were
lengthened or omitted according to the degree of interest manifested by the
students (Simmons, 1968).
Montessori practice mirrors this principle not only in
supporting children’s development through ‘sensitive periods’ in learning, but
also in the right of students to participate in, decline, or quietly observe
lessons. Lillard (2007) states, “The Montessori materials and basic
lessons ensure a core of learning across curriculum areas, but each child’s
imagination is invested in the particular avenues of learning that the child
pursues beyond that core” (p. 31).
Surely, Tolstoy’s educational movement displayed instincts with Montessori
principles regarding student interest and involvement as catalysts in learning.
Tolstoy
also believed in the ‘freedom within limits’ method of classroom
instruction. He understood that learning
could only occur when clear limits, established by the teacher using “his
knowledge and capacity to manage” had been recognized (Simmons, 1968). Only
then would children, approached as responsible and respectable beings, discover
the necessity of order and begin to govern themselves. Montessori educators will recognize this as a
component in process of normalization that occurs in our classrooms. Tolstoy’s vision of freedom in education
coincide with Montessori’s ideas:
When we speak of freedom in education we mean freedom for
the creative energy which is the urge of life toward the development of the
individual… It has a guiding principle,
a very fine, but unconscious directive, the aim of which is to develop a normal
person. When we speak of free children
we are thinking of this energy which must be free in order to construct these
children well (Montessori in Lillard, 2007, p. 106-107).
The
notion of teacher preparation is understood by Montessori educators to be of
paramount importance in establishing authentic learning environments for our
students. Tolstoy, motivated by his
quest to provide a holistic education for the masses, also believed the teacher’s
role and their own attitudes to be influential in children’s scholastic
enterprises. He knew from his own
experiences at his School that, “children’s minds possess life experiences from
which valid connections could be made to daily lessons, and that their
imaginations and moral sensibilities can fully contribute to
self-directed…endeavors” (Scheuerman, 2010).
The role of the adult, therefore, was to be that of a guide who supports
learning rather than that of an authoritarian.
Moreover, Tolstoy believed that compulsory learning stifled student
enthusiasm and that the best pedagogical practices should follow student
interest. He simplified this thought by frankly
stating, “Find something which the students will be glad to learn” and that
learning should “please the pupils, instead of the teacher” (Scheurerman,
2010). Interestingly, these conclusions
represent insightful precursors to Montessori’s later revelations in education.
Tolstoy, igniting interest through
storytelling.
Photo
retrieved from http://thekompass.rbth.co.uk
Regrettably,
Tolstoy’s attempts in reforming the educational system in Russia were never
supported by the government.
Nonetheless, we can be inspired by his progressive vision and marvel at
his intuition that came to be validated by science through Montessori’s later
research. In fact, one can conclude that
Tolstoy and his Yasnaya Polyana School played
foundational roles in establishing the worldwide Montessori movement. Following the release of The Montessori
Method, translated into Russian, and a personal visit to Rome to see the
Montessori schools, Tolstoy’s daughter Tatiana, returned to Russia in full
support of the new approach. After her
glowing “report in a Moscow educational journal, classes were begun in Vilna… with
materials obtained from America following support from the physicist V.V.
Lermontov. [In fact, a] classroom was
set up in the palace at St. Petersburg for the children of the Tsar and courtiers”
(O’Donnell, 2007 p. 24). Tatiana
Tolstoy’s knowledge and full support of the Montessori method was undoubtedly
influenced by her own pedagogical upbringing, which philosophically resembled
Montessori’s approach. Certainly,
Tatiana’s support was instrumental in bringing Montessori education to Russia,
helping to raise international awareness of the method. Maria Montessori herself would have
wholeheartedly supported Lev Tolstoy’s intuition that “if education is good,
then the need for it will manifest itself like hunger” (Tolstoy in Simmons,
1968).
Basinsky,
Pavel. 2013. How Tolstoy wanted to reform Russian
education. Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved from http://rbth.co.uk/literature/2013/03/20/how_tolstoy_wanted_to_reform_russian_education_24069.html
Bogulslavsky,
Mikhail. 2010. Leo Tolstoy.
Russian-American Educational
Forum: An Online Journal, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.rus-ameeduforum.com/content/en/?task=art&article=1000725&iid=6
Eklof, Ben. 1986.
Russian peasant schools: officialdom, village culture, and popular pedagogy.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
19-24.
Hernandez, Eric.
2015. Montessori for all: personalized learning for the people. EdSurge.
Retrieved from
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-02-19-montessori-for-all-personalized-learning-for-the-people
Hilturen,
E.A. (2013). Biography of Maria Montessori
(Power Point Slides, trans). Association of Montessori Teachers of Russia. Retrieved from
http://www.montessori.ru/montessori/
Lillard, A.S.
(2007). Montessori: The science behind
the genius. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Montessori,
M. (1973). From childhood to adolescence: including Erdkinder and The
function of the university. Schocken books.
O’Donnell,
Marion. (2007). Maria Montessori. London,
England: Bloomsbury Academic.
Scheurman,
Richard D. 2010. Leo Tolstoy and
the yasnaya polyana pedagogical institute.
Russian-American
Educational Forum: An Online Journal, 2(1).
Retrieved from http://www.rus-ameeduforum.com/content/en/?task=art&article=1000724&iid=6
Simmons, Ernest
J. (1968). Writings on education. In Introduction
to Tolstoy’s writings (3). Retrieved from
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/smmnsej/tolstoy/chap4.htm
Souder, Eric
M. 2010.
The pupil of the people: Lev Nickolaevich Tolstoy’s peasant schools at
yasnaya polyana. Vestnik: The School of Russian and Asian Studies. Retrieved from http://www.sras.org/tolstoy_peasant_schools_at_yasnaya_polyana
