Valstybinės kalbos mokymas Lietuvos žydų gimnazijose ir progimnazijose 1919–1940 metais

Autor: Benediktas Šetkus
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Istorija [History]. 2017, Nr. 108, p. 67-96.
ISSN: 2029-7181
1392-0456
DOI: 10.15823/istorija.2017.27
Popis: The article sets out to investigate the teaching of the official Lithuanian language in Jewish gymnasiums and progymnasiums in Lithuania between 1919 and 1940. It analyses the decisions of the Ministry of Education establishing the requirement for the pupils in non- Lithuanian schools to learn the official Lithuanian language. The article also specifies the requirements of the official language that were applied to teachers at that time. It reviews the results and evaluations of inspections focusing on the knowledge of the Lithuanian language of Jewish pupils which were carried out by the individuals authorised by the Ministry of Education. They reveal that the opinion was often expressed that Jewish pupils were not sufficiently fluent in the official Lithuanian language. It is analysed what measures were applied in the abovementioned schools to improve the teaching of Lithuanian during classes and after-school activities. Keywords: Jews, Lithuanian, gymnasium, progymnasium, Ministry of Education, lesson. Summary The aim of the study is to reveal how it was sought to teach the official Lithuanian language in Jewish gymnasiums and progymnasiums and how the ability of Jewish pupils to speak Lithuanian was evaluated by Lithuanian representatives from public authorities. The research was carried out on the basis of the documents kept at the Fund of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Lithuania (F. 391) of the Lithuanian Central State Archives (LCSA). The letters and various reports sent by Jewish gymnasiums and progymnasiums to the Ministry of Education as well as the instructions, orders, approved curricula and other documents sent by the Ministry of Education to Jewish schools account for the major part of these documents. The study also referred to the periodicals of that time – Jewish newspaper Apžvalga, serial publication of the Chancellery of the Cabinet of Ministers Vyriausybės žinios, monthly journal of the Ministry of Education Svietimo darbas, official newspaper Lietuvos aidas and certain other periodicals of that time. The qualitative study employed general research methods – analysis and synthesis. The historical facts collected in the study were provided by means of the narrative (descriptive) method. The decisions taken by the Ministry of Education and the activities of schools in the teaching of the official Lithuanian language to Jewish children are presented on the basis of the chronological method. The research found that after World War I a part of the Jews residing in Lithuania was used to speak Russian or Polish languages. They did not make much effort to speak Lithuanian. When establishing progymnasiums and gymnasiums, they sought to pay more attention to their native language, Jewish history, the Bible and the Talmud, German and Russian languages, whereas few weekly lessons were provided for the official Lithuanian language. As time was passing by, the Ministry of Education started to require more attention to the teaching of the official language. The circular note issued in 1921 provided for the strengthening of the Lithuanian language teaching. From 1922, the requirement was already established to dedicate as many lessons to Lithuanian as to the native language. All teachers were required to be fluent in the official language to such a level which was equivalent to the fourth-grade program of the Lithuanian language in Lithuanian gymnasiums. In 1929, the Ministry of Education resolved to introduce examinations in Lithuanian, arithmetic, geography and natural sciences when passing from the fourth grade to the fifth grade. From 1936, the schools with the language of instruction other than Lithuanian were required to teach the following subjects in Lithuanian: Lithuanian Language and Literature, History, Lithuanian Geography, Physical Education, and Military Training. According to the requirement that was introduced a bit earlier, all school documents and even the correspondence between a school and pupils’ parents had to be in Lithuanian. As the Ministry of Education was continuously requesting to expand the rights of the official language in Jewish schools, Jewish teachers used to regret that their mother tongue was being pushed out and their national school gradually became more and more Lithuanised. The Ministry of Education continuously monitored whether the pupils of Jewish gymnasiums and progymnasiums were fluent in Lithuanian. It used to send its officers or authorised the principals of Lithuanian gymnasiums or other experienced educators to observe how the examinations in Lithuanian and other subjects were held in Jewish schools. Occasionally, the ministry requested to carry out individual checks of pupils’ knowledge. It was concluded in some cases that Jewish pupils were fluent in the official Lithuanian language. However, it was found in most of the cases that the knowledge of the Lithuanian language was insufficient. It was concluded that a part of pupils could hardly understand Lithuanian; the majority of them could not speak fluently; they spoke with a strong accent and made a lot of grammatical errors when writing; they read few Lithuanian books. Representatives of the Ministry of Education concluded that pupils’ knowledge of the official language was often given a higher grade than it should be. The teachers of certain Jewish schools used to acknowledge that pupils’ knowledge of the Lithuanian language was not of the required level. They would often express their opinion that the requirements applied to their pupils in the sphere of the Lithuanian language were unduly high. They said that the identified shortcomings were more common in the first years of existence of the Republic of Lithuania; during a later period, the pupils of Jewish schools learnt the official language fairly well. As the Ministry of Education continuously requested to strengthen the teaching of the Lithuanian language, the teachers’ councils of Jewish gymnasiums and progymnasiums used to take decisions to improve the situation. The number of Lithuanian lessons was increased in schools. Lithuanian teachers were authorised to organise more conversations with pupils after classes. It was sought to encourage that Jewish children read more Lithuanian books at home. Therefore, schools tried to have more books in Lithuanian in their libraries. Some schools established Lithuanian language clubs; some events used to take place in Lithuanian. Whereas a Lithuanian language teacher had to play an important role, the practice was established according to which prominent Lithuanian linguists used to recommend their former talented Jewish students for the work in Jewish gymnasiums to the Ministry of Education. The research will contribute to a better understanding of the Lithuanian system of education, Jewish education and the situation of the Jewish national minority in the Republic of Lithuania.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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