Notes
Dvorovaya dyevka, the daughter of a serf attached to the bar sky dvor, or mansion-house. Alekse'i Vasiiyevitch Koltsof (1809-1842), a distinguished poet, by some called the Burns of Russia. The ponomar, or paramonar, a word derived from modern Greek, airl signifying doorkeeper, sacristan. One of the domestic servants, formerly serfs, like the little girl mentioned. Dvorovui, or domestic servant. Dvornik, generally one who serves in a dvor; also house-porter. Here, one who occupies a dvor, including house and land. Little Olga. The fantastic story of a beautiful and wealthy maiden who is in reality a witch, and causes the destruction of the groom who falls in love with her. Diminutive of Feodor, Theodore; as Semka is of Semyon. Fifty sazhen. Contemptuous diminutive of Gavriil, Gabriel. Batya, shortened form of b... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Chapter 38 : Singing
Last summer we were coming home from bathing. All of us were feeling very gay. A peasant lad, the very one who had been enticed by the domestic peasant lad into stealing books, a wide-cheeked, thick-set lad, all covered with freckles, with crooked, knock-kneed legs, with all the ways of a grown-up muzhik of the steppe, but a clever, strong, and gifted nature, ran ahead and sat in the wagon, which was proceeding in front of us. He picked up the reins, cocked his hat, spat to one side, and burst out into a dragging muzhik song oh, how he sang! with feeling, with repose, with the full power of his lungs! The children laughed: - "Semka, Semka lo! how cleverly he sings!" Semka was perfectly serious. "There, now, don't you interrupt my song!" said he, in a pause, using a peculiar and purposely hoarse voice, and then he went on with his song sedately. Two very musical lads took their places in the cart and began to take th... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Chapter 37 : Drawing
When, nine months ago, I entered upon the teaching of drawing, I had as yet no definite plan, either for laying out the course of instruction or for guiding the pupils. I had neither designs nor models, save for a few albums of illustrations, which, however, I did not make use of at the time of my most advanced lessons, confining myself to simple auxiliary means, such as can always be found in every country school. A painted wooden board, chalk, slates, and rectangular boards of various sizes, and sticks, which we had used in the visual teaching of mathematics these were all the material we had for our instruction, and yet we were not hindered from copying everything that came under our hands. Not one of the pupils had ever before had any lessons in drawing; they brought to me only their faculty of judgment, which they were given perfect liberty to express when and as they pleased, and which I wanted as a guide to teach me their requirements so that... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Chapter 36 : The Arts
In the sketch of the Yasnaya Polyana School during the months of November and December, I have now to speak of two subjects which have an entirely distinct character from all the others: these are drawing and singing the arts. If I had not my own views, based on the fact that I don't know why any one should study either, I should be obliged to ask myself: Is the study of art profitable for peasant children, put under the necessity of working all their lives long just for their daily bread, and what is the good of it? Ninety-nine out of a hundred would answer this question in the negative. And it is impossible to answer otherwise. As soon as this question is put, sound common sense demands such an answer: he is not to be aft artist; he will have to plow. If he has artistic demands, he will not have the power to endure the steady unwearying labor which he must endure; which, if he does not endure, the very existence of the empire would be... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Chapter 35 : Geography
In the teaching of geography I did the same thing. First of all, I began with physical geography. I remember the first lesson. I began it, and immediately lost my way. The result obtained was what I did not at all anticipate; namely, that I did not know what I wanted ten-year-old peasant children to learn. I was able to explain "day" and "night," but in my explanation of "winter" and "summer" I went astray. Ashamed of my ignorance, I tried it again, and then I asked many of my acquaintances, cultivated men, and no one except those that had recently left school, or teachers, was able to give me a very good explanation without a globe. I beg all who read this to test this observation. I affirm that out of a hundred men not more than one knows this, though all children are taught it. Having rehearsed pretty carefully, I once more took up the explanation, and with the aid of a candle and a globe, I explained it, as it seemed to me, admirably. Th... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Experiments
Thanks to the vitality in the spirit of the school, especially when its older pupils returned from their village occupations, this method of reading failed of itself, they began to grow listless, to play pranks, they cut the lessons. The main point, the reading of stories, which would go to prove the success of this mechanical method, showed that there was no success at all, that during five weeks not a step of progress had been made, many had fallen behind. The best mathematician of the first class, R, who could perform examples in square root in his head, got during this time so out of the practice of reading that he even had to spell out words. We dropped reading in books and racked our brains in trying to invent a method of mechanical r... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Proshchai And Proschaite
We returned to the village. Fedka had not once let go of my hand. It seemed to me that he held it now out of gratefulness. We were all brought so close together that night! as we had not been for a long time. Pronka walked abreast with us, along the wide village street. "See, there 's a light at the Mazanofs' yet!" said he. "As I was going to school to-day, Gavriukha was coming out of the tavern dr-u-u-unk!" he added, "blind drunk; his horse was all of a lather, and he was beating her like everything. I feel sorry even now! Indeed, I do! Why should he beat her? And lately, father," said Semka, "he drove his horse from Tula, and she ran him into a snowdrift, but he was asleep, he was so drunk!" "But Gavriukha was beating his horse right acro... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Marks
At two o'clock the hungry children run home. But notwithstanding their hunger, they always wait a few moments to learn what their marks are. Marks, though at the present time they give no rank, are still regarded by them with the keenest interest. "I have five, with the cross, and they have given Olgushka such a healthy cipher!" "And I have four," they cry. The child takes the marks as a gauge of his work, and discontent at marks is shown only when there is any unfairness in making the returns. Too bad if he has been trying, and the teacher, through an error, has given less than his deserts! He will give the teacher no peace, and will weep bitter tears unless he can have the record changed. Bad marks, if they have been deserved, go without ... (From : Wikisource.org.)

A School-Boy Fight
As they are subjected to laws that are simply derived from their own nature, the scholars do not rebel or grumble; if they were subjected to our old system of interference, they would have no faith in the legality of our ringing bells, regulations, and ordinances. How many times when children were fighting, have I chanced to see the teacher hasten to separate them; and the disparted foes would glare at each other, and even in the presence of a stern teacher would not fail to look even more fiercely than before, or even fall to blows; how many times every day do I see some Kiriushka set his teeth together, and fly at Taraska, and pull his hair, and throw him to the ground, and apparently try to maim his enemy or to annihilate him; and then, ... (From : Wikisource.org.)

A First Lesson In History
I had the intention in this first lesson of explaining wherein Russia differs from other countries, her borders, the characteristic feature of its government; to tell who was the reigning monarch at this time, and how and when the Emperor mounted the throne. TEACHER. Where do we live? in what land? A PUPIL. At Yasnaya Polyana. SECOND PUPIL. In the country. TEACHER. No; in what land are both Yasnaya Polyana and the Government of Tula? PUPIL. The Government of Tula is seventeen versts from us. Where is it? Why the Government is the government. TEACHER. No; Tula is a government capital, but a government is another thing. Now what land is it? PUPIL (who had been in the geography class). The land is round like a ball. By means of such questions ... (From : Wikisource.org.)