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.)

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.)

Mechanical Reading
Reading constitutes a part of the instruction in language. The problem of instruction in language consists, in our opinion, in directing the pupils in the comprehension of the contents of books written in the literary language. The knowledge of the literary language is indispensable because all good books are written in it. Formerly, from the very foundation of the school, there was no division between mechanical and graded reading; the pupils read only what they could comprehend special works, words and phrases, written in chalk on the walls, then the tales of Khudyakof and Afanasief. I supposed that for children to learn to read they had to have a love for reading, but that to acquire a love for reading it was necessary that what they rea... (From : Wikisource.org.)

The Teaching Of Grammar
We made various experiments in teaching grammar, and must confess that no one of them succeeded in our aim of rendering this study attractive. In the summer, in the second and first classes, a new teacher made a beginning with explaining the parts of speech, and the children at least some of them at first were interested, as they would have been in charades and enigmas. Often, after the lesson was finished, they recurred to the idea of enigmas, and amused themselves in puzzling one another with such questions as, "Where is the predicate?" or "What sits in the spoon, Letting his legs hang down?" But there was no application to correct writing, or if there was any it was rather to erroneous than to correct sentences. Just exactly as it was wi... (From : Wikisource.org.)

The Opening Of School
Let us suppose that, according to the roster, we begin with mechanical reading in the first or the youngest class; in the second, with graded reading; and in the third, with mathematics. The teacher goes into the room, and finds the children rolling or scuffling on the floor, and crying at the top of their voices: "You're choking me!" "You stop pulling my hair!" or "Let up; that'll do!" "Piotr Mikhailovitch," cries a voice from under the heap, as the teacher comes in, "make them stop." "Good-morning, Piotr Mikhailovitch," shout still others, adding their share to the tumult. The teacher takes the books and distributes them to those who have come to the cupboard. First those on top of the heap on the floor, then those lying underneath, want ... (From : Wikisource.org.)

Self-Improvement In Writing
This summer we had exactly the same experience with calligraphy as we had with mechanical reading. The scholars were very poor penmen, and one of the new teachers tried to have them write from a copy always a regular and easy method for the teacher. The scholars detested this; we were compelled to abandon calligraphy, and we could not devise any way of correcting bad writing. But the oldest class themselves found a way out of it. After they had finished writing their sacred history, the older scholars wanted us to let them carry their copybooks home. The copy-books were soiled, torn, badly written. The careful mathematician, R, asked for a new book, and began to copy his exercise. This idea pleased them all. "I want a sheet of paper," and "... (From : Wikisource.org.)