The Gorky colony was a

reform school A reform school was a Prison, penal institution, generally for teenagers, mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, reformatory, reformatories (commonly called reform schools) were set up from 1854 onward f ...

for

juvenile delinquents Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

in the 1920s. The colony is the basis of the classic Russian book, '' The Road to Life'', written by the colony's director,

Anton Makarenko Anton Semyonovich Makarenko (, Ukrainian: Антон Семенович Макаренко, romanized: ''Anton Semenovych Makarenko''; 13 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 1 March188 ...

Legacy

In the period after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, teachers in Eastern Europe followed Soviet

pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

theory, primarily that of Makarenko. His methods emphasized principles of

peer pressure Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...

indoctrination Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis. It can refer to a general process of socialization. The term often implies forms of brainwas ...

, and

communalism Communalism may refer to: * African communalism, a system of interdependence in rural Africa * Christian communism, form of religious communism based on Christianity * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities ...

, and his book about the Gorky colony highlighted the joys of collective labor. Makarenko, who was

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's favorite pedagogue, believed that all children could be made into model Soviet citizens through

teamwork Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in an effective and efficient way. Teamwork is seen within the framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individuals who work toge ...

and focus on working for the group's welfare. Makarenko's followers were less nuanced with their implementation of his ideas. Historian

Anne Applebaum Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She holds Polish citizenship as well. Ap ...

likened the rough adaptation of Makarenko's ideas to a straightforward ideological indoctrination. Beyond Eastern Europe, teachers in the Western

progressive education Progressive education, or educational progressivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. T ...

tradition, with principles of creativity, spontaneity, and child-centeredness, also adopted Makarenko's techniques.

Notable people

Oksana Ivanenko Oksana Dmytrivna Ivanenko (; March 31, 1906 – December 16, 1997) was a Ukrainian children's writer and translator. In 1974, she was the winner of the Lesia Ukrainka Literary Prize for the novels ''Рідні діти'' (Native Children), '' ...

(1906–1997), Ukrainian children's writer and translator

Legacy

Notable people

References

Further reading