Tone Peruško
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Tone Peruško (February 27, 1905 – July 27, 1967), was a Croatian educator, social worker and writer. Peruško graduated in 1952 from the Higher Pedagogical School and the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. He later became a teacher in Zagreb, a professor at the Italian Teachers' School in Rijeka, and a professor at the Higher Pedagogical School in Zagreb. His contribution to pedagogy in Croatia was significant, and he was the founder of the Pedagogical Academy in Pula. In his book ''Knjiga o Istri'' (A Book about Istria), published posthumously, he argues for a common national identity of Croatian and Italian lower class' people autochthonous of Istria, the Istrian man being "a kind of local patriot, isolated in his intimacy from both Italy and Yugoslavia."


Biography

He was born on February 27, 1905, in Premantura where he attended elementary school until 1915, when he was evacuated to Austria due to the war. After the war he returned to Premantura where he studied shoemaking. However, due to the closure of Croatian schools, he could no longer study in his mother tongue, so he left in 1922 to
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. He attended the Teacher's School in
Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
and
Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...
, where he graduated. After graduation, he served as a teacher in the villages of Zagora. As an excellent teacher, he was selected to study and moved to Zagreb, where he graduated at the Higher Pedagogical School and Faculty of Philosophy. At the same time, he was active in the circles of Istrian refugees (''Istarski glas'', etc.); was an associate and editor-in-chief of the weekly ''Istra'', and one of the founders of ''Istarska naklada'', an association for publishing books and articles. As an anti-fascist, he participated in the work of the NOC for Istria. After the war, he worked in
Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
as the deputy editor-in-chief of
Glas Istre ''Glas Istre'' () is a Croatian regional daily newspaper published in Pula which mainly covers stories of interest from the Istria region in the northwest of the country. Established in 1943 as a regional newsletter of the Yugoslav Partisans, the ...
, in addition he collaborated in the editorial office of Rijeka's
Novi list ''Novi list'' () is the oldest Croatian daily newspaper published in Rijeka. It is read mostly in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeas ...
and taught in high schools in Rijeka. He went to Zagreb again, where he performed numerous educational duties. In 1950 he started the magazine '' Školske novine'', and is credited with launching '' Polet''. At that time he also published scientific papers: ''Methodological instructions for the processing of domestic reading'' in 1956, ''Orthographic Manual'' in 1957. Somewhat later, he published the scientific-professional work ''Materinski jezik u obaveznoj školi (Specijalna didaktika)'' (Mother Tongue in Compulsory School—Special Didactics), which was later published in five more editions. Peruško worked as a teacher at the Teachers 'School in Zagreb, as a professor at the Italian Teachers' School in Rijeka, and as a professor at the Higher Pedagogical School in Zagreb. He returned to Pula in 1961, where he founded the Pedagogical Academy, of which he was the first director until his death in 1967. In addition to his organizational work, he continued his pedagogical work here and introduced the subject of ''Nastava o zavičaju'' (Teaching about the Homeland), which he rendered compulsory for all students, and for which he cared much about. The introduction of this subject provoked criticism from scientific and political circles, but he made considerable efforts to prove that his initiative was valuable. In the journal ''Pedagoški rad '' (Pedagogical paper), 1964, explaining the justification and importance of the "Teaching of the Homeland", he summed up what he deemed the determinants of the Istrian mental being: according to Peruško, the Istrian man remained somewhat in his intimacy somewhere on the border of the Slavic and Latin world, between the Balkans and the Apennines; "he is in fact a kind of local patriot, isolated in his intimacy from both Italy and Yugoslavia." This statement did not only apply to Croats, but also to Istrian autochthonous Italian peasants, fishermen, miners, sailors. The political task of Teaching in the homeland was breaking "that feeling of isolation and removing the feeling of national inferiority," helping that 'man at the crossroads' with knowledge that will become a conviction, best expressed in Peruško's ''Knjiga o Istri'' (A Book about Istria), published posthumously by
Školska knjiga Školska knjiga (lit. ''Schoolbook'', ) is one of the largest publishing companies in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It ...
in 1968, as a co-authored work ( Miroslav Bertoša,
Josip Bratulić Josip Bratulić (born 2 February 1939) is a Croatian philologist, historian of literature and culture, and academic. He was born in Sveti Petar u Šumi. He attended a gymnasium in Pazin, graduating in Croatian studies and comparative literature ...
,
Zvane Črnja Zvane (Ivan) Črnja (October 8, 1920 – February 26, 1991) was a prominent Croatian poet, prose writer, essayist, culturologist, screenwriter, playwright and filmologist, journalist, publicist, polemicist and publisher. He's considered one of ...
, and others). Peruško thought that in no country "the national question coincides so much with the peasant question" as in Istria. Along with
Mijo Mirković Mijo Mirković (; 28 September 1898 – 17 February 1963), also known by his pen names Miho and Mate Balota, was a prominent Croatian poet, novelist and economist. Considered one of the most prominent Croatian poets of the 20th century and of ...
, Tone Peruško was one of the main initiators of the idea of higher education in Istria. His work of establishment of colleges in istria started a project that would 40 years later result in the establishment of the
University of Pula A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
.


References


Sources

* Z. Črnja, In memoriam Tonu Perušku: Simbolika jedne smrti, Telegram, 393, 10. XI. 1967; * M. Bertoša, O sastavnicama takozvane lokalne povijesti, Istra, 1977, 2–3; * A. Došen-Dobud, Prvi direktor puljske Pedagoške akademije, ibid.; * F. Lajoš, Pedagoški i metodički rad Tone Peruška, ibid.; * I. Mihovilović, Tone Peruško novinar, ibid.; S. Vukušić, Radovi na polju jezika, ibid.; * M. Demarin, Život i rad T. Peruška, ibid., 1977, 8–9; * S. Vukušić (priređivač), Tone Peruško: U svome vremenu, Pula–Rijeka 1984. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perusko, Tone 1905 births 1967 deaths Croatian educators Croatian writers Croatian educational theorists Magazine founders