Andriy Malyshko’s Pedagogical Activities

Abstract

This article is devoted to the little-studied and practically unknown to the general public aspects of the life and work of the outstanding Ukrainian Soviet poet and public, political, and cultural figure Andriy Samoilovich Malyshko. Based on a significant number of documentary sources, scientific research, and periodicals, the article traces Malyshko’s pedagogical activities and his connections with the education system in the Ukrainian SSR.

In modern Ukrainian historiography, there are only a few publications devoted to the issues covered in the article, in particular, the period of Andriy Samoilovych’s education and the beginning of his professional activity in the field of education, his direct participation in the literacy program, which the future poet was involved in at the age of fifteen. The author also proves that in the following years, in fact throughout his entire life, Malyshko did not sever his ties with education.

Andriy Samoilovych Malyshko began his career as a teacher. He was a teacher, deputy headmaster, and later headmaster of a school in Ovruch, a successful activist in the Komsomol organization, and was actively involved in social, cultural, and educational work. Contemporary accounts indicate that he was a good teacher, approached various tasks creatively, and was noted for his organizational skills. Malyshko quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a deputy head teacher and then a school principal. However, his future as a teacher was cut short by a campaign to find hidden enemies among education workers. Malyshko was reminded that his brother had been sentenced to death as a Makhnovist. With the help of his former university professors, the poet was able to rehabilitate himself, but he never returned to school. Nevertheless, throughout his life, the writer maintained close ties with many educators: schoolchildren, students, and scholars. He corresponded with schoolchildren, graduate students, and others. Later, as a deputy, he tried as best he could to improve the educational process, the quality of education, and the living conditions in dormitories for Soviet and foreign students, always paying considerable attention to the problems of the development of the Ukrainian language. Together with Oles Honchar, Malyshko insisted on the mandatory study of the Ukrainian language in all educational institutions. Malyshko also analyzed the state of work at universities, in particular, the educational process and the quality of teaching foreign students in the Ukrainian SSR, and sought new ways to improve them.