Archives: Godless Re-education of Believing Children in Soviet Schools. The Find of 1978.

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Excerpts from reports of secondary schools No. 8, 14 and 16 of the city of Nakhodka on conducted atheistic educational work with students and parents

Secondary School No. 8

In secondary school No. 8, there are 116 students from believing families. Atheistic work is conducted in two directions: collective and individual. The school operates a lecture club for senior students, which has given lectures in all grades. Lectures have been presented: “The Truth about Petersburg Saints,” “Only the Black Cat Is Unlucky,” “Harmful and Useful Superstitions,” “Religious Holidays,” “What is Islam and Buddhism.” The “Young Atheist” circle is led by V.A. Peshkova. The circle members held an evening event “People and Gods” with demonstrations of experiments and amateur performances. In all grades there were thematic political information sessions based on newspapers, conversations, debates, in which materials from the journal “Science and Religion” were used.

Class hours held in the grades:
1st grade. “Conversations about Space.”
2nd grade. Discussion of the book “Black Bows.”
5th grade. “Superstitions and Omens Bring Only Harm to People,” “Harmful and Useful Superstitions.”
6th grade. “The Loops of the Antichrist.”
7th grade. “The Biography of Omens.”
8th grade. Conversations on a book of testimonies by former believers.
9th and 10th grades. “True freedom of conscience” — based on the materials of the USSR Constitution.

Atheist lecturer V.I. Egorova gave a lecture “On the Origin of Religion.”

Atheist corners with a selection of relevant literature have been set up in the Pioneer room and the library. The school jointly with the Builders’ House of Culture (DKS) conducts a film lecture series with screening of the films “Ivanna,” “The Miracle-Working One,” “Clouds over Borsk.” These films have been viewed.

In Pioneer grades a conference on the book “The Miracle-Working One” was held with a film screening. Subject teachers skillfully combine the study of themes with atheistic material in lessons, this work is especially well done by history teachers L.A. Ososova and P.V. Poluboshko, literature teachers L.N. Sinko and O.R. Goncharova, and primary school teachers A.V. Molochnikova, D.A. Khan. Homeroom teachers conduct extensive individual work with students from believing families, talk with them, give them assignments, involve them in circles; almost all children from believing families have assignments. For example, in the 9th grade Babich leads the labor sector, L. Patrusheva and Navarich are members of the academic sector, L. Shevchenko is a member of the editorial board. This girl plays the bayan and guitar well and takes part in amateur performances at school, and in the 7th-B grade M. Tuzova is a lecturer. The homeroom teacher notes the girl’s erudition, she knows the biography of V.I. Lenin very well and has held conversations on Lenin-related topics. N. Patrusheva is the newspaper editor, Ashlaban, Kishko, V. Tikhonov work on furniture repair in the classroom, Govor and R. Shestak are responsible for cleaning the classroom and the school grounds. The same is observed in other grades. These children carry out their assignments conscientiously. Many children attend the circles “Young Technician” (A. Boev burned a beautiful portrait of V.I. Lenin) and “Cutting and Sewing” — Belaya, Barabolkina, R. Tuzova, Yudenko, Govor and others.

This year 1/3 of the children from believing families were at the May Day demonstration; all children take part in class and school gatherings, line-ups, class hours, subbotniks; relations between believing and non-believing children are friendly.

Work in the school is conducted not only with children but also with teachers. The Commissioner for Religious Affairs held talks with the teachers.

It would be desirable for the “Znanie” society jointly with the Builders’ House of Culture to hold more conversations, lectures, conferences for parents and residents of our microdistrict, and that these events be conducted by more competent atheist lecturers, not by teachers.

Secondary School No. 14.

I. The school’s teachers in history, literature, biology, chemistry, and physics lessons engage in atheistic education. In history and literature lessons, teachers shape the dialectical-materialist worldview of pupils.

In studying botany, special attention is paid to the following questions:

The interrelationship of plants with their living conditions.
The modification of plants by human will.
Scientific criticism of biblical legends.

In studying biology:

Darwin’s theory, Oparin’s theory.
The atheistic significance of the work of biologists.
Criticism of vitalism, racism, and other theories.

In studying chemistry:

Exposure of the absurdity and unscientific nature of religious tales that the world was created by God out of nothing.
Exposure of the idealistic essence of vitalism.
To demonstrate the power of science and limitless scientific cognition.
To reveal the groundlessness of idealistic assertions that the fundamental basis of the world is not matter, but energy.

II. Work with children from believing families.

Believing families have been registered (18 families).
Children from believing families have been registered.
20 talks have been held with children from believing families about the harm of religion.
3 lectures were given for believing children on anti-religious themes:
“Scientific understanding of the life of the Universe”
“The role of religion in the life of society”
“The origin of plant, animal, and human life”
Children of believers have been given community assignments.
The work of the “Atheist” club has been organized (which includes children of believers).

III. Work with Believing Parents.

Believing parents have been placed on record.
Class teachers familiarized themselves with the lives of the believers.
36 individual talks were held for parents:
“The Science of the Origin of Diseases and How to Fight Them”
“On Belief in Fate and Objects”
“How Man Cognizes and Transforms the World”

IV. Work of the “Atheist” Club.
An “Atheist” club was organized at the school. The leader was L.A. Kozina. The club carried out the following work:

Talks were held about sectarians.
A newspaper “Young Atheist” was issued — 4 issues (once per quarter).
A Young Atheist Week was held, during which club members gave talks in the school’s classes:
“Why There Are Thunderstorms, Storms, Hurricanes”
“About Our Holidays”
“What Is the Harm of the Church Rite of Baptism”
“Discoveries in the Area of the ‘Dead Sea’ and the Myth of Christ”.
“Why Many People Cannot Break with Religion”.
Lecture with slide viewing:
“Science and Religion on the Structure of the Universe”
“Science on Extraordinary Natural Phenomena”.
Question and answer evening.
Collective viewing of films on atheistic themes with subsequent discussion:
“Searching for My Fate”
“Crime and Punishment”.

Deputy Principal Kotlyarova, 23.06.78.

Attached to this report is a list of students from believing families and data on their parents, from which it is evident that the school educates children not from 18 believing families, but from 10 families totaling 15 individuals, including in 3a — 2, 4b — 1, 6v — 1, 7a — 1, 7b — 2, 8a — 1, 8b — 1, 9 — 1, 10a — 4; from the families of the Yakshins — 3, Mikhail Govor — 2, the Protasovs — 1, Vashchenko — 1, Anatoly Zherebilov — 1, the Naumovs — 1, Vladimir Stepanov — 1, Sergey Stepanov — 1, the Yurovskys — 3, the Myasnikovs — 1.

Secondary School No. 16.

The school has 17 students from believing families. Extensive individual work is carried out with the children. Teachers talk about their interests, home life, school, assignments, achievements in science and technology, relationships between people, events in the country, abroad and much more. Teachers visit students’ homes, talk with parents. A film lecture series is systematically held at the school, where great attention is paid to atheistic lectures. Regional-level seminars on atheistic themes have been held more than once at the school.

There is an atheist corner, which contains modern anti-religious material. A stand “Painting and Religion” operates, where annotations for paintings expose the characters — church ministers depicted in the paintings. Subject weeks are constantly held at the school, when chemistry, biology, physics weeks are held, and events on atheistic themes are organized. A high school club “Our Contemporary” operates, where an atheist session is mandatory. High school students prepare lectures before such sessions and deliver them in both junior and senior grades.

For the junior grades, there is a fairy tale club “Cheburashka”, where sessions on fairy tales are held, exposing characters — church ministers, using slide films, film loops, and movies.

In the classes, anti-religious talks are necessarily held throughout the year, taking into account the children’s age.

Children from believing families are drawn into active work in the classes and at school. They necessarily have assignments.

Organizer Chernikova.

Certified true copy: Authorized Representative of the Council for Religious Affairs for Primorsky Krai

V.I. Chupin

June 30, 1978.

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©2011 Boris Perchatkin. This archival material is exclusive and has not been previously published anywhere, therefore the publication or use of specifically the documents in this article (this does not apply to the entire site) is only possible with my written permission.

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