Where can a village schoolteacher obtain information for a thematic lesson commemorating James Mace? The administration of an elementary school in Vinnytsia oblast recently asked our editors this question. A letter from the Ministry of Education and Science is being implemented in the regions, in pursuance of the directive of the President of Ukraine “On Measures to Honor the Memory of James Mace,” dedicated to the 54th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding journalist, public figure, and scholar, who revealed to the world the truth about the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine. The unquestionably important initiative of holding special lessons commemorating the late James Mace has given rise to countless questions. The first question comes from school principals, who have received this directive: Where can they obtain the required information? The second question comes from us, journalists. Are Ukrainian elementary schools and pupils prepared to carry out this measure? Do schoolteachers know how to teach the story of the Holodomor to children? How does one tell them about Mace’s destiny and heroic endeavors? Won’t this project be distorted by a formalistic approach?
We received an answer to the first practical question from the ministry. As it turns out, they are counting on us, i.e., The Day. “We have forwarded written instructions and recommendations to all regional departments of education to hold in January-February 2006 book exhibits, thematic lectures, conferences for schoolchildren and students, scholarly seminars, special classes, and roundtables in educational establishments of Ukraine, dedicated to the life and activities of James Mace,” says Raisa Yevtushenko, a ministry official. She added, “We didn’t have much time, so all we could do was provide them with Web links where information about Mace can be found. These are publications carried by The Day and Ukrainskyi istorychnyi zhurnal [Ukrainian Historical Journal]. In addition, the ministry plans to publish an article about Mace in its journal Istoriia v shkolakh Ukrainy [History in the Schools of Ukraine].” The ministry asked The Day’s journalists to write this article.
This is an honorable project. Readers should remember that the book Day and Eternity of James Mace was published in 2005 as part of The Day’s Library Series. But the state institutions responsible for financing publications from the budget showed neither interest nor initiative. Incidentally, James and his wife Natalia Dziubenko-Mace once published a booklet on the Holodomor designed exclusively for children. It could be slightly revised and widely circulated. But it appears that the state commissions have more important works (especially those written by high-ranking functionaries). In any event, the required materials, i.e., books or articles, must be supplied to schools earlier than letters of instructions, regardless of the subject. Below, our regional correspondents report on how Ukrainian schools are preparing for these commemorative lessons.
“Of course, one could expect schools to respond formalistically to the letter from the president of Ukraine about honoring James Mace’s memory,” writes The Day’s Iryna YEHOROVA from Lviv. “Perhaps this is the case in some places, as not many people are aware of this outstanding personality. But his name is well known in universities, particularly Lviv’s National University, where journalism students write term and diploma papers, even Ph.D. theses, dedicated to his works. Practically every school has done something in connection with this project. Lviv’s Secondary School No. 93, for example, published a special issue of its radio newspaper dedicated to Mace. Markiyan Shashkevych School No. 34 marked the event with an exhibit of Mace’s photos and photographs showing Mace walking along streets of Ukraine, communicating with scholars and ordinary people, studying our history.”
“For one month the life of this school, where the emphasis is on history, will be devoted to James Mace. Special classes dedicated to his life and creative work have been held in all grades. The older pupils even organized a workshop seminar entitled ‘Mace, Researcher of the Holodomor in Ukraine.” They have written papers on Mace and are preparing for a discussion of the book Day and Eternity of James Mace. Vice- principal Orysia Ronevych admits, ‘We didn’t expect the children to show such a keen and genuine interest in Mace, that they would read his articles so attentively and write their papers with such wholehearted enthusiasm. Every paper is evidence that the students are very impressed by Mace’s life and work, that they learned many new facts about the Holodomor only after touching on the undying memory of this man. This is further proof that a new generation is on the rise in our country, people who really care about the past and the future of Ukraine. We must discuss people like Mace more often, so that these young people will care about the future of our state, so that we can inspire our youth to self-sacrifice, to serve the people living on this earth.”
“The schools of Vinnytsia are not preparing to study the Holodomor in Ukraine by relying on the works of its researcher James Mace,” reports The Day’s Myroslava SOKOLOVA. “Vasyl Marchuk, head of the general school education department, explained that there aren’t enough academic hours. However, Nadia Savchuk, a methodologist with the social sciences section of the regional education department, has already received the Ukrainian president’s directive on measures to honor Mace’s memory. She promised that a roundtable will be held as part of a regional Olympiad in February, and that history teachers from raions in the oblast will be invited.”
“We have conducted special classes at our high school and told the students about the famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 and about the various evaluations of this tragedy, ranging from denial to its recognition as an act of genocide,” Natalka Rudenko, principal of the Ukrainian Gymnasium in Symferopol, told The Day. “The school library has a standing exhibit of books by and about James Mace, and about the Holodomor of the 1930s. The high school and library make extensive use of the materials carried by The Day; they are valued for their completeness and concreteness. They are extremely popular and reliable.” At the same time, the overall picture in the Crimea is not uniform. Information about the Holodomor in Ukraine is used only in schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction, whereas others (the overwhelming majority) are trying to avoid the subject, like before. The topic of honoring Mace’s memory has not been broached in schools or in civic and government-run organizations. Together with Natalka Rudenko we determined that the presidential directive has not reached the Ministry of Education and Science of the Crimea and Symferopil’s municipal department of education. People there have a rather vague idea about the Holodomor and its researcher James Mace, reports Mykyta KASIANENKO from Symferopil.
“The teachers of our educational establishment remember Mace from The Day’s articles and columns,” says Tamara Bashkirtseva, vice-principal for methodology at Khmelnytsky Lyceum No. 17. “Thanks to Mykhailo Nemov, a philanthropist from Khmelnytsky, the book Day and Eternity of James Mace has appeared in the city’s libraries. The lyceum’s instructors are now familiarizing the students with this literary memorial to the prominent scholar, journalist, and teacher in order to hold extracurricular readings of this book in accordance with the established program. These extracurricular readings will be summed up at a student conference dedicated to The Day’s book about James Mace, scheduled for November 2006, reports The Day’s Mykhailo VASYLEVSKY.
“In Zhytomyr, James Mace is remembered without the need for special directives,” reports The Day’s Vasyl KOSTIUKEVYCH. Borys Vedmedenko, principal of General Secondary School No. 20 (I-III), told The Day that the teachers conducted special lessons on the days commemorating the victims of the Holodomor, and that James Mace was mentioned during these lessons.
Mykola Kurbatov, vice-principal of General Educational School No. 69 in Donetsk, told The Day’s Hanna KHRYPUNKOVA: “We act on instructions from the raion education and science department, but we haven’t received anything.” In contrast, there is much discussion of the scholar and his research at School No. 68 in the miners’ capital, even in the absence of special directives. The subject of the Holodomor, according to Kurbatov, is taught and discussed in Grade 10 only in the space of one lesson, as laid down in the curriculum. Naturally, 45 minutes are hardly enough to cover the story of this tragedy, let alone Mace’s works on the subject. Yet the teachers try to convey to the students as much knowledge as possible in the space of this short lesson.
Neither has the ministry provided schools with any recommendations concerning such commemorative lessons. There is no uniform interpretation of these historical events; on the one hand, this gives the teacher carte blanche, but on the other hand, teachers are faced with a choice they are not always prepared to make. In fact, the subject of the Holodomor should be taught very carefully. “History must not be forgotten, but neither should too much attention be paid to its negative aspects,” says Iryna Holovneva, Ph.D. (History), adding, “To begin with, this may create problems in the current reality, and this reality must be more important than the past for all of us. Second, teenagers have a very vulnerable mentality. The emphasis should be on the situation — why that tragedy happened — and not on the tragedy itself, like hair- raising accounts and photos. It should be stressed that the tragedy resides primarily in the deaths of people who could have accomplished much for the benefit of our country, and never dwell on the death toll.”
“How effective these classes will be and whether they will turn out to be just another formality depends entirely on the teacher,” says Prof. Yuri Shapoval, Ph.D. (History), “on his/her personality, erudition, and the availability of information sources. The teacher must make pupils contemplate this knowledge, make them think. Then this lesson won’t be in vain.”
