Anton Makarenko’s book “The Road to Life” has been read by millions of people in 54 languages. In the Soviet Union along it has run into eighty five editions totalling two and a half million copies.

The name of this distinguished educator, who broke new ground in pedagogics, is familiar to the English reader. Translations of his book “The Road to Life” (in three volumes), “Learning to Live”, and “A Book for Parents” have been published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House in Moscow.

The object of the present book is to acquaint the reader more fully with the life and remarkable work of this Knight of Education.

The volume is in two sections. The first opens with a short biographical sketch of Makarenko by Academician Medinsky, a leading personality in Soviet education. This is followed by stories and reminiscences by people who knew Makarenko closely — his wife and great friend Galina Stakhiyevna, the colonists’ patron Maxim Gorky and numerous ex-pupils of the Colony, themselves the chief characters in the books “The Road to Life” and “Learning to Live”.

In the second section Makarenko speaks to the readers himself. He discusses his pedagogical experience and practice, gives his views on education, quotes numerous interesting examples from his own practice, gives advice to parents, and answers questions from listeners and readers.

This collection, based on the numerous publications dealing with Makarenko issued in the Russian language, has been prepared for the press with co-operation of the late Galina Stakhiyevna Makarenko.

Translated from. the Russian By Bernard Isaacs
Designed by E. Zhukov]

You can get the book here and here

Contents

Anton Makarenko, his Life and Work by Academician Y. N. Medinsky 7

The Gorky Labour Colony . 13

The Dzerzhinsky Commune 31

Makarenko the Writer. The Last Years of His Life . 33

Reminiscences of Makarenko
The Life Stories of His Pupils

From the Book Across the Soviet Union by Maxim Gorky .41

Reminiscences by Galiua Makarenko .58

Reminiscences by Semyon Kalabalin 69
I. How A. S. Makarenko Educated Us 69
II. Discipline 79

The Multiplication Table by Yefim Roitenberg 87

My Teacher by Nikolai Ferre 94

Gorky Visits the Gorkyites 106

Who Is Alyosha Ziryansky by Alexei Zemlyansky 121

“Here Is Your Marianna!” by Klavdia Bcriskina 129

Meetings with Makarenko by Kornei Chukovsky 134

The Happiness of Unrest by Victor Fink 141

The Life Patterns of Makarenho’s Pupils by Faina Vigdorova 145

Makarenko on Education (Talks, Articles, Letters)

Lectures on the Education of Children (Abridged) 157

The General Conditions of Upbringing in the Family .157

Parental Authority 164

Discipline 173

Play 184

Education by Work 189

Sex Education . 196

Extract from the article “The Family and Children’s Upbringing” 205

Questions Answered 219

Extract from the Article “Education in the Family and at School” 226

My Experience 240

From My Own Practice 267

A Short Bibliography 279