The work of the well-known Soviet educator and writer Anton Makarenko is universally acknowledged in the Soviet Union and has aroused widespread interest abroad.
His demanding love of children, his subtle understanding of their psychology, and his concern for their future have enabled Anton Makarenko to become an outstanding educator. The fruit of his research is a comprehensive system for bringing up children within a collective.
The upbringing of the individual is the principal theme of Anton Makarenko’s literary works. The English reader will be familiar with Makarenko’s Road to Life, Learning to Live, and Book for Parents, which have been published in Moscow in English.
The aim of this book is to continue to acquaint the reader with Anton Makarenko and to shed further light on the life and work of this remarkable educator.
Translated from the Russian by Katharine Judelson
Designed by Vadim Kuleshov
Compiled by Valentin Kumarin
All credits to Guptaji
Edit: 30 Jan 2026, new scan added
You can get the book here and here.
Contents
I. V. V. Kumarin. Teacher, Writer, Citizen 7
II. Makarenko on His Own Life 63
III. Reminiscences About Anton Makarenko 101
– M. Gorky. An Excerpt from “Across the Soviet Union” 103
– L. Stepanchenko. Makarenko as I Remember Him 117
– G. Makarenko. Reminiscences 129
– N. Fere. My Teacher 143
– S. Kalabalin. How Anton Makarenko Prepared Us for Life 164
– V. Fink. Restless Happiness 183
– K. Chukovsky. Encounters with Makarenko 193
IV. Makarenko on Education 207
– Lectures on Child Education 221
– The Family and Child Care 291
– Education at Home and at School 321
– On My Experience 339
– Experience Gleaned from My Work 377
Mir Books 