The Lvivshchyna Foundation has launched a unique project on national and patriotic education. Schools in the Lviv region were given a methodological guide “Speak Ukrainian, because you live on your own land!” by philologist Feodosia Kolesnyk, aimed at teaching the Ukrainian language through national and patriotic education
Iryna Hrymak, the initiator of the book’s distribution among schools in the region and Ukraine, a member of the Lviv Oblast Council and head of the Lvivshchyna Foundation, told Espresso.Zakhid about the book and its role in the patriotic education of Ukrainians. “Speak Ukrainian because you live on your own land!” can be used equally for Ukrainian language lessons for students of all ages and for extracurricular activities and events. The first part of the book has now been published, and the second part is in the process of being created.
“The idea of creating this textbook was not only to help students and everyone else learn the Ukrainian language, but also to help them develop basic knowledge of the history, culture and national traditions of Ukraine. Ukrainians are a great nation, a great history, a great culture that has been developing for centuries. And today, along with learning the language, it is important for us to show how our state, political and cultural traditions were formed, because for decades it was artificially forbidden to talk about all this,” explains Iryna Hrymak.
The author of the book, philologist Feodosia Kolesnyk, has been teaching Ukrainian to internally displaced persons for a long time, and now also to military personnel who are undergoing rehabilitation and are actively involved in the classes. The manual is also useful for classes with defenders of Ukraine because of its unified theme, which is suitable for people of all ages and occupations. It is also used in the Lviv shelter “OPORA”, where both adults and children come to classes.
“This book is a textbook that, through language learning, gives you the opportunity to discover a sense of patriotism, to develop knowledge of your country’s history, an understanding of Ukrainian culture, to understand the process of state-building, how the Ukrainian nation has modernised and what is needed for the country to continue to be successful, developed and become a full-fledged member of the European community,” says Iryna Hrymak.
It is important that Speak Ukrainian… is designed not only for students, but primarily for schoolchildren. At the initiative of the Iryna Hrymak Lvivshchyna Foundation, the books have already been delivered to all schools in Lviv Oblast, which is more than 1,000 educational institutions. Together with its partners, the team also plans to provide them to schools in Kropyvnytskyi, and preparatory discussions are underway. In addition, the initiators are happy to respond to requests from other cities and regions of Ukraine. “It is important that the timing of the writing and publication of the manual almost coincided with the adoption and entry into force of the law ‘On the Basic Principles of State Policy in the Field of Strengthening Ukrainian National and Civil Identity’, which pays considerable attention to patriotic education of young people and other age groups. It is good that such a manual already exists and is already being used in the educational process. We are planning to increase the circulation, as there is a significant demand both in Lviv and other regions of Ukraine. We have also already agreed to distribute it in educational institutions in Kropyvnytskyi. Our partners are ready to move in this direction together with us,” adds the MP. At the presentation of the manual to representatives of the Lviv region’s education sector, Taras Zozulia, director of the Lvivshchyna Foundation, said that a meeting with educators would be organised at the end of the school year. They will discuss all the suggestions for improving the manual. After that, the Foundation will issue a second edition, which will be handed over to schools in Lviv region. .