In the section “Educators of Ukraine” we present Khrystyna Danylivna Alchevska, an educator from Ukraine.
Khrystyna Danylivna Alchevska was born on 16 April 1841 in Borzno, Chernigov region. From childhood she dreamt of becoming a teacher, so she pursued her education independently and in 1862 founded the first free Sunday school for women.
More than 100 teachers, led by Khrystyna Danylivna Alchevska, taught law, geography, Ukrainian history, writing, mathematics, physics and chemistry for free.
In the first year, the school had about 50 pupils, with an average age of 12-14 years. In 1892-1893 the number of students increased to 600-700. The number of teachers also increased: there was one teacher for every 5 pupils. The pupils were divided into three categories: those who could not write at all, those who could read but could not write and those who needed to improve their skills. Each group had one or two tutors, who were also involved in extra-curricular activities such as excursions, theatre and play visits, and literary readings.
Khrystyna Danylivna Alchevskaya’s pedagogical work won her worldwide recognition, she was awarded several prizes for her work, and in 1889 she was elected vice-president of the International League of Education.
Photos from the Pedagogical Museum of Ukraine, the State Library of Science and Pedagogy of Ukraine.
State Scientific-Pedagogical Library in Ukraine, named after V. O. Sukhomlynski, Pedagogical Museum of Ukraine.
The information was prepared by Vitalina Kuznietsova, curator of the collection of the Lithuanian Museum of Education.
