The history of the development of peoples, nations and civilizations proves that overcoming the complexity of the world and its development is based on spirituality and faith. It is advisable to pay attention to the fact that at the present stage of the development of society among scientists there is an ambiguous attitude towards the educational ideal and the content of the spiritual and moral theme. The spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren should shape the child’s personality on the principles of Christian morality, instill in the younger generation a deep love for their people, their culture, devotion to their homeland, contribute to the establishment of high professionalism of the individual and thereby fill the contemporary ideal of education with a highly spiritual meaning.
The school practice of upbringing proves that no pedagogical systems, no moral moral teaching can replace the personal influence of a person on a person, the influence of a teacher on a student. The fate of the future nation is always determined by the significance of the intelligentsia, which holds in its hands the development of education, science and culture.
It is not knowledge that educates, but people
Teachers, like some representatives of the elite stratum of society, along with scientists, doctors, and artists can contribute to the flourishing of the nation and enrich the spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren. GEF (federal state educational standard) of the second generation should accelerate these processes.
As a rule, they bring up not knowledge, but people who carry this knowledge. A teacher, as a spiritual mentor, can grow a highly spiritual personality only when, firstly, his social status changes in the state (society must understand the exceptional importance of the teacher’s professional mission - the construction of a cathedral of a child’s soul); secondly, the process of purposeful, planned, systematic self-improvement will become a necessary, vital condition for the existence of a teacher, this will contribute to the disclosure of his spiritual and moral potential as a person, as a citizen and as a professional.
Religiosity and patriotism are the main sources of education
In the last decade, more and more political and cultural figures, teachers, parents, conducting spiritual and moral education of older students, turn to Christian moral values as the most stable, universal, not subject to political and ideological conditions.
The transitional period that society is experiencing today, profound and systemic reforms in domestic education is a challenge for secular and spiritual educators to find new concepts, ways and approaches, methods and tools in solving the complex problems of building a highly spiritual civil society. Therefore, the formation of the spiritual world of children and students, spirituality as the leading personality trait is a large and difficult task, which is in the center of attention of the wide pedagogical community.
Progressive educators are increasingly sharply putting in first place in education - the spiritual and moral education of students. Events held to raise religiosity and patriotism in children are the main sources of spiritual education since the time of Kievan Rus. Serving God and the Fatherland are two absolute values of the Slavic people.
Spiritual moral paradigm
The gradual growth of theoretical knowledge during the second half of the 20th century can be traced on the examples of changing paradigms and concepts of education, training, upbringing. The paradigm is a model, a system of theoretical, methodological and axiological settings, adopted as a model for solving scientific problems by members of a particular scientific society. The spiritual and moral paradigm of education determines the main source of personality development, its spirituality, at its core - the interaction of teachers and students, based on a system of Christian values.
Purpose - Service to God and the Fatherland. This task in training as one of the main ones was determined by the All-Russian Internet Pedagogical Council. Spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren is the creation of such conditions for the child’s vital activity in which he could reach the heights in his development, the heights of his spirituality and morality, intellect and sensory sphere, physical condition and creative achievements through the affirmation of Christian values in life, through familiarization with cultural values. The spiritual and moral paradigm of upbringing is a purposeful spiritually-oriented process of formation of a hierarchical world of values in a child, which determines the purpose and meaning of one’s own being.
The principle of building a modern educational process
An analysis of the pedagogical heritage suggests that the spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren has improved. GEF provides a clear definition of the principles of building a modern educational process based on the spiritual and moral model of education:
- national identity of the person;
- unity of cultural, spiritual and intellectual educational environment;
- religious education;
- correlation of a common goal with the task of developing a child’s spirituality;
- integration of mind and faith.
These principles are implemented through a system of rules of moral behavior, which allows both the student and the teacher in the process of spiritual and moral interaction to realize the vector of personal growth and feel the significance of their personality for other people.
The content of this educational model sets the goal of spiritual and moral education of students to master the absolutely eternal, Christian, national, civil, environmental, aesthetic, intellectual values of life. The mechanism of functioning of the spiritual and moral paradigm of an outstanding teacher in the modern conditions of the organization and functioning of the educational process is the value-semantic spiritual moral moral personality-oriented interaction between teacher and students. These provisions require their further substantiation, which will create a system of methods, techniques and means, types and forms of professional activity of a teacher and will finally solve the problems of spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren.
Teacher as a key figure
The key figure in modern processes of modernization of the national education system, undoubtedly, is the teacher. The level of professional and personal culture of the teacher should ensure the spiritual and moral education of students at the appropriate level. GEF introduces new requirements to the professional and personal culture of the teacher, recommends that significant changes be made in the methodology, content, technology of continuous teacher education, and also bring them into line with educational and cultural realities. However, the main still remains the issue of professional and personal competence of the teacher on the quality of the organization of the educational process in a modern educational institution.
Competence
Competence is considered by pedagogical science as a concept of spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren, as well as the ability of a teacher’s personality to act competently and efficiently not only in standard conditions, but also to solve professional problems in situations requiring a creative approach.
In most countries, an indicator of a teacher’s fulfillment of his professional mission is competence as an integral socio-personal-behavioral phenomenon that combines motivational-value, cognitive and activity components. The tasks of spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren include methodological, psychological, pedagogical, special subject and methodological components. However, all of them are derivatives of his worldview competence, determine the vector of personal growth of a teacher as a person, citizen and professional.
The complex of formed key worldview competencies is presented in the life of a teacher of social, economic, multicultural, information and communication, political and legal, as well as competence in the field of personal life.
One of the central concepts of pedagogy is the concept of personality. The doctrine of personality is the methodological basis of any pedagogical system. A modern teacher should understand that the formation of a child’s personality concerns not only the development of leading mental processes, but first of all it is the spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren. “Pictures about good and evil”, which are presented today in modern secular pedagogy, are relative in nature, evil cannot be justified and aesthetized in the Christian religion.
Worldview erudition
The worldview erudition of a teacher consists in the formation of a special spiritual style of professional activity, communication and relationships, and affects the spiritual and moral education of students. The new edition of the FSES gives an impetus to the teacher to strive to become a highly spiritual person, to cultivate a number of qualities that characterize his life position as the constant predominance of spiritual values over material ones, the pursuit of the best, which should be especially noticeable in his highly moral activities, focus on the development of his own abilities, talent, creative forces, awareness of the criterion for choosing values - Christian morality, national culture, expanding opportunities for comprehending happiness.
Spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren: events
- The formation of morality, the desire of the individual to spiritual perfection (constant adherence to moral standards in any life situations).
- Mastering the content of the spiritual culture of the people (deep knowledge in the field of art, mythology, world and domestic literature, wide erudition, independent value judgments, competence in the field of national culture, its religious component: icon painting, temple culture, spiritual music; interest in the inner world of a person, interest in philosophical and religious teachings).
- The formation of citizenship, national identity (in-depth knowledge of the history and traditions of one’s people, one’s family, a developed sense of duty and responsibility towards one’s country and people, one’s civil dignity, etc.).
The path to developing professional competence
The main concept of the spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren lies in the harmony of the state of mind of the teacher. Harmony must be understood not as the development of all human properties to the same level, but as a kind of integrity, in which each ability takes one or another place in connection with its role in life.
The harmony of life of a modern teacher
- Harmony in relations with other people, with the external environment. It is achieved through a Christian understanding of love - treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated. In the sphere of interaction between teacher and student, this level assumes the equality of subjects and affirms self-esteem in everyday life. Its practical embodiment is the charity of teachers and students.
- Harmony with one’s own conscience, which ensures the inner peace of mind of a person. If a teacher values his own inner harmony, he is fair when angry; tells the truth when it is beneficial to deceive; honestly does his job when it can be done differently.
- Harmony with the Absolute of Good - to love good and resist evil. The professional activities of such a teacher are dominated by benevolence, humanity, faith, hope, love, empathy, mercy and optimism.
Principles of Spiritual Education
The experience of Christian Orthodox education shows that it is impossible to organize a person’s spiritual life through the development of his psychophysiological functions. It is impossible to come to spiritual growth through the development of only intelligence, only freedom or feelings, although spiritual life is mediated by the development of these components.
Man by nature has a tendency to build up his own spiritual field, regardless of what eyes he looks at the world - through the eyes of a Christian or a materialist. An essential feature of spirituality is that it always has a certain orientation - focus on the ideal, which is based on faith in it.
Faith is a natural need of the human soul, which is a source of positive motivation for human behavior; it is the basis of the upbringing process, the foundation of personality beliefs. The main question is what the child can and should believe in, what to look for spiritual support. The integrity of educational activity is based on the interaction of faith and values, the unity of which is convincingly shown by the practice of public education. Values are appropriated by a person primarily through faith, because it belongs to an instrument of spiritual knowledge.
Value systems
The upbringing of schoolchildren’s spirituality within the secular approach requires the establishment of a value system as the basis of the meaning of human life, the desire for the eternal ideals of Good, Truth and Beauty. If a society consists of people experiencing the harmony of the soul, then it itself becomes balanced, harmonious, since in general the moral state of society is determined by the moral state of its members.
Only through self-knowledge, the teacher realizes his own importance and through self-improvement reaches the heights of human dignity, spiritual renewal, comes to true faith and active life.
You should always remember the instructions of John Chrysostom: "Your children will always live in prosperity when they receive a good upbringing from you, able to streamline their morals and behavior. Therefore, do not try to make them rich, but take care to grow them as pious masters of their passions, rich virtues. "