FACES AND PLACES: Phase one of NIU/Ostroh project completed (06/14/98)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Phase one of NIU/Ostroh project completed

Imagine coming to the United States from Ukraine, becoming a graduate assistant in the faculty of leadership and educational foundations at Northern Illinois University, teaching undergraduates, completing 24 graduate hours (in addition to the six NIU hours earned in Ukraine), spending 60 internship hours in American elementary and secondary schools, and writing and defending a thesis.

This is what Ostroh professor Natalia Lominska accomplished in her nine months at NIU. Her thesis was titled "Language Education and National Identity in Ukraine: A Historical Analysis." She now holds an M.Ed. degree from an American university.

Vasyl Zhukovsky, another Ostroh professor, will receive his M.Ed. degree in August, having completed the same rigorous program. His thesis title was: "Moral Values: Education in American and Ukrainian Schools 1970-1980."

Both professors are now in Ukraine and, if all goes well, will soon be preparing Ukrainian-language manuscripts for publication.

Thus concludes phase one of the NIU/Ostroh project, which has as its ultimate goal the creation of a faculty of educational foundations at Ostroh Academy that can eventually offer a master's degree in education.

As anyone familiar with the present situation in Ukraine knows, the future of that country will depend on a young, intelligent, nationally conscious, morally incorruptible cadre of dynamic leaders dedicated to a free, strong, democratic, Ukrainian nation-state. Developing such cadres depends on teachers who are not only aware of, but committed to, civic education as a vehicle of school reform. Unless education becomes an agent of change in Ukraine, the future is bleak.

Ukrainian teachers appear to be well-trained in the physical sciences. It is in the social sciences that they fall short, largely the result of Soviet indoctrination, which remains a part of many pedagogical institutions. It is in the fields of educational philosophy (the collectivist ideals of Anton Makarenko still cast a long shadow), history, sociology and psychology that Ukrainian teachers appear ill-prepared.

Social change is a long and arduous process, especially since Ukraine, like the rest of the former USSR, has never been de-Sovietized. Bringing teachers to the United States for a tour and a "quickie course" in pedagogy is not the answer. Long-term planning is required, and that is exactly what the NIU/Ostroh project is all about.

Textbooks in philosophy, moral education, sociology, history and psychology are in short supply in Ukraine. That is why Northern Illinois has been preparing a collection of theses on Ukrainian topics for future translation and publication. In addition to the two theses mentioned above, recent works include: "Svoboda and the Education of Rusyn-Ukrainians in America, 1893-1914: A Study of an Ethnic Newspaper" by Lesia W. Kuropas, and "A Comparative Analysis of Selected West European/American and Ukrainian Women-Centered Thinkers: Implications for Women's Education" by Antonina Lukenchuk.

Thus far the Ukrainian American community has responded very positively to the NIU/Ostroh Project. As of May 30, a total of $10,643 has been collected by mail and through fund-raisers in Chicago, Silver Spring, Md., and Warren, Mich.

Phase two of the project has already begun. NIU Prof. David Ripley is presently in Ukraine teaching a three-hour course titled "Historical Foundations of American Education." Some 15 English-speaking teachers are enrolled. Beginning June 8, Lesia and I will team teach with Mrs. Lominska, offering another three-hour course, titled "Social Foundations of Education" to the same teachers. All of them will receive an NIU certificate of participation, and three of the best teachers will then come to NIU to complete their degree requirements.

As in the past, Northern Illinois University is providing tuition waivers and teaching stipends. The Eurasia Foundation is assisting with round-trip transportation and living expenses.

Those who believe in the validity of the NIU/Ostroh Project and would like to help can write a check to the Ukrainian National Foundation/Ostroh Fund and send it to: Ukrainian Educational Associates, 107 Ilehamwood Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115. All donations are tax-deductible.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: mbkuropas@compuserve.com