My Heart I Give to Children

Vasily Sukhomlinsky’s My Heart I Give to Children is an educational classic that has sold millions of copies in 30 languages.  It describes Sukhomlinsky’s ground-breaking work with thirty-one students in rural Ukraine, during an experimental preschool year and the subsequent four years of their primary schooling.

Sukhomlinsky wrote over thirty books, all based on his personal experience as a teacher and school principal at Pavlysh Secondary School in rural Ukraine during the 1950s and 1960s. His school became famous in educational circles and hosted thousands of visitors who came from the length and breadth of the Soviet Union and beyond.

One visiting principal wrote, “Pavlysh Secondary School should be renamed a university! We say this quite seriously: a feeling of wonder and admiration overwhelms anyone with the slightest love for children and schools.” (V.A. Karakovsky)

Another wrote, “I have spent only one day in this remarkable school … but I have learnt as much as I did in four years at teachers college.” (M. Manukian)

Sukhomlinsky’s writings continue to enjoy popularity, and are especially influential in China.

My Heart I Give to Children was many years ahead of its time. It addresses issues such as our relationship with nature, how to nurture children’s souls in the face of the sometimes negative influences of mass media, how to help children develop empathy for others, how schools can develop strong relationships with families, how children’s brains function and develop, how to foster an intrinsic love for learning, and how to support children who struggle to acquire skills in literacy and numeracy. The work is addressed to school principals and teachers, and anyone interested in the upbringing of young children.