Extracurricular studies in women's secondary schools of Perm Province (second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries)

The article is concerned with activities during non-study time of Perm Province women's secondary school schoolchildren. This refers to the extracurricular study which was oriented not only on educational but on personal development mission. The article considers the main extracurricular activities such as holy days, national holidays, landmark events of the past and contemporaneity. All these concurred to religious sensitivities and patriotic education of high-school girls. School holidays were organized as literary and musical evenings or early morning events. The latter were held, as a rule, for different age groups and for entertainment and charitable purposes. Dancing, visiting theatre and cinema were allowed for entertainment during the out-of-school time upon special program approved by the school authority. In addition to the curriculum they organized schoolchildren' reports on different scientific questions. Lectures of visiting orators and teachers of city universities were especially popular. The subject of reports and lectures was beyond the compulsory school program and was devoted to the best achievements of modern research in science, arts and other areas. The most serious attention was paid to extracurricular reading. It was to enhance the general development of girls as intending teachers. For this purpose, reading in different subjects and literary discussions upon read books were arranged for high-school girls of different age on holidays, weekends and during the non-study time. Such pastime fostered principles of thinking and deepened the knowledge of schoolchildren. Educational excursions concurred to personal enrichment and allowed to know the world around children. Excursions were held pretty often in the form of walks and visits to local sights and manufactures. Travels to other towns and to the capital of the Empire were rare due to the territorial remoteness of the region. In addition to extracurricular work concurring to personal enrichment and fostering aesthetic beauty, field-sports at all seasons also referred to extracurricular study. Thanks to extracurricular studies the leisure time of high-school girls of even small towns of Perm Province was full of effective things which protected them against negative external influences and increased their interest in the study, their cultural level and self-fulfillment. In summary, the example of Perm Province women's secondary schools shows that pre-revolutionary all-girls high-school was a shining example of education and fostering implemented best in extracurricular studies.

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