Pedagogical art of K. D. Ushinsky through the prism of historical reality

Introduction . The founder of Russian pedagogical anthropology K. D. Ushinsky connected the art of teaching with the need for interdisciplinary anthropological research into the process of transferring knowledge and a system of values to the younger generation. The article attempts to analyze the reasons for the long-term rejection at the state level of the principles of «the art of creating something that does not exist» as Ushinsky defined pedagogy, and to identify the main promising directions for possible current application. Materials and Methods. During the research, within the framework of an interdisciplinary approach, historical-biographical, historical-legal, historical-pedagogical methods, general scientific principles and approaches to scientific analysis were used. Results . As the purpose of the educational and pedagogical influence K. D. Ushinsky saw the formation of a generation of free, intellectually developed citizens capable of creation – the patriots of Russia. Due to certain circumstances of an ideological and administrative-political nature, his teaching was not fully accepted and did not become widespread during his lifetime. Only in the middle of 1930s the state turned to the legacy of K.D. Ushinsky. Later Soviet society failed to perceive the creative potential of the great teacher. Modern Russia should not miss this chance. Discussion and Conclusions . The conclusions presented in the article can be attributed to fundamental provisions, the implementation and development of which can give not only a short-term effect of optimizing teaching activities, but also serve as a strategic guideline for the development of modern society.