Kelias nuo Mokytojų seminarijos iki Panevėžio kolegijos

LTGausiai iliustruotoje knygoje spausdinama per 40 straipsnių. Juose, remiantis naujais iš archyvų, bibliotekų, muziejų ir kitų šaltinių surinktais faktais, pirmą kartą plačiau pasakojama apie atskirus 1872 m. įkurtos Panevėžio mokytojų seminarijos gyvavimo etapus, pateikiama duomenų, kad Panevėžyje mokytojai rengiami jau beveik 140 metų. Nuo 2002 m. šią tradiciją tęsia kelių aukštesniųjų mokyklų pagrindu įkurta Panevėžio kolegija. Taip pat knygoje nemažai dėmesio skiriama Panevėžio mokytojų seminarijos 1919-1936 m. laikotarpiui išryškinti ir žymesniems I-osios (1925 m.) laidos auklėtiniams (10 straipsnių) bei juos išugdžiusiems mokytojams (12 straipsnių) pristatyti. Pateikiama ir naujos vertingos informacijos apie 1939 m. į šį miestą iš Klaipėdos atkelto Pedagoginio instituto, 1944-1952 m. atkurtos Seminarijos ir vėliau Panevėžyje buvusių Pedagoginės ar Pedagoginės muzikos mokyklos bei Konservatorijos gyvenimą.

ENFrom Teachers’ Seminary to Panevėžys College is a book dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the first graduating class (Class of 1925) of Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary and the upcoming centenary of the 1918 Restoration of the State of Lithuania. It has an enduring value as a source of information on educator training institutions operating in Panevėžys between 1872 and 2015, their preeminent teachers and students shaped by them. Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary dates back to 14 November 1872. It was established as an outpost for training and supplying of teachers for primary schools of Kaunas governorate, then part of Imperial Russia, where its alumni were expected to enforce the policy of Russification. As part of the promotion of the Russian Orthodox faith over Catholicism, only persons of Orthodox faith were allowed to study at the Seminary, the only institution of its kind in a predominantly Catholic environment. The situation began to slowly improve following the 7 May 1904 lifting of the press ban in Lithuania, i.e., the legitimation of the use the of Latin alphabet for all print in Lithuanian instead of the previously enforced (1864) Cyrillic script. At the permission of the authorities of the Imperial Russia, starting with the autumn of 1906, persons of Lithuanian descent could also gain admission to Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary. An acclaimed authority figure and a linguist, Jonas Jablonskis, who taught at the Seminary for two years, 1906-1908, had a positive impact on disseminating the spirit of the Humanities at the Seminary, revitalising the cultural life of the city and bringing its focus back on a pro-Lithuanian agenda. Several of the Seminary’s students of Lithuanian extraction graduating around that time later rose to prominence as distinguished figures in the spheres of education, culture and social life of Lithuania.Amongst them were Antanas Vireliūnas, Kazimieras Ubeika, Antanas Žalys, Jonas Murka, Petras Tarasenka, just to name a few. Due to the evacuation necessitated by commencement ofWorld War I, Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary was relocated and continued operating in Mstislavl (Mogilev governorate) until 1918. This period of its existence has not yet been researched. In June 1918, Seminary students and other members of the intelligentsia returned to Lithuania. Among them was Juozas Balčikonis, a linguist. Under a mandate of the Ministry of Education of the time he re-established Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary in the summer of 1919 and was appointed its headmaster. He also put together a staff of the best available teachers of the city, and was actively involved in procuring suitable educational premises and student lodging. J. Balčikonis also taught Lithuanian language at the Seminary. The re-established Seminary carried out study programmes approved by the Lithuanian Ministry of Education. Its activities centred on the implementation of the country’s chief priority of culture and education, i.e., training of teachers not only as solid professionals, but also as individuals mindful of their national identity and capable of becoming active participants, as well as organisers, in the social life at their respective workplaces. Therefore, as a Head of Panevėžys Teachers’ Seminary, J. Balčikonis strove to find new methods that could effectively mature students into teachers while expanding their outlook and stimulating the development of their various abilities. During his time in office, J. Balčikonis maintained relations with a well-known linguist, professor at the University of Lithuania, Kazimieras Būga, who was then in the process of compiling the Lithuanian Language Dictionary. Some of the students of the Seminary, Napalys Grigas, Juozas Žilvitis, Stanislavas Kaušakys, etc.A grassroots scout movement formed at the Seminary, just like at the other gymnasiums of Panevėžys. Its members, Povilas Kazėnas, Aleksandra Šilgalytė, Jonas Švoba, Julija Žukauskaitė, Jonas Valiukonis, and many others’ considered the movement a meaningful extracurricular pursuit. Notably active were Seminary students and teachers Jurgis Elisonas, Antanas Kasparavičius, Petras Būtėnas, etc. who were members of Šaulių sąjunga (Riflemen’s Union), an independent paramilitary organization that fostered ideas of love for the Motherland and national self-awareness, as well as carried out educative, cultural and sports activities. J. Balčikonis was very successful at applying an exceptional method of teaching the native language through practical translation lessons at the Seminary. It was a method he had used in Voronezh. As a joint effort by J. Balčikonis and his students, these lessons resulted in a book, Hauff’s Fairy Tales, published in 1925. Even many years later, former students of the Seminary Kazimieras Masiliūnas, Aleksandra Šilgalytė, Juozas Žilvitis, Julija Žukauskaitė and others recalled the benefits of such practical translations. At the period when J. Balčikonis was in office (1919-1924), the Seminary was a home to teachers and students who were inspired and united by the ideas of a meaningful strife for the freedom of their Motherland. Amongst those who had taken part in the Wars of Independence and had worn the rough-cloth greatcoat of a volunteer soldier were K. Masiliūnas, a student, teachers J. Elisonas and A. Kasperavičius, as well as P. Būtėnas who taught Lithuanian from the start of 1925. The latter, also J. Elisonas, A. Kasperavičius and Ignas Jasiūnas participated in the Klaipėda uprising of January 1923. [...].