Dear readers!

It is amazing how fast the time is running and how fast there comes a moment for a new journal issue and for the new joy of meeting with you again. This issue is devoted fully to a very topical but not very well developed theme of authorial schools, their theoretical analysis and practical implementation in different educational institutions of Russia, USA, and other countries in the world. I need to confess that the topic itself is very personal for me because a large part of my research, publications, and “life” in education is connected with it. This is the reason why I decided to write a theoretical article about authorial schools myself. You should also mind that the English version of this article is not a word-to-word translation of its Russian version that is because there are very few articles in English about authorial schools and the topic is less known to Western readers. I hope that Russian readers will understand and forgive me for this. (Whatever you say, there are some privileges of being Editor-in-Chief of this journal.)

Seriously, I would like to draw your attention to a number of definitely interesting articles and papers in this journal issue. First of all, these are articles written by the founders of authorial schools themselves — Dr. Olga Block, a principal of one of the best authorial charter schools in the USA, and Jack Mc Gurgan, a former principal of an elementary authorial school in Chatham, New York, which unfortunately lost some of its attractive characteristics after Jack retired.  You will definitely enjoy reading another article written in cooperation between the school principal of Newport-Mesa Early College High School Kathy Slawson and the college coordinator of this school Betty Disney. The school is working on the basis of a very interesting authorial concept (used in a number of schools of this type) that allows teenagers from underprivileged families to receive quality education and a good occupation in life. By the way, I visited this school some time ago and I was left with a very strong impression of a true celebration of students’ life, full of creative activities and teachers’ interest towards every student. I would also like to highlight the work of an Israeli researcher Dr. Yael Barenholtz who has been, for many years, involved in the implementation of the authorial concept of “Just Communities” developed by a very famous American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg into the school practice in Israel. Her article is a sincere story of successes and failures, search and findings on the way to adapt an “alien” authorial model to the social and cultural realities of her country.

This journal issue is also rich in materials connected with the field of History of Education. First of all, there is the article written by American researchers Dr. Richard Scheuerman and Dr. Arthur Ellis about Leo Tolstoy’s attempt to create a teachers’ institution in the Tula Region (by the way, Tolstoy’s notes on this topic are being published in English for the first time in this journal). It’s inspiring to know that Western educators try to research and understand the ideas and aspirations of one of the most brilliant thinkers, writers, and educators of the 19th century. The response to this article, written by a regular author of this journal, a famous Russian researcher Dr. Mikhail Boguslavsky, is no less interesting, but even more interesting is his article about another Russian educator Ignaty Ionin and his authorial school “Red Dawns”, which was almost forgotten by history. I am sure the readers will not only be delighted with the profoundness and uniqueness of this school but will also receive an aesthetic pleasure from reading this beautifully written article. As always, it is a pleasure to introduce an article written by Dr. Rosa Valeeva about one of the most famous humanists and researchers of children and childhood — Polish educator Janusz Korczak who untimely vanished in the Treblinka gas chambers but who left us unique pedagogical works and even a more unique experience of his “Our House,” a truly authorial educational institution.

We also keep publishing theoretical articles with the attempt to show new approaches to old questions of education. In this respect I strongly recommend the article written by Dr. Nata Krylova, Editor-in-Chief of the journal New Educational Values.  Again, we continue with a rubric called  “What Does It Mean?” where we introduce to the Russian-speaking readers a few new terms, phrases, and words that are used in modern American “language of education” in their translation into Russian.

As always, we do expect your commentaries. Please write to us and please remember that these are not just polite words but our sincere desire to know more about the demands and wishes of our readers. And finally, as usual, our request to you — please send your articles to the address tsyrlina@aol.com

We are looking forward to “meeting” new authors and new readers!

Always yours,
Dr. Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady
Editor-in-Chief