Folk schools of Dorpar district in the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander the First

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to show the nature of the relationship between Emperor Alexander I, professor of the University of Derpt Georg Friedrich Parrot and members of the Ministry of public Education in the process of discussing the reform of parish schools in the Derpt educational district at the beginning of the 19th century. Professor Parrot became the author of a project on the establishment of parish schools in the district, and his close friendship with the king made it possible to hope for the approval of his ideas by the minister. However, having received the initial support of the emperor, the Derpt professor faced resistance from some members of the Main schools' directorate who did not want to amend the decisions which had already been adopted, and then the military conflict with France became a serious obstacle to the implementation of the planned transformations. Over the course of two years, Parrot made changes to the text of the draft three times, but could not achieve the final consent of Alexander I. The author comes to the conclusion that Parrot's desire to get special conditions for parish schools of the Derpt district and partial state maintenance in a protracted war and the worst financial crisis was impossible. An unpublished correspondence between the emperor and the Derpt professor is introduced into scientific circulation, which allows you to supplement significantly the idea of the reforms of public education in the first decade of the 19th century.

Keywords:

Emperor Alexander I, Professor G.F. Parrot, Ministry of public Education, Dorpat school district, parish schools