Russians supported the expansion of life safety lessons: “little people with a capital L”

The study showed that the majority of the country’s population considers strengthening elements of basic military training to be extremely important. Survey participants are confident that discipline will allow schoolchildren to gain vital skills necessary for adult life.

A minority of respondents chose to refrain from answering or were inattentive to the initiative. It is likely that their position is associated with an incorrectly formed understanding of the military, military service and understanding of defense of the homeland in the nineties, as well as with the still incomplete amount of knowledge about the CVP module in Russian schools. We publish the details of the study in our material.

Vital Knowledge

More than half of Russians see positive aspects of raising children in basic military training. Respondents are convinced that thanks to the module, schoolchildren will not only form the correct patriotic position, but will also be able to better prepare for military service, and will also acquire a number of skills useful in adult life. This includes physical training and the ability to protect yourself and others in case of unforeseen situations. For girls, training in the basics of first aid is provided.

The head of a large family from Arkhangelsk, Vitaly, is raising two daughters and two sons. The northerner is convinced that in the conditions of a turbulent geopolitical situation, Russians need to instill important skills from school. “The eldest son went to tenth grade this year. I am glad that military training is being revived in Russian schools. Physically, Anton is very strong – he has been wrestling since childhood. I would like the guy to be taught how to properly respond to emergency situations in class. And my daughter Tanya has dreamed of becoming a doctor since early childhood. Basic medical care will bring her closer to realizing her dream. Now is a turbulent time, and you simply cannot do without such skills,” noted Vitaly.

Based on the specifics of the educational institution, a basic or advanced level of the program can be adopted in a life safety lesson. In addition to the compulsory subject of life safety, schools can independently include the study of basic military training in the curriculum or in the plan of extracurricular activities.

As noted by the Ministry of Education, today there are two work programs within the framework of the initiative. At the first, classes and meetings with military personnel and veterans will be organized for schoolchildren, as well as training sessions at military-patriotic education centers, excursions to military units and military tactical games. The second program will introduce girls to the basics of first aid and the intricacies of caring for the sick.

The Chairman of the Council for Patriotic Education of the All-Russian Organization “OFFICERS OF RUSSIA”, Colonel Alexander Golovashkin, supports the initiative of the authorities with both hands. He believes that it is extremely incorrect to associate the school module of CVP with the transformation of students into inveterate martinets.

“These lessons will allow the children to be diversified. We give children a certain amount of knowledge, and the greater it is, the greater the chance of saving their life, and maybe someone else’s,” the Hero of the Russian Federation is convinced.

Motivation for future officers

Colonel Alexander Golovashkin has been conducting patriotic education lessons for schoolchildren for 14 years. During this time, he traveled all over the country and spoke with thousands of children. This is how his work is structured.

“Before teaching lessons, I analyze the audience and find out what kind of class it will be. In the introductory part I give examples of the glorious chronicle of our state. I place accents to interest the children and find out what they liked best. When the child shares his emotions, you can move on to learning. They say that this situation took place thanks to excellent physical preparation and courage. In this way, I convey to the children that all great people were also once schoolchildren, but thanks to their interests and hobbies they became our heroes,” he said.

It is obvious that such motivation will form a responsible idea of ​​patriotism in the minds of future adult citizens. The children will see vivid examples of the heroes of our country, which they can follow when making their own vital decisions.

As part of the extracurricular CVP course, schoolchildren will learn weapons and the rules of handling them, the basics of shooting, the use and construction of hand grenades, personal protective equipment and first aid. The discipline will also cover issues of providing assistance during man-made and natural disasters.

Alexander Golovashkin notes that the most important thing in his teaching activity is the visual results of his work: “In the spring, we met with eleventh-graders from one of the Russian schools and talked, and in September at the same school I held “Conversations about Important Things.” And last year’s graduate, a first-year cadet at the University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, entered the class, in uniform. He shared that he made the decision to become an officer because of these lessons. And there are a lot of such stories.”

Many of the guys with whom Alexander interacted as part of his work are today “behind the ribbon”, at the Northern Military District. At the same time, they often call their teacher and thank them for their experience and knowledge. He trained more than one hundred guys to get food and water in the forest, make a fire, provide assistance and select the right medications.

A resident of the Leningrad region, Tatyana, is raising her eleven-year-old son alone. In a conversation with our correspondents, the woman admitted that she had long dreamed of such lessons at school. “My Seryozhka really misses his father. The boy receives full maternal love and warmth, but there are shortcomings with male upbringing. I am glad that basic military training is being strengthened in schools. I’m sure that thanks to these lessons, my son will learn to stand up for himself and his family and grow up to be a real man!” – Tatyana shared.

The CVP module will be taught mainly by life safety teachers who will undergo additional training. In addition, people with combat experience, including SVO participants, will be invited to life safety lessons.

Forge of Future Heroes

In Russia, 2023 has been declared the Year of the Teacher and Mentor. In the fall, the school week in the country’s schools begins with the performance of the national anthem and the ceremonial raising of the flag. During “Conversations about Important Things,” children discuss the history of Russia and the role of our country on the world stage.

Honored Teacher of Russia Evgeniy Yamburg also spoke out in support of strengthening military training in schools. “No one has ever canceled basic military training. They disassemble and assemble machine guns. There is a shooting range where children shoot guns. Moreover, there is a spring practice where boys in the troops undergo a week of training, and girls learn the basics of medical training. But this does not mean that life safety needs to be abolished, because safety is broader,” said the Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences.

According to the honored teacher of Russia, such lessons will be useful to students in their future life. Indeed, in addition to the skills of understanding the Internet and the world of video games, children learn how to behave correctly in case of an emergency and provide first aid to victims.

Colonel Alexander Golovashkin gave another illustrative example of the positive impact of basic military training on schoolchildren. He spoke about the children’s participation in the “Memory Watch” search event.

“In the regions, search teams are raising missing soldiers from the ground. And if before this the child spent time on “shooting games,” now he is trusted to restore the medallion data and find important information through the archive,” says the military man.

During the event, the child finds out the person’s last name, first name and patronymic. At the end of the “Memory Watch,” relatives of the deceased soldier are invited to the reburial and given personal belongings. It turns out that the children live in the forest for twenty days, in a tent, and as a result of their work they bring a person back from the war after 80 years.

“This is a real feat, a test of strength. After something like this, you can’t break a person with anything. These are little people, but with a capital letter and with a huge heart,” summed up the Hero of the Russian Federation.

It is obvious that strengthening the practice of basic military training, which worked well during the Soviet period, in schools will have a direct impact on the formation of our country. Discipline will allow us to graduate into adulthood fully formed citizens who are responsible for themselves and their loved ones, on whom the future of Russia will rely. Starting from the next academic year, the subject will be called “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland.”

Photo: Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation