Ybyrai Altynsarin

Ybyrai Altynsarin – a great educator and public figure of Kazakh people

In my article, I would like to talk about kazakh popular scientist, educator, teacher-innovator, writer, poet, founder of the Kazakh written literature, ethnographer and publicist Ybrai Altynsarin. He is the man who wrote the first textbooks and began to educate our people. Everyone knows his name. He called the children to get the knowledge: Kel, balalar, okylyk, Okygandy konilge Ykylaspen tokylyk… These lines are known to absolutely every citizen of Kazakhstan. Altynsarin, being a native of a well-known family, received a good education. He was well-developed, wrote poems, short stories, translated stories of Russian writers into Kazakh. And he clearly understood that education is the right path for the Kazakh people to greatness, prosperity and glory. Ybrai Altynsarin laid the foundations of Kazakh secular education, he is the author of the first textbooks in the Kazakh language", He believed that children should get an education to be useful to their people. We never forget Ybrai’s name. This year is the 180th anniversary of his birth. He became the Kazakh leader, who led the people to the light of knowledge. Since his childhood, Ybray Altynsarin began to think about the historical destinies of his people, about their future.

The great teacher of Kazakh children, the teacher-innovator, educator Ybrai Altynsarin was born in 1841 in one of province of Kostanai region. Ybray Altynsarin laid the foundations of Kazakh secular education, he is the author of the first textbooks in the Kazakh language, "N. A. Nazarbayev noted in the Strategy "Kazakhstan 2050". And this is only a small fraction of his merits. Even our president recognizes his merits. Throughout the country, streets are dedicated to him, museums ,monuments and educational institutions named after him are opened. Great educator to create the Kazakh alphabet based on Russian graphics, to open a two-class central school for Kazakhs and a network of popular secular schools. It was on his initiative that the schools introduced subjects: geography, drawing, history, arithmetic, natural science, the law of God, introduces the grammar of the Russian language. The training was conducted under the guidance of Y. Altynsarin and K. D. Ushinsky. He designed the equipment for the school: comfortable furniture, a folding blackboard, 2 or 4 low round tables, a chest for storing books and writing materials. He believed that the school should provide knowledge that ensures the achievement of goals. And the teacher should use methodological literature, pedagogical journals, and the school should have a library with a full set of visual aids.

The subject of the research is the didactic views and ideas of Ybray Altynsarin, their use in the modern educational system. Y. Altynsarin considered it a sacred duty of an educated person to bring knowledge to children. His desire to teach the children of the Kazakhs in such a way that they could be useful to their people and join the achievements of agriculture and industry met with resistance from both sides. Ibrahim is an educator, teacher and specialist in folklore, ethnographer.

He is best known for introducing a Cyrillic alphabet for the Kazakh language, and was a proponent of teaching in the Western style. Altynsarin's literary works reflected historical and social changes in life of the Kazakh people, called for a settled conduct of life, diligence, honesty. Altynsarin translated into the native language products. L.N. Tolstoy, K.D. Ushinsky, I.A.Krylov, etc. Memory of Altynsarin is immortalized by the name of scientific research institute of pedagogical sciences of the Ministry of Public Education Kazakh the Soviet Socialist Republic, the medal of Altynsarin is founded.

Ybrai Altynsarin was the populal philosopher of his century, and he loved to teach the children. He opened many types of schools. He was a modern wisdom scientist. He said many proverbs about the knowledge:

Өнер, білім - бәрі де оқуменен табылған.

Ыбырай Алтынсарин

Art, education - everything is found in reading.

Ybyrai Altynsarin

Искусство, образование - все находится в чтении.

Ыбырай Алтынсарин

Today, we can only wonder at the irrepressible energy and efficiency of Ibray Altynsarin, who has made an invaluable contribution to the development of education and culture in Kazakhstan. Y.Altynsarin was an ardent fighter for the progressive development of the Kazakh people. For centuries, the nomad believed that all his wealth was cattle. But much stronger is another, true wealth — knowledge. This is what Altynsarin is trying to convince the young people.