About 250 associations for the study of Orthodox culture have been established in schools and kindergartens in the Vitebsk region

October 28, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. About 250 associations for studying the basics of Orthodox culture have been organized in preschool institutions and general education schools of the Vitebsk region. This was announced by Vasily Budkevich, Deputy Head of the Education Department of the Regional Executive Committee, at the regional scientific and practical conference "Education of the Younger Generation on the Traditions of Orthodox Culture," which is taking place today in Vitebsk, according to a BELTA correspondent. All work in this direction is carried out within the framework of the "Program of Cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Belarus and the Belarusian Orthodox Church" for 2007-2010. At the request of parents, 30 groups have been created in kindergartens and 95 classes in schools, which operate under the program "Spiritual and Moral Education of Preschoolers and Schoolchildren on the Orthodox Traditions of the Belarusian People." For high school students, over 120 elective courses "Basics of Orthodox Culture" have been organized. In addition, more than 50 interest groups operate at schools and extracurricular educational institutions, where teenagers study the spiritual, moral, and cultural heritage of Orthodoxy. Innovative activities in the spiritual and moral education of preschoolers and students are carried out by 11 educational institutions in the region, and secondary school No. 10 of the regional center has been granted the status of a republican platform within the framework of the innovative project "Implementation of an Organizational and Methodological Support Model for Programs of Spiritual and Moral Education of Preschoolers and Younger Schoolchildren on the Orthodox Traditions of the Belarusian People." The regional institute for the development of education provides informational and methodological support for the program, offering special courses, including "The Role and Place of Religion in the Modern Educational Process." In the 2009-2010 academic year, the institute held the first regional exhibition-competition of methodological materials "Spiritual, Moral, and Patriotic Education of Students on the Orthodox Traditions of the Belarusian People," which featured over 130 developments by pedagogical teams. The spiritual and moral aspect is one of the components of the aesthetic education system, noted Vasily Budkevich. Creative groups in schools include works of spiritual music in their performance programs. In the Lepel district, a children's inter-school Christmas festival "Star of Bethlehem" has been organized. Traditional Christmas and Easter festivals, which include exhibitions of children's creativity, concerts by kindergarten pupils and schoolchildren, and screenings of spiritual films, occupy a significant place in the educational work of educational institutions. Educators in the region traditionally participate in the regional Sretensky Readings, the republican St. Euphrosyne, Cyril and Methodius Readings, as well as in the international Christmas Educational Readings in Moscow. The regional institute for the development of education organizes permanent exhibitions "Holy Lands of Belarus." -0-