The root of the teaching is bitter, but its fruit is bitter. “The root of teaching is bitter, but its fruit is sweet

langobard in Life after the Mainstream writes:

“The essence of the most interesting and almost the main question for any modern social philosophy and philosophy of education, I think, can be discerned by any person far from education. Why did it happen that the radical simplification of access to any information gave rise to universal illiteracy, and not universal multiliteracy?

I have the simplest answer to this question. Overcoming barriers to knowledge (from searching for information on a given question in a thick book to basic preparation for an exam) leaves something in the mind. There are no barriers - nothing remains. That's how man is made. Without being in a problematic (= barrier) situation, you do not change. Don't study."

This is where I completely agree with langobard "ohm.

IN in this regard It is interesting to note that the Holy Grail is sometimes described as Book, "fallen from the sky." In Russian spiritual poetry it is called the "Dove (sometimes: Deep) Book." The latter is also called the “Animal Book” (that is, the “book of life”). As the poet Nikolai Zabolotsky wrote:

Only far away on the ocean-sea,
On a white stone, in the middle of the waters,
The book is shining in a golden headdress,
Rays reaching into the sky.
That book fell out of some menacing cloud -
All the letters in it have sprouted flowers...
And it is written in it by a mighty hand
The whole truth hidden on earth.

So, all the legends about the Holy Grail are a description searches this wonderful Book. These difficult the search sometimes leads seekers of the Holy Grail to the devil. But it is interesting that all these temptations are, as it were, “inscribed”, “inlaid” into the very “shell” of the Holy Grail. It’s just that, “anyhow,” it’s impossible to find it. The Grail can be given into the hands of only the most experienced, those who have gone through “fire, water and copper pipes". That is, those who completely devoted themselves to his search, dedicated to. In principle, this difficult and dangerous search for the Holy Grail is no different from initiation tests in traditional societies.

There is a well-known Latin saying Per aspera ad astra (" Through hardship to the stars"). Why does the path to the stars go through thorns? Is it possible to somehow manage without the “thorns”? Something easier, without tension, without problems... Obviously, it’s impossible. The fact is that along with evolution there is also involution. If something is not used or consumed for a long time, it will atrophy, becoming unnecessary. As an example of involutional loss of characteristics, helminths can be cited - these, as we know, have neither arms nor legs. But at the stage of embryo formation, all this is present in them, and then disappears. A helminth is a helminth!

In principle, the human mind can atrophy in the same way if it is not exercised, if it is not given food for the mind. The cases of “Mowgli” indicate that intelligence is not at all inherent in a person from birth, like, say, arms or legs. People can live without their minds. History knows numerous cases of degradation of individual representatives of the human race (sometimes even crowned ones) and entire human societies.

The Indian Vedas claim that many of the former people began to eat the meat of their relatives, which was not the case before: the first humans, according to legend, ate amrita - the drink of the gods. Some of them acquired the habit of eating others at the site of the duel, which they arranged out of desire for primacy. And because of their head-on collisions, these people got bumps, which for some then began to branch and turn into horns. Their toes fused together and formed hard hooves, making it easier for them to run and jump on the ground. The brain lost the ability to reason sensibly, but the spinal cord continued beyond the length of the body, so they got a tail.

Interestingly, devils are invariably represented with horns, hooves and a tail.

This is an accurate picture of the future of humanity if it abandons the search for the Holy Grail. Leading a relaxed lifestyle, it degrades and turns into a caricature of itself.

Comfort and sybaritism are very dangerous, because they corrupt both the soul and the body. In this regard, the “scoop” looked more preferable.

"The nut of knowledge is hard,
But still we are not used to retreating", -

"I want to know everything" was repeated endlessly in the children's film magazine. Despite all the shortcomings and vices of Sovietism, it had an aspiration “to the stars.” I remember when I was a child, the most popular reading material among my peers was science fiction. She painted pictures of other worlds, awakened the imagination, and contributed to the awakening of the romantic mood, so necessary for all kinds of searches, both scientific and spiritual.

Today there is too much “consumerism”, and all the sprouts of romanticism are drowning in this “consumerism”. That’s why they laugh at romantic children at school, calling them “nerds,” “nerds.” Although the "nerds" are most similar to knights seeking the Holy Grail. The Lurkomorye website ironically says: “The nerd never communicates or meets girls, in most cases he is a virgin.” Well, only a virgin knight can find the Holy Grail. And the boy Kai is in the door Snow Queen laid out the word EWIGKEIT (“eternity”) from pieces of ice in Gerda’s absence. And he would have laid it out, and would have become immortal if Gerda had not come to him.

How many opportunities open up for a person in the study of science, how many platforms for future discoveries and unopened doors that beckon with their unknown. To do this, you need to decide for yourself what you want to do in this life and put all your persistence and purposefulness into this direction.

If you choose literature, then the search for knowledge begins from school. You begin to study the biographies of poets and writers, comprehend centuries and time periods, understand the stylistics of a work and be able to do analysis. You can consider your participation in literary competitions, writing poems and reading them on school holidays. The highest reward for both the student and the teacher is a high score on the Unified State Exam. It is in this exam that you can show all the knowledge you have acquired.

Together with the result obtained, you continue to conquer the literary pedestal and enter a pedagogical university. Sleepless nights, memorizing material, verbatim retelling - all this lies ahead on the difficult path of learning. Moreover, this is not just acquired knowledge and experience, but an opportunity to reconsider your profession and do what you love. And in the future, you will not study, but you will teach students who are just as passionate about learning as you were many years ago.

It takes a person many years to master the subject of his curiosity. A lot of time and effort, fighting laziness, sleepless nights and rebuilding your usual perception. But what a reward! Be an expert on the subject! In addition to becoming an ace in a certain field of knowledge, you will also expand your horizons.

All sciences and knowledge are interconnected: history, literature, geography, social studies. And being an interesting and intelligent person who knows how to carry on a conversation, express one’s opinion and give reasons for it is also an excellent skill.

When, after ten years, you receive recognition from society, you are appreciated, everyone is happy to see you - isn’t this the sweet taste of victory?

Such deep meaning laid down in the proverb: “The root of teaching is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” The root is the base of the tree, in appearance it is ugly, unsightly, branchy, and the fruit, rising above the root, is attractive and sweet, as in teaching. The beginning is always difficult, full of tasks and difficulties, and victory over oneself is like sweet fruit at that tree. It is not for nothing that everyday proverbs that have come down to us from the distant past are still relevant today.

Get acquainted with the topic materials.

Complete analytical tasks based on the text.

Read the proposed materials for creative task No. 1 and

Complete this task in your workbook.

TOPIC 2. Teaching rules of disposition (4 hours).

· The concept of disposition and compositional organization of text material.

· Description, narration as structural models of the text. Modeling text under given conditions.

· Reasoning as a structural model of the text.

· Strict and free khria, artificial khria.

· Features of the structure of speech-reasoning: attack, paraphrase, reason, opposite, similarity, example, evidence, conclusion

· Modeling the text of reasoning under given conditions.

Analytical tasks based on text.

Text No. 1

“Arrangement is the combination of invented ideas into a decent order... Rules about invention and decoration govern the consideration and analysis of ideas; the leadership of reasoning is about the disposition of the doctrine; which is very useful and necessary for those who gain eloquence, for there are so many benefits different ideas, if they are not located properly?

The art of a brave leader consists in the selection of good and courageous warriors, but it also depends no less on the decent establishment of regiments. And if any member in the human body goes crazy, then it does not have the same strength that it acts in its place” (M.V. Lomonosov. Quick Guide to eloquence.)

Questions to the text

1. Why do you think, when speaking about this procedure of the rhetorical canon, M.V. Lomonosov uses a comparison with the art of war? Justify your answer.

2. How would you comment on the last paragraph of the text from the point of view of modern general rhetoric?

Text No. 2

The root of the teaching is bitter, but its fruits are sweet

This saying, which became a proverb, belongs to Isocrates, who worked hard for the benefit of science and education and verified what was said with his own experience.

Isocrates' thought is expressed figuratively. He compares the teaching with fruit tree, meaning by the root the beginning of the teaching, and by the fruits the acquired knowledge or art. So, whoever strives for knowledge must, according to Isocrates, endure the bitterness of labor and the burden of fatigue; having overcome all this, he acquires the desired benefits and advantages.

The root, that is, the beginning of the skill, is associated with some troubles, because:

1. the beginner’s abilities have not yet developed: the mind is not accustomed to quickly and correctly grasping, and the memory is not accustomed to holding firmly and firmly what is being taught; the will is still powerless to concentrate and stop attention on a given object until it is grasped and assimilated;

2. the student deals with elements of science or art, which consist of trifles and details, mostly uninteresting, often having no application to his current life, and require unrelenting diligence, hard work, frequent repetitions and long exercises when mastering;

3. the student does not yet understand the benefits of basic information and does not approach learning with all diligence, not with proper accuracy and patience.

Whoever overcomes these insignificant troubles will be convinced that the fruits, that is, the consequences of the teaching, are pleasant, because:

1. knowledge, skills, education, in themselves, without any application to practical, everyday life, give the person who owns them high pleasure: they enlighten his view of the world, expand his horizons, put him in the proper relationship with people, the state, and society;

2. provide him with material benefits and advantages in society and the state.

He who does not want to be subject to restrictions, who does not have the patience to overcome the difficulties of learning, without which it is impossible to acquire education and achieve solid knowledge, does not dare to count on the advantages and benefits accruing to learning, art and education as a reward for work.

Look at the farmer: how much hard work and effort he spends to get a harvest from his field! And the harder his work, the more pleasure and joy he collects the fruits; The more carefully he cultivates his field, the more abundant the harvest will be. The benefits of education are subject to the same conditions. They are acquired only after a series of continuous efforts leads the consciousness to the conviction that through honest work and constant diligence all obstacles encountered have been overcome.

We find many examples in history of the consequences of diligent, conscientious work. Here is the tongue-tied, unknown Greek Demosthenes, who acquired a high gift through teaching oratory and immortal glory; and here is our ingenious converter Great Peter, having previously walked the road along which he later led his subjects!

Hesiod also says the same thing as Isocrates, arguing that the road to virtue is at first rocky and steep, but when you reach the top, it is pleasant to walk along it. “Science reduces our experiences of fast-flowing life” (Pushkin)

O you, whom the fatherland expects from its depths!... dare... “with your zeal to show that the Russian land can give birth to its own Platos and quick-witted Newtons” (Lomonosov).

Stylistic tasks for the gymnasium at the Historical and Philological Institute of St. Petersburg (compiled by I. Gavrilov - 1874)

Nature has endowed man with a mind capable of developing and learning, a heart that bows to good and evil, and a will that chooses goals and ways of striving. The ideas embedded in the foundation of our being tell us about the high calling to which a person is appointed, and they are the main engine of all spiritual improvement. It would be in vain to argue against the fact that man is destined for something higher than his earthly life. We are unable to provide sufficient evidence for these thoughts, and even if we did, our inner conviction, our heart, would be against it. But the fact that we have at our disposal such abilities that no one knows Living being, does not mean that the goals we have set can be achieved immediately. By themselves, our natural abilities, not collected into one whole and not directed towards one, almost always lose their meaning and do not bring the benefit that could be expected from them. The main difficulty of spiritual development lies in the fact that out of the whole mass human aspirations and the forces given to satisfy them, we must choose only those that do not contradict moral requirements and that correspond to our consciousness human dignity. The path leading to wisdom, that is, virtue combined with intelligence, is difficult and long, but the more difficult this path is, the more obstacles a person has overcome, the more pleasant life becomes for him, the greater the rewards awaiting him. ( Attack): This thought could not be better expressed by the Greek rhetorician Isocrates, who, having himself experienced the difficulty of “teaching” and having learned its benefits, left us his saying: “The root of teaching is bitter, but its fruits are sweet.” It was so true, so true, that over time it turned into a proverb. The survival of this saying depends entirely on the fact that it is certainly true. Why is the beginning of learning always associated with such difficulties, why is the “root of learning” never sweet? (Part Paraphrase absent).

(Cause): When considering this question, we must take into account that “learning” almost always begins with us in childhood. Our strengths with which we begin to study primary subjects are far from corresponding to the seriousness (for a child’s mind, of course) of these latter.

The student, who previously lived only with simple perceptions from the outside, without seriously processing them in his consciousness, must now perform the corresponding actions in the mind above the perceived ones; he must be able, when understanding the connection between given objects, to find this latter between other objects that are still unfamiliar to him. Before learning begins, the child uses mechanical memory without any harm to himself, but at the beginning such memory no longer plays such a big role. Here, as they say, you need ingenuity. But many children lack this ingenuity, which causes them great difficulties in learning.

But if we penetrate deeper into the psyche of a child who sits in a cramped room and can hardly make out words, running his finger over the ABC book, then the reason for the troubles associated with the schoolchild’s first experiences will become even clearer to us. His mind, as mentioned above, was not accustomed to thinking in the proper meaning of this word; every object, in order for a child to think about it, to be aware of it, must, of course, first enter into consciousness, and this “entry” is another reason for the child’s very numerous suffering. For learning, a mind is needed that can correctly grasp what is heard or read, a memory is needed, it is true, mechanical, but most of all rational, for only with the presence of the latter is it possible to thoroughly master numerous sciences; finally, a will is needed that could force one to sit right time get a book and learn what you're supposed to. What kind of mind does a child have, what kind of will? An adult has the opportunity to force himself to focus on a known object, select everything significant from it and remember it; The child does not have such an ability; he has not yet developed those techniques that are necessary for everyone to study. This lack of development of abilities often serves as a stumbling block for primary education child. Each of us can recall more than one incident from our childhood when some arithmetic rule or some problem served as the cause of numerous tears for us and troubles for our parents.

The lack of spiritual strength, which determines the “bitterness” of teaching, is accompanied by another circumstance, which, for its part, greatly increases the troubles of the first years of a child’s mental work. This is precisely the pettiness and uninterestingness of the information he received in the first school and his lack of understanding of the benefits of the elements of science and art. That science cannot be interesting for a child is evident from the fact that he cannot apply it to his life. It happens, of course, that a child becomes interested in some subjects at school and sits behind a book, finding pleasure in his studies, but this is an exception; What is right for a naturally talented person does not always apply to all other people. And anyone who, in early childhood, begins to study science on his own, without any coercion, can hardly realize all the benefits of diligent work, not to mention those children who are not distinguished by anything special. How can teaching be pleasant for a child under such circumstances, when instead of fun games in the air and the caresses of the surrounding relatives, he has to cram for some unknown reason boring and incomprehensible rules, when he is so drawn to run around, frolic and leave the disgusting room with difficult books and a strict mentor? The teaching adamantly demands its own: without diligence there will be no knowledge, without repetition it will be weak, without exercise in it the child will be inexperienced, without hard work he will not be able to begin other, more serious sciences. Many even give up teaching because they are unable to bring themselves to study. They certainly have abilities, as evidenced by their manifestation outside of school, but these children have no diligence, no will to master themselves and force themselves to fulfill their student duties. All this quite clearly explains why the beginning of learning is associated with great troubles and difficulties for the student.

But teaching does not always cause only troubles. In essence, these troubles are insignificant, because they are only inherent childhood and if we talk about them, taking into account everything that a person has to experience in life, then their insignificance will become even more clear and understandable. A person who has overcome the difficulties of starting to study and has not spent all his energy on it will eventually come to the conviction that the “fruits of learning” are pleasant and useful, as the proverb we are discussing says.

Leaving aside for now all the material benefits that we receive from science, let us turn our attention to that side of it that gives us inner satisfaction and serves the main reason our spiritual development. The goal of studying the sciences and processing the information they provide is the formation of a personality in us, that is, a set of ideas and beliefs that would constitute an integral part of our “I”. Each person is an independent and separate whole. To be whole, to be an independent unit, that is, to truly have what is yours is an ideal educated person. But it is possible to acquire beliefs that would form a personality in us only through a long and persistent study of the sciences. Having our beliefs, we become in certain relationships with the people around us, with society, with the state, and this should already give us great satisfaction. Yes, besides, pure knowledge, without any use of it to develop a worldview, alone serves as a source of high pleasures for a person. But science brings “sweet fruits” even to people who, due to their myopia, do not expect spiritual satisfaction from it. Many people, when studying science, pursue only material benefits and advantages, and in their minds, the achievement of a certain “education” is always connected with the achievement of material success. In this case, the “fruits of the teaching” are even more obvious. Once a person has achieved a certain position in society, if he has secured a comfortable existence for himself, then the “sweet fruit” of the teaching becomes a direct reality for him. One can often meet people who, either through their own fault or simply due to bad living conditions, having not received sufficient education in their youth, entered life without any knowledge or preparation for activity as a useful member of society. These people, if they have not experienced all the difficulties of the first years of study due to their laziness and lack of initiative, always reproach themselves and begin to “learn” already in mature years. Until they become educated, they cannot count on the benefits and benefits that other people receive after many years of labor and hardship for the sake of education.

Together with those who were previously prevented from learning by external circumstances, when they begin to study, they endure all the difficulties of learning with pleasure and think with the poet, who, “having wasted a lot of life on various amusements,” says with regret:

It's sad to think that it's in vain

We were given youth!

(Part Nasty absent).

(Similarity): The benefits of education can be compared to the harvest on a peasant’s land. In early spring he begins his field work and works all summer, despite the terribly sweltering heat in the field, where there is not a single tree that could hide him under its shadow. But the peasant who has worked honestly can expect the pleasure of relaxation and complete contentment all year round.

The sowing of the student’s first efforts is difficult and arduous, but the future harvest is so tempting, it holds so many promises, that the “root of the teaching” must be endured by everyone with complete patience and conscientiousness.

(Example): We can find many examples in history of how diligent work is rewarded. Boosed by his fellow citizens, the tongue-tied Greek Demosthenes, who showed no hope, after hard work and effort, turns into the great orator of Greece. Peter the Great, whose upbringing was not much different from the upbringing of the Moscow kings who preceded him, having learned the need for “teaching,” himself first became the kind of person he wanted to make his subjects. Under him, the Russian army, having experienced the “bitterness of teaching” (almost all of it was killed at Narva), also reaped its “sweet fruits” after the Battle of Poltava. Alienated by everything foreign and unwilling to learn from others, modern China is not much different from the former China, while Japan, having completely given itself over to Europeanization, which was sometimes as difficult for its inhabitants as the reforms of Peter for the Russians, is now reaping the fruits of its teachings, developing more and more, both culturally and politically.

(Certificate): One thinker said: “Nothing in the world can have such a powerful impact as voluntarily expressed gratitude.” And really, what proof can there be better than that, which is the saying of an authoritative person, on own experience who verified the truth of his words.

...Many truths that are expressed in proverbs can be disputed. Of these, “the root of the teaching is bitter, but its fruits are sweet” is the one that is least subject to any challenge or doubt. ( Conclusion): From here there is only one conclusion. We have great means to spiritual development; one of these means is science. “All people are Heraclitus with intelligence,” said Karamzin. It is the duty of everyone to use the powers and abilities given to him for the benefit of enlightenment and to follow the call of our first philosopher and scientist Lomonosov, who 150 years ago said in inspired verse to the youth of his day:

Go for it...

It’s your kindness to show

What can Platonov's own

And the quick-witted Newtons

Russian land to give birth!

(Published by: Mikhalskaya A.K. Fundamentals of Rhetoric. M., 1996)

If writing a essay causes insurmountable difficulties, the student can create a text-reasoning based on the following schemes of deductive and inductive proof of the chosen thesis (Lvov M.R. Rhetorika.M., 1995).

Deductive Reasoning Diagram

Inductive Reasoning Scheme

As an example, below are texts constructed according to the type of reasoning, female students III year Faculty of Philology correspondence form training of A. Gladkikh and second-year full-time master's student of the Faculty of Chemistry K. Bortnik (texts are published in proofreading by the author of this manual).

A. Gladkikh

It is growing in our country lost generation (2004)

In M. Shvydkoy’s television program “Cultural Revolution” the theme was “A lost generation is growing in our country.” Is this really true? And if so, how and when did it happen? And how can it be that all generations replaced each other, went on as usual, and one generation suddenly got lost?

For 13 years now, the current generation has not been living in the Soviet Union. The changes that have taken place in the country have upended all ideas about life, many values ​​have lost their meaning, a person’s thinking has changed, and those who could not adapt to the new life, one might say, were “left behind.” In Russia, I would venture to suggest, these are troubled times. The whole story was rethought anew, white became black, black became white.

It turned out that the revolution slowed down the development of our country (this may be true), that it would have been better if the Second world war Germany won (with which I fundamentally disagree) and that the real heroes are those who drive in black Mercedes with a pistol in their bosom.

Everything that was stubbornly prohibited in our state broke free. It turned out that sex still exists in our country! It has filled everything: bookstores, television screens, and the still immature minds of the younger generation. It turned out that people previously called speculators are now called businessmen, they are the color of society and the heroes of our time.

The entire history of the Soviet period was “dug up” and reconsidered with an open mind. Many dark spots and tragic events were revealed. Personalities who were previously recognized as great were immediately thrown off their pedestals.

And a whole generation grew up in this chaos! When the whole country was busy delving into its past and deciding which path to take and under whose leadership, it saw it all. What should it have become if the state forgot about it? In our country, children seem to not exist...

What do we see when switching TV channels? G. Yavlinsky once remarked: “It’s scary to leave a child alone with the TV.” If a child from an early age watches how grown-up, quite nice men drink and praise beer, then we will most likely end up with a young alcoholic by the time he is 16-17 years old. Beer alcoholism is worse than vodka alcoholism. It is enough to go to any youth festival to notice that every second person cannot do without a bottle of beer.

Yu. Entin once said: “I realized a long time ago that there are no children in our country. Their childhood ends at 10-11 years old. They don’t need my poems, they prefer poems like “yum-yum-yum-yum, buy Mikoyan.”

Child from the very early childhood must see what surrounds him beautiful world. So where did our beautiful and kind cartoons go? Why, including the FOXKIDS channel, do we see terrible freaks with faces distorted with anger? Where can one escape from the dominance of Americanism? Sometimes it seems that they want to destroy us, slowly and covertly influencing our minds starting from childhood, forcing us to watch such entertainment garbage. “The Adventures of Electronics” and “Guest from the Future” no longer captivate our children. Harry Potter is a hero!

Our television screens are filled with third-rate American action films, the heroes of which are mentally ill people, completely devoid of a sense of self-preservation. What can you take away from watching such films? That human life is worth nothing? That it is very easy to kill a person, that if you kill, that means you are a hero?

We are lost as a nation, we have stopped telling our children that we live in great country. We look with delight at American life, completely rejecting and blaspheming his own. And the Americans naively believe that they defeated the Nazis... Our younger generation (hopefully a smaller part of it) no longer knows that there was a war and, what is especially important, that this war was won by their ancestors. Many modern young people do not know what Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Babi Yar are... Have we really given birth to Ivans who do not remember their kinship? In pursuit of money and prosperity, we have taught them to value only material goods. But what about the soul? Morality, spirituality, honesty - have these concepts lost their value?

Having traced our path of development (or perhaps spiritual degradation?) after 1991, will we really come to the disappointing conclusion that today’s generation is truly lost?

Recently, Ksenia Sobchak spoke out in defense of her generation, saying that now young people more chances make your way in life, reach some heights. One can agree with this, but the whole problem is that, apart from the above, young people do not need anything else. After all, when we say that a lost generation is growing in Russia, we mean by this not that it has nowhere to go, but that it has lost its spiritual guidelines in this life and has forgotten its roots.

In his tetralogy “Brothers and Sisters” F. Abramov said: “A person builds his main house in his soul. And this house neither burns in fire nor sinks in water. Stronger than all bricks and diamonds."

It is impossible to move forward by breaking all ties with the past. We are connected to our ancestors, we move forward thanks to their conquests, victories, defeats and mistakes. A lost generation is growing in Russia. But how to find it? It has already formed its own views on life under the influence external factors. But no matter how much I would like it to turn into a mankurt son, to whom the mother shouted: “Whose are you? How your name? Remember your name!..”

K. Bortnik

We are not a lost generation! (2009)

Dozens of programs and articles shout that a lost generation has grown up in Russia. If it weren’t for the age of the people who are talking about this, I would decide that this is a new fashion trend - to convict young people of immorality, idleness, stupidity and other vices. Although no, this is not fashion, this is old good tradition. It just so happened that the older generation blasphemes the younger generation, without seeing it, without delving into its problems, without trying to help, but diligently throwing up its hands and repeating: “They are lost.” Gentlemen, maybe you are the one who got lost?

I don’t know by what standard we are measured, but the fact is obvious to me. Our generation is not judged by its mass normal people who value culture, respect the memory of their ancestors, and pay tribute to perseverance and work, with the help of which you can achieve something in life. They want to see in us and see only vulgar gray sludge, not understanding anything, ordinary herbivores, simply existing without guidelines, without roots, without morality, but with glamor... “Vulgarity is militant, it is more noticeable,” wrote the classic (Chekhov), Is there really a desire to see spools in this gray slurry? Young successful, smart, talented people– this, apparently, is not about us. They prove to us that we are the worst.

I’m not opposed to criticism, by no means, but I don’t like lying and averaging. This is not a cry of my youthful maximalism, because every day I see dozens of smart, interesting and worthy people around me. We know our history, perhaps not in dates, but generally accurately; we are connected to our roots, family is important to us; we love art; we know how to distinguish American tripe from the same American masterpieces; we didn't lose moral guidelines and morality. When mentioning our terrible generation, they forget to talk about young scientists, athletes, talented artists, and simply about those young people who live nearby, for whom you don’t have to blush and believe that the future with such people will definitely be no worse than our present. Our dignity is belittled, everyone is lumped under the same brush.

Do you know who won All-Russian Olympics in natural sciences? Do you know what "Student's" is? theatrical spring"? Have you heard about the successes of our juniors? Have you heard the names and achievements of young scientists? You can ask a hundred similar questions, and the answers to them can only be found on the outskirts of the ubiquitous Internet.

Believe me, we are not empty-headed omnivores and we are tired of the opposite being imposed on us. Teenagers and my peers haven’t watched “The Box” for a long time, because there’s nothing interesting there. I am sure that the children would be happy to watch and soviet fairy tales, and cartoons, and “Jumble”, but today it is not popular (that’s what serious people decided), this is exactly what I see as the reason that Harry Potter is an idol. This did not happen because of a fascination with foreigners; it was just that, amidst the carnage, a boy wizard appeared on the television screen with one old truth on his mind. new way: good conquers evil. We are fed all sorts of nonsense produced domestically and abroad: books, films. A true masterpiece of Russian cinema over many years, such a deep, meaningful film “The Island” by Pavel Lungin was shown twice and both times for some reason late at night... And there are many such examples that can be given.

But when asked about the younger generation in search engines, one can read: “Bazarov’s army”, “idlers”, “they don’t need anything” and so on, so on, so on. Undoubtedly, even the loudest voice in support of the young will be strangled by a barrage of negativity.

It makes no sense to list what we are like - we need to be seen, and seen without prejudice. It is much easier to judge an entire generation by observing a gang of young alcoholics at a kiosk or loafers, whom their parents do not care about and have never cared about; It’s easier to read crime reports and be horrified than to go outside and look around; The facts of faceless statistics sound much more convincing than the actions of people.

Important people concerned with the problems of youth are two-faced, because behind discussions and debates about our lost fate, they are not ready and do not want to solve these very problems. But they really exist and there are much more of them than are voiced! At one time, “parents” turned a blind eye to censorship, cultural and educational reforms, then they did not sound the alarm, but now, when we are reaping the fruits of such connivance, we are told that we are dull. Apparently, it is only necessary to fight the causes of dullness now, when “a generation is lost.” A paradox, in a word. And what has been done to ensure that we become different from how they see us, do not absorb meaningless video products, do not read stupid books, do not listen to what “men don’t know”? I'm afraid of the answer to this question. The scarier thing is that “things are still there.”

In this situation, I am reminded of Turgenev’s wonderful work “Fathers and Sons”: “Real clashes are those in which both sides are to a certain extent right.” Why? Because Turgenev expressed one most remarkable truth: there are no good and bad generations, but there is an inability of the principled and authoritative (and sometimes blinkered, conservative) Kirsanovs to understand the young, hot-blooded Bazarovs, who are ultimately not nihilists, but simply people with different views.

I sincerely want to believe that one day our “self-withdrawn parents” will take off the blinders from their eyes, take out their earplugs and see in their children, who are currently sending SOS to nowhere, comrades-in-arms, and not experimental material and mold. Maybe then there will be no lost children and no parents who have lost them. Only then will another problem arise: the comrade-in-arms will be ready to help, will be ready to act, the main thing is not to be deceived, the main thing is that our fathers have time to grow into real actions.

One ordinary, boring evening, after the course, two brothers Vasya and Anton sat in armchairs and read books on cynology. The fact is that the brothers want to become veterinarians and are studying at the veterinary institute, and now they are preparing for tomorrow’s exam (they need to learn the structure of dogs).
- Vasya, let’s not teach, but just write a cheat sheet, just like in school! – Anton suddenly said.
- Well, I don’t know... it’s kind of risky, what if they detect it? – Vasya doubted. - And besides, you need to know everything! We will only make things worse for ourselves.
- Come on! They won't notice! Just once, please! - Anton insisted.
“Eh, what can I do with you,” Vasya finally gave in, “but only once and, if anything happens, it will be your fault!”
“Great,” Anton smiled. The dog Michael ran up to him, jumped onto the sofa and lay down next to him. - Good doggie!
The next day, as planned, the guys wrote cheat sheets, took them out and wrote them off. Everything went well and no one noticed anything.
And when it was necessary to learn the material again, the brothers wrote cheat sheets again, then again, and again... I lost count. They didn't learn anything and didn't even think about it until one day the following happened:
The brothers, as usual, returned from the course and prepared food for themselves and Michael.
- Mike, go eat! - Vasya called the dog, but he didn’t come. Then, he tried again, - Michael! Go to eat!
Silence in response. The brothers found Michael in the hallway in front of the door, lying on the rug and breathing heavily.
- Michael, how are you? – Anton asked. The dog looked up at its owner.
The brothers immediately determined what was wrong with him: they had recently gone through this disease, but the brothers don’t remember anything, and they didn’t teach them... What to do now?
Fortunately, their teacher, Anatoly Evgenievich, lived in the next apartment. He was very kind and always helped if Michael had problems. So the guys decided to call him.
- Hello, Anatoly Evgenievich! – Anton went on this mission, and Vasily remained with the patient.
- Hello Anton! What destinies to me? – the teacher asked.
- Michael is sick, could you help us?
- Of course - the teacher also remembered that they had gone through this disease and then asked how they passed if they didn’t teach? Then the brothers told Anatoly Evgenievich how they wrote the cheat sheets. He forgave them, but told them to learn everything and retake it later. A week later, the dog was already healthy, running down the street and walking around the apartment, and the brothers learned all the material and came for a retake. From now on, they always taught everything.
“Remember,” said Anatoly Evgenievich, “the root of the teaching is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” And I think you have convinced yourself of this.