Leto 2002 - številka 2
Letnik 11 - XXXV
School Chronicle
The Miscellany for the History of Schooling and Education.
Bulletin of the Slovenian School Museum. Ljubljana. Slovenia.

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“School Chronicle – The Miscellany for the History of Schooling and Education” is a Slovenian professional serial publication dealing with schooling, pedagogy and education, since 1992 independently published by the Slovenian School Museum in Ljubljana. The Miscellany is a successor of a joint publication of the school-pedagogical museums in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, which began publication in 1964 with the title “A Miscellany of the History of Schooling and Education”.

Branko Šuštar*

Looking at the life and work of France Ostanek - by way of introduction at the conference marking the 100th anniversary of his birth

Abstract
On 6 June 2002, the Slovenian School Museum prepared a conference marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of France Ostanek (1902-1989), who was known as a teacher, participant in the national resistance movement, trade union official, editor, museum director and researcher into the history of schooling. After graduating from the Teachers’ Training College in Ljubljana (1924), Ostanek worked as a teacher at Sodražica (1925-1930) and later as a headmaster at Vodice (1930-1935). Until 1941, he was employed at the department of education of the then banovina (Ban’s province) administration, and in the period between the wars he was a teacher at Zgornja Šiška near Ljubljana. Between 1945 and 1951, he worked for the school administration and teachers’ trade union. Up until 1974, he was director of the Slovenian School Museum, turning it into a notable institution of its kind. A total of 22 memorial and research contributions about France Ostanek’s diverse activities related to schooling and education was presented at the conference.

Tomaž Pavlin*

France Ostanek and the Sokol movement

Abstract
Owing to the lack of appropriate sources it is today very hard to write about France Ostanek’s engagement in the patriotic sports movement, Sokol. The article thus briefly presents the Sokol movement, setting the framework for France Ostanek’s activities within the movement.

Andrej Vovko*

France Ostanek’s work for the Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Abstract
France Ostanek dedicated part of his rich and varied life to the privately owned educational and national protection organisation, The Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The article presents two basic aspects of his work for the Society in the second part of the 1930s and the second half of the 1940s, i.e. organisational and publishing activities. Typically, France Ostanek hardly appeared publicly in either of these two areas. On the rare occasions when he did, he only used his initials, O.F.

Ljiljana Šuštar*

The work of France Ostanek within the teachers’ trade union between
1945 and 1949

Abstract
The article, based on archival materials kept at the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia and teachers’ journals (Popotnik - Voyager, with a trade union supplement Učitelj - Teacher), describes France Ostanek’s activities within the head office of the trade union of teachers in the 1945-1949 period (efforts to achieve ideological and professional education; finding solutions for the economic and social security for teachers). The archival materials reveal Ostanek’s two further areas of interest: teachers’ periodicals and the activity of museums (especially school museums).

Suzana Felicijan Bratož*

France Ostanek - officer for the education of minorities at the Ministry of
Education of the People’s Republic of Slovenia and Commissioner of
Education and Culture of the People’s Committee in Ljubljana

Abstract
Based on archival records kept in the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, the author describes the work of France Ostanek in the five-year period following WWII. The first part presents Ostanek’s work as an officer for the education of minorities at the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of Slovenia. The second part deals with the organisational structure, responsibilities and work of the Commission for Education and Culture of the People’s Board in Ljubljana and its Commissioner.

Lilijana Trampuž*

The remains and research of the Slovenian-Croatian border in Istria

Abstract
The article first reviews the contents of France Ostanek’s paper, the Slovenian-Croatian Language Border in Istria. In this work, the author presented the results of researches into the Slovenian-Croatian language division, starting with Kozler. He then wrote about the distinction between a language border and a national border, and its reasons. He points out the importance of reviewing the development of schooling in regions near the border, hinting that schools and their language of instruction is the strongest proof on one’s ethnicity. The rest of the paper deals with data from official counts of the population in the 1880-1956 period, newspaper reports on the border towns and villages, an overview of subscribers to various publications, and membership in book associations.
The second part of the article includes some highlights from authors who, in the decade since Ostanek’s paper was published, have written about the border, i.e. Bogo Grafenauer, Leon Marin, Gregor Velkaverh, Zdenko Čepič, and Darko Darovec.

Jože Ciperle*

France Ostanek and his views on the methodology of compiling
primary school histories

Abstract
The article discusses France Ostanek’s views on the methodology of writing school histories. Ostanek himself never published papers on this topic. However, from his statements concerning the emergence and development of some primary schools in Slovenia (e.g. the upper primary school in Celje and the school chronicle at Videm ob Ščavnici) and from the long years of discussions with the author, Ostanek’s main positions on this topic could be deducted.

Stane Okoliš*

The role of France Ostanek in registering and collecting materials on the history of schooling in Slovenia in foreign archives

Abstract
In the 1950s, France Ostanek, the then head of the Slovenian School Museum, became increasingly aware of the museum’s important role in the historiography on schools and pedagogy in Slovenia. No comprehensive overview of the history of schooling then existed. Ostanek started to collect, in an organised and systematic way, materials on the history of schools in Slovenia. In the ten-year period between 1957 and 1966, every year he spent several days in the archives in Austria, Italy and Croatia. Especially important was his research in the Graz provincial museum and the Vienna administrative archives, which keep most of the archive materials relating to the history of schooling in Slovenia. By registering and collecting these materials, he significantly contributed to the work “A History of Schools and Pedagogy in Slovenia”, which was published by Dr. Vlado Schmidt in 1963-1966. The research he did into foreign archives was pioneering work for the historiography of Slovenian schools.

Štefka Batinić*

Co-operation between the Croatian and Slovenian school museums in the time of France Ostanek

Abstract
The author describes the various forms and fruits of co-operation between Croatian and Slovenian school museums from the early 1950s to the early 1970s, highlighting the initiatives of the then director of the Slovenian School Museum, France Ostanek.

Branko Šuštar*

France Ostanek’s co-operation with the Pedagogical Museum in Belgrade

Abstract
In 1960-1962 Ostanek contributed significantly to the adoption of a joint concept of school museums. With the establishment of the Slovenian School Museums, a cultural institution focusing on the history of schooling, he also influenced the concept and contents of the Pedagogical Museum in Belgrade; in this project, he co-operated intensely with B. Aksentijević. Within the Yugoslav Association of Museums, the affiliated school and pedagogical museums (Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb) formed a special Section of School Museums (presided over by Ostanek in 1962-1965), participated in the preparation of exhibitions (e.g. on Komensky, Rousseau and Pestalozzi), and in 1964 started to publish a joint publication, Miscellany on the History of Schooling and Education. Ostanek was a member of the editorial board for more than 10 years. Even in 1990, the Serbian journal “Pedagoški pregled” paid great respect to Ostanek’s cultural and school activities.

Ciril Merčun*

Reminiscences of my friend France Ostanek from the early years
of my teaching career

Abstract
In his youth Ciril Merčun (born 1909) worked as a teacher at the school at Peče (from 1930), while Ostanek ran the school in Vodice at the same time (up until 1935). It was then customary for teachers around the town of Kamnik to hold regular monthly meetings. At these meetings, Ostanek’s presence was felt very much: firstly because of his looks and, secondly, he attracted attention with his interesting discussions on teachers’ professional work. All in all, he made the impression of a well-educated, nationally conscious Slovenian committed to schools and young students with his heart and soul, working hard at both curricular and extracurricular activities.

Marjetka Balkovec Debevec

The Magic of Lace - an exhibition marking 125 years of the Lace School in Idrija

Abstract
The Magic of Lace, an exhibition dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the Lace School in Idrija, was on display in the Slovenian School Museum between 16 May and 13 August 2002. It comprised three major parts: a brief overview of training in lace making in Slovenia (coupled with relevant photographs, literature and works provided by the Slovenian School Museum, among others several pieces of handiwork produced between 1889 and 1894 by the Lace School students). The central - and most extensive part of the exhibition - is a presentation of the 125-year development of the Lace School in Idrija. In addition to photographs and documents, a diverse range of traditional and contemporary works by girls (and boys) attending the school was on display, accompanied by creations made at the former textile school in Idrija and a presentation of bobbin-lace tools and materials. The so-called “lace sky” or the “Horoscope in Golden Threads” produced within the Open School project of the Lace School department at Črni vrh, gave to the display an additional touch of magic. The exhibition was accompanied by a whole range of other events, such as a demonstration and a workshop on bobbin-lace making, a series of lectures with slides showing lace from Slovenia (Idrija Lace School) and Croatia (Croatian School Museum in Zagreb), a lecture on the mysteries of astrology complementing the Horoscope in Golden Threads project, and a round-table discussion on the inclusion of lace into contemporary curricula and into the nine-year primary school.

Bronislava Gologranc Zakonjšek

A museum without silence (The Children’s Museum Herman’s Den / Celje)

Abstract
The Museum of Recent History in Celje collects, stores, arranges, researches and displays the movable cultural heritage of Celje and its surroundings from the early 20th century through until today. It has been nominated for the 2002 European Museum of the Year Award as an institution that maintains constant lively communication with the broader public. It combines both permanent and temporary exhibitions. In addition, the museum organises “live” events such as workshops, lectures, demonstrations, guided tours, quizzes, seminars, excursions and other diverse types of meetings between the curators and those museum visitors eager to gain new knowledge. A broad range of educational activities is offered to pre-school children, school students as well as adults and pensioners. This mission efficiently integrates the museum into its environment.

Nevenka Hacin

Nursery schools - institutions for the education and care of pre-school children in Hrastnik, Trbovlje and Zagorje

Abstract
The paper presents an ad-hoc exhibition called “Nursery schools - institutions for the education and care of pre-school children in Hrastnik, Trbovlje, Zagorje”, the exhibition catalogue and other activities accompanying the exhibition. The exhibition and catalogue present the chronological development of pre-school establishments in Hrastnik, Trbovlje and Zagorje, which was in close correlation with 20th-century developments in other similar institutions in the territory of today’s Slovenia. They also give an overview of the changes made to the criteria for training and additional training for all with the demanding and responsible task of educating children in the 1-6 years age group In addition, some anecdotes from the daily life of pre-school children in Zasavje are provided.