Lesson: Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

Goal: To teach critical reading of sources through «Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk»: telling the confirmed from the disputed and judging reliability.

Lesson plan

1. 2 min · Introduction. Ask: “How do we know an event really happened?” Name the topic: «Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk».
2. 4 min · Who is it. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), Czechoslovakia's first president, supported an interwar relief policy that also benefited Ukrainian émigrés. Prague and Poděbrady became important centers of Ukrainian higher education. The president's political support must be distinguished from the direct administrative actions and funding decisions of state institutions.
3. 6 min · Facts from the dossier. Read the facts. For each, pupils say which source confirms it and whether it can be trusted.
4. 3 min · Summary. Sum up: what is proven, what stays disputed, which sources are missing.

Facts

• 07.03.1850: Born in Hodonín. R0024
• 1882: Begins teaching at Prague University. R0024
• 14.11.1918: Elected president of Czechoslovakia. R0024
• 1920: According to the Czech Embassy, meets Mykhailo Hrushevsky in Prague. R0024
• 1921: State aid operation begins; the Ukrainian Free University relocates to Prague. R0024

Questions to discuss

1. Which facts about «Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk» are confirmed by several independent sources?
2. What is the difference between an original document and a later retelling?
3. What data is missing to make the conclusion firmer?

Task

Pick two facts and compare their sources in the dossier: what agrees and what does not. Write a short reliability assessment.