Posts by delphiandomine

delphiandomine

11 Sep 2017

Work / Questions about Overseas Resident Applying Flight Attendant Based in Poland [3]

There is (I think) a rule about how long it takes you to travel if you're called into work.

Yes, it's doubtful if they would allow Warsaw because there's simply not the frequency of flights compared to runs to Amsterdam or Paris.

I would be grateful if someone could tell me more about it.

Your best bet is Ryanair or Wizzair. You could also try Enter Air, Small Planet Airlines and Smart Wings, but you might run into difficulties with the language issue there.

An outside bet could be to try Nordica, as they use English as a common language onboard.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

I try to give as few tests as possible because cheating is too deeply baked into the system (and I blame teachers and parents more than students for that).

Couldn't agree more. I make it crystal clear to every single class that I won't tolerate cheating, but in return, my tests will be fair and interesting. Almost every single test features someone trying to cheat, and the paper being torn up. I'm almost certain that many of my colleagues (both in this school and the last one) are turning a blind eye to cheating, because there's no other explanation as to why they're doing it. Most kids get it very quickly that I'm serious and I won't tolerate it, but there's always one.

Cheating is the absolute scourge of the Polish education system. It's infuriating to watch 7-8 year olds try and cheat, because it's clear that the behaviour has been learnt from somewhere.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Travel / Deeper swimming pools (diving) in Poland? [5]

Makes me wonder if all the professional athletes of Poland then have to reside in said cities, or they would never be able to train anywhere.

Professional athletes in Poland in things like Olympic sports are almost all attached to university teams, or well funded and established sports clubs in big cities. No-one is going to live in some small town as a professional athlete.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Essentially portfolio-based assessment. I believe it can work just as well towards a summative assessment as well as just formative.

Yes, I think so too. The problem is that parents want the instant gratification of tests, rather than understanding that a well crafted piece of work tells much more about them. I do have one way of reducing the stress of the kids though - I actually give the parents the tests in advance (for kids in 1st-3rd class). I tell them that it's their decision on how to prepare the kids for the tests, so it actually puts the burden on the parents and not me. If they're going to demand tests, then they can bloody well take responsibility for them.

The problem is that parents expect things like essays to be graded in the same way. I keep telling them every year that written pieces of work will be graded not on the final piece of work, but the entire process of drafting, re-drafting and writing the final version. Every year, I see kids produce garbage for the first and second draft, then they mysteriously produce a fantastic piece of work. The parents, without fail, go beserk when it gets given a low grade.

I remember a few years ago, one parent told me "but his native speaker teacher wrote it for him!!!". I smiled at her politely and asked if she thought that I wouldn't think that something was wrong with the idea of a 10 year old producing a perfect text with no transference errors from Polish.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

There is no way that anyone would believe that a person working 60 to 72 hours a week is a bona fide student.

Actually, it's quite possible. Visas and residence permits are issued for weekend studies, so you can easily fit in 60 hours Monday-Friday, and those part time studies are normally only 15-16 weekends a year.

And there are no restrictions on the hours worked.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

Not 60 to 72 hours a week, it's not. The limit is 20 hours a week.

Where did you read that? Those are the old rules, but as far as I'm aware, anyone with a residence card can work unrestricted now. Those 20 hours also only applied to those on umowa o prace, which was nearly no-one.

delphiandomine

7 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Didn't have much time to write yesterday because of the demands of the new school year, but here goes...

It's the same with exams which are ridiculously over-important and redundant, well over 90 % of the time teachers can predict their grades..

Couldn't agree more. Every year, I ask each class and then their parents about grades. The kids always vote for "no grades", while the parents demand them. A few enlightened souls understand that there's no need for exams, but the vast majority want grades so they can boast to their friends/cry to the director. For me, they are completely useless, and the time wasted on grading/marking could be spent on preparing nicer materials. As it stands, I'm wasting about 12 hours a week on marking books and grading them, simply because parents are obsessed with the idea of grades and marking.

So that old business of grading children for the week and recording the results still goes on?? Why on earth is that considered necessary.

Well, mine get graded when I feel like it, but there's heavy pressure from parents to do as many tests as possible. It's ridiculous, especially when you have subjects where there's really no need to test them at all. For instance, my civil war programme in the CLIL history class - meaningful assignments are much more valuable, but again, parents expect grades and final scores from the semester. It's ridiculous and a complete waste of time.

As you say, I can pretty much give grades to every kid in every class without needing to test them.

Anyway, today's fun. I always give kids a test at the start of the school year, simply to see where they are - the grades aren't recorded, it's just for my own information so I can think about seating arrangements and so on. I gave the test yesterday, and today, I get a mother asking "when will the results be online?". I explained to her patiently that it was an internal test for my use only, and she predictably went on the attack, saying that it was her right to see the results and so on. I offered to sit down with her when it was checked so we could discuss it together (and the implications), but she wanted an actual grade online.

I leave it to the reader to decide why she valued grades over discussion.

So far, my groups are pretty much fine. The real work starts next week, as this week is just about easing kids back into school life. My classroom is nicely decorated now, including a lot of materials and books sent over from the UK by various organisations - it really helps to create the illusion that they are (for 45 minutes) in a British classroom.

delphiandomine

6 Sep 2017

Study / Any (inexpensive) English Schools in Krakow? [60]

In Poland, there is a sort of similar situation with STO schools. Not that extreme, of course, but in a lot of them, it's "invitation only".

Many of them aren't so extreme, but they look specifically for parents that are there to contribute to the school rather than just to treat the school as a dumping ground. My friend is the vice-director of one, and they don't look for academic potential, but social potential. If the kid is a spoiled brat, the mother is neurotic and the father works 945354 hours a week, they won't admit the kid because there's a high chance that there will be problems.

Right now, they have huge problems because parents are justifiably angered by the school deform.

delphiandomine

5 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

he could have been the victim of bullying - don't be so quick to blame him, tell ur class that they don't get to 'reject' a new kid on the first day.

Yeah, this is what I wondered, because it's normal for victims of bullying to get reports from the last school saying "everything was fine" - they don't want to admit that they failed in any way. We'll see how it goes, but I'm not entirely surprised that this class in particular rejected him instantly.

Careful that you dont make a snap judgement (kids like this..?) and join in with the bullying. Teachers do this without realising.

You're right, it's the exact reason why I write everything down so that it can be analysed later without emotion. I already spoke to his class teacher, and she said that the same behaviour was in her class. Right now, all I can see is a kid that is hostile to others, but there's almost certainly some reason behind it. Having said that, I personally think it was a huge mistake to introduce a new kid to this particular class, but...not my decision.

Do they all have good internet access and computer literacy/general literacy?

This is actually one of the biggest problems - the online journal makes it so much easier to communicate and keep track of things, but at the same time, there are still plenty of parents who struggle with it. It's particularly a big problem when the children are mostly under the care of the grandparents, because the parents simply don't have time/interest and the grandparents aren't always computer literate. What we do in this case is repeatedly stress to the parents that they are obliged to check it daily.

For the very few that are computer illiterate and 'too old' to learn, they are allowed to go to the school office to get print outs daily of the information from their accounts, but this is limited to those that genuinely have no way of accessing the data.

delphiandomine

5 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Day 2

Too tired to write a long entry today, but one incident happened that is worthy of sharing. One of my groups is of 8-9 year olds in the 3rd class of primary school. I know this group from last year, and they were a very close, tight-knit group with no issues within the group beyond the usual small dramas. Anyway, a new kid joined, and within the first few minutes, it was obvious that they had already rejected him. I wondered why (because these are well behaved, good kids), until it became obvious that there was a reason why he'd joined the school in the 3rd class. He has issues, especially in the way that he talks to other people. His report from the last school is average, but it seems to me that they haven't been truthful. Our own diagnostic testing hasn't shown any issues, but it's quite normal for kids like this to show one face to 'authority' and another face to their peers.

I've written a letter to his old class teacher to ask for more background information, so we'll see if it's a 'new school' thing, or if there's more to it than meets the eye.

Other than that, it's just a predictable start to the school year. Like always, I've just sent out a warning to parents that they will receive all information on the online journal, which no doubt will be ignored. Fortunately, we can see at a glance all the information regarding the parents, including when they logged into the platform last and when they read the messages. Our "contract" with the parents requires them to check the journal daily, so if they don't do it, they have no room to question/complain about anything. I'll give it exactly two weeks before someone complains that their kid got a bad grade and that it's not their fault that they missed my deadline to ask questions about it (48 hours).

delphiandomine

4 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

For kids of mid-junior school upwards, some of the interactive stuff from the dEaDINBURGH franchise is great.

Thank you for the heads up, I'll see if any of them might be suitable for use. I'm always trying to bring some authenticity to the classroom rather than the horrid generic "British Council" English that dominates these days, so I'll give it a try.

You're right that kids love zombies - the "horrible histories" were a huge success last year.

delphiandomine

4 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Not in my opinion, because the Wicker Man was filmed in almost Englandshire, while I've never seen The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

delphiandomine

4 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Gregory's Girl was exactly the one! By far the best Scottish movie of all time in my opinion.

delphiandomine

4 Sep 2017

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Given the interest in teaching shown by many members of this forum, I thought I'd start a thread dedicated to what a teacher's life looks like. I'll update this thread throughout the year with events and happenings, so people can find out exactly how what it is really like to teach in Poland.

Day 1

Although it may be the first day of school today from the point of view of pupils, the reality is that most of us have been working hard for two weeks now as teachers. Important meetings, such as the school pedagogical council meetings are held during this time, while the change in education system required a huge amount of effort from most of us. From my perspective, the biggest change is that we now have to teach kids aged 12-15 on top of the old system of teaching 6-12 in primary school. It doesn't affect me so much this year as my oldest class is 12-13, but several of my colleagues have effectively had to remind themselves of the more advanced content now found in the new "7th class".

Anyway, after two weeks of planning, preparation and designing my classroom accordingly, the ceremonial first day of school was today. Many Polish schools only have short (or not-so-short) events, but we deliberately chose to make today a normal day in order to help working parents.

The day begins at 7am, when I had to arrive at work to make sure that I had prepared for my part in the official opening of the school year. I had to run through my short speech, prepare any certificates that weren't handed out at the end of the school year (these days, many parents go on holiday in the last two weeks of June to avoid high summer prices) and make sure that my classroom looked good for the start of the year.

Each school does things differently, but in our school, we divided the start of the school year into two groups. The first four classes had their opening ceremony at 8am, while the last three classes had their ceremony at 10am. The ceremony is pretty boring by all accounts - the school headteacher says things about the upcoming year, teachers give short speeches about what they hope to do this year, and certificates are handed out, including for any external exam results (such as Cambridge examinations) that were issued over summer.

The rule today is that each teacher has to look after their class all day, so it was a long day for me - from 7am until 4pm in the school. This year, I have 21 scheduled hours, 1 weekly duty hour and 2 hours for a "interest circle" - so it makes 24 contact hours. It might sound low, but consider that I have 6 different classes, as well as "my" class to look after - which includes preparation, report writing, grading and more. I also have to deal with any issues that arise, particularly with my class - so in practice, I spend at least 3-4 hours a week simply looking at issues as a class teacher.

From a teaching point of view, today was a laid back day - no formal lessons, just 90 minutes for the opening of the school year and the rest of the time was spent on making sure that my class knows what is expected of them. I've got responsibility for a group in the 5th year of primary school, so it's going to be a tough year for them as they adjust to a new programme that is, by most accounts, badly written and prepared. I went over everything with them, answered their questions and established things such as who the class president will be, where they want to go on a school trip (Berlin is most likely, judging by the opinions today), new school rules, my expectations towards them and so on.

All of this took me through to lunchtime, but because of the way that many schools in Poland are organised, the kids only have a 20 minute break to eat a quick lunch. In my opinion, it's nowhere near long enough, especially given that they have to actually go to the canteen, get food and sit down, which means that they only have 10-15 minutes maximum to actually eat everything and be at their next class.

After lunchtime, we watched a cult Scottish movie, which took us through to 2pm. Some kids were picked up or went home with the agreement of their parents after the official ceremony, but most kids stayed in school until the end of the day. Unfortunately, the stupid (in my opinion) tradition of the kids being expected to wear nice clothes at the opening of the school meant they couldn't really go outside - so for the last two hours, they were given free time and allowed to do as they wanted (within reason) in the classroom. It also gave me a chance to observe their behaviour, particularly one child who was notorious last year for his behaviour towards certain teachers.

4pm came, and the kids went home. Thankfully at this age, they don't need to be released into the care of adults - they simply can go home by themselves after they cleaned my classroom, ready for tomorrow. After that, I typed up my notes (I keep a diary of everything that happens, just in case it's needed later - it helps a lot when a child's behaviour is deteriorating) and went home.

The job is not over, however - now I'm preparing tomorrow's classes. Our school operates the idea of CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning. This means that the kids have only two hours of 'traditional' English lessons, while they receive an extra 6 hours a week of subjects taught in a foreign language as an addition to the normal subjects taught in Polish. So, for instance, tomorrow I will teach a class on history - so my plan is to introduce this class to the concept of civil war. The plan is to dedicate this semester to the topic (it's only 1 class a week) - so we will explore the topic in-depth, with the final grade being based on a presentation on a civil war of their choosing. From my planning notes, we will explore the Russian, Irish and American civil wars, before tackling more complicated and recent concepts from the latter half of the 20th century such as the long lasting conflicts in Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.

It takes a lot of work to prepare, not least because it means that I have to have reasonable knowledge of the entire school programme in order to create my own programmes for these CLIL classes.

Anyway, questions welcomed!

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

News / Mysterious death of Magdalena Żuk on holiday in Egypt [144]

Idk tho is a travel agency responsible for tourists actions?

Yes and no. I'd say if someone is alone in a resort with no family or friends and is really troubled, then yes, they have a moral duty to look after her properly.

and it seems like the hotel and hospitals or at least some doc or nurse that was sent to see her did what they could.

No, not quite. There were quite a few failings - she was already in bad state in the hotel, and it seems to me that not a single person had the brains to contact the Polish Embassy to request urgent assistance for a Polish national in need.

There's nothing mysterious about her death, just systematic failings on the part of the Egyptians and the Polish tour operator.

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

News / Mysterious death of Magdalena Żuk on holiday in Egypt [144]

What's the slander? The poor woman was suffering from some severe psychological issues and should have received urgent care and preferably repatriated immediately to Poland so she could receive care in her native language.

I wouldn't wish mental trauma on anyone, and having to deal with Egyptians while suffering like that - I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Tell me Ironside, why are you so reluctant to blame the useless Polish tour operator in this case?

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

News / Mysterious death of Magdalena Żuk on holiday in Egypt [144]

I think Polish companies are outsourcing 'rezydent' jobs to local people who often don't have the cultural knowledge (and/or time) to make good judgement calls.

I think they are also quite afraid to make decisions by themselves, which seems to translate into perceived uselessness. If you think about how Polish managers overreact like children, and add into it the local culture of not wanting to rock the boat (because jobs are hard to come by), it's a recipe for disaster.

Wasn't the rezydent an Egyptian guy (probably overworked) rather than a Polish person who knows the local system?

Yup. Absolutely inexcusable if you ask me, and instead of the hysteria surrounding alleged murder, it would have been much better to look at how tourists are looked after in such resorts. Can any tour operator right now truthfully say that they'll look after someone in such a situation? I don't think so.

Also, given Egyptian culture, there are restrictions that mean that women don't necessarily receive proper care.

Yes, totally. I'm fully able to imagine that the rezydent and the hotel staff together were willing to leave her to her torment, because the "stupid tourist" will be gone soon anyway. I was in Egypt a few years ago out of curiosity, and it was painfully clear that the Western staff in the resort had completely different ideas about how to do things than the local staff.

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

News / Mysterious death of Magdalena Żuk on holiday in Egypt [144]

Even though the Polish travel agency she booked with were aware that there was a serious problem, there are people who will cook up the most unbelievable tales in order to blame someone, anyone, else.

wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114883,22317729,biegala-po-hotelu-i-caly-czas-plakala-tvn24-dotarl-do-nowych.html?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=SM&utm_campaign=FB_Gazeta

Latest news is that a tourist in the same hotel has revealed much more about what was happening there. She was clearly in huge psychological distress, and the failure of the Polish tour operator to secure her proper treatment (or even to get her on the plane) shows that there is clearly criminal liability on the part of the Polish company here.

As a minimum, she could have been handcuffed on the plane to the seats in order to get her safely back to Poland for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. The tour operator instead abandoned her, putting profits above the welfare of their guests. Sick and disgusting, and her death should have been avoidable.

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

Life / Video game prices in Poland [8]

Totally. Just walk into a shop selling games, and tell them you'd like to benefit from a "zniżka na pięć palców", which is the term used for "I would like a discount, please".

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

Life / Advice needed on Dental implant in Poland [119]

Huh? It's perfectly acceptable in American. "I got three quotes before choosing a moving company."

You wouldn't get quotes from a dentist though, would you?

delphiandomine

3 Sep 2017

Law / Drunk Drive and Pyschotechnical Test (Kurs reedukacyjny) in Poland [3]

Any foreigner or Poles here who have been through ?

Easy answer: Learn Polish.

I mean, in your profile, you wrote "speaks Polish: yes".

Anyway, if you actually can't speak Polish, then pay for a sworn interpreter to attend the course with you. Should cost you about 150zł/hour.

delphiandomine

2 Sep 2017

Life / What do locals believe represents Poland and its future? [17]

Let me tell you for what its worth, there is a hidden financial crisis in Poland

There's a lot of debt hidden away in some very interesting places, and that's before you even talk about ZUS which is effectively bankrupt.

If the real debt level is as low as 65%, I'd be surprised.

The only thing that can help Poland at the minute is that there's still plenty of good assets in public hands that could be sold quickly.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

News / Poland's Public TV News Propaganda "Wiadomości" hated by viewers [31]

that seems about right for them.

It's just yet more crude propaganda designed to somehow stir up anti-EU sentiment where none exists.

Certain losers lap it up, particularly those who were such failures in Poland that they had to go to the UK to wash dishes and clean toilets.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

UK, Ireland / Muslim man abuses and threatens Polish woman in the UK [49]

More and more Muslims are naturalising as Polish citizens, much to your dismay I imagine.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

Law / My Poland born father served in a foreign army - Polish citizenship questions [76]

This is a key issue.

Absolutely. The fact that our high flying friend has so far been unable to apply for citizenship through naturalisation or through the Presidential route suggests problems in that respect. It's also worth remembering that the authorities can seize the money from any Polish bank account for tax/social insurance arrears, meaning that it's unlikely that he will ever be able to work in Poland again.

Either way, one would be well advised to not take advice from guest posters. Who knows what their real intention is, particularly if they keep pushing certain law offices while not being able to provide facts (in Polish) relating to the law in question.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

Travel / Travel Within Poland - from Warsaw airport to Mragowo [49]

Based on your experience, what would you say is the maximum a bus ticket from Olsztyn to Mragowo could cost per person if purchased at the station immediately before departure?

15PLN or so. Can't imagine it being much more than that.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

Polonia / Reckless Polish Man starts wildfire in Montenegro [48]

You make it sound like he was a one-man army. I am glad that Montenegro survived this dangerous Polish thread :)

Clearly you have absolutely no idea how dangerous wildfires are on the Adriatic Coast. Have you even seen the fires from Montenegro in July, or from Dalmatia in August?

It was a serious fire that they struggled to contain, and which threatened the coast. Trying to dismiss it shows how ignorant you are, to be honest.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

UK, Ireland / Muslim man abuses and threatens Polish woman in the UK [49]

my beliefs are based on fact, reality, observation and experience

Doesn't seem like it. All you seem to post are vague accusations associating all Muslims with the acts of a few imbeciles.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

News / Poland's political crisis deepens [228]

Good. It should become a blanket ban on Polish wood until the law is complied with.

delphiandomine

1 Sep 2017

Polonia / Reckless Polish Man starts wildfire in Montenegro [48]

Personally, I cannot see the use of posting about a Polish man who started a fire in Montenegro

The fact that it was a Pole that threatened Montenegro's Adriatic Coast, one of the precious few sources of real revenue in the country?

It's certainly newsworthy, and it was all over the Polish news.