Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [940]


I'm not totally against this idea. It allows them to react to local circumstances quickly, rather than waiting for a faceless bureaucrat to make the decision for them. Of course, it'll be used to push the blame onto schools...


And the chaos will continue, because some will do neither. I've spoken to one friend who says that they have real problems in their school, because the headteacher has left the implementation of the programme to individual teachers without any coordination. The end result is that parents and kids are supposed to keep track of how each teacher communicates, and she counted that kids in her class have to deal with 6 different methods of transferring information from teachers to students. It's completely unacceptable.

I've spoken to our headteacher yesterday, and she's trying to establish some rules for the upcoming year. The plan is that kids won't have breaks outside the classroom, kids will move directly between classes, toilet breaks will be taken only during lessons, kids will take food to school only, and there won't be any assemblies or other large gatherings of kids. Parents won't be allowed to enter the school, nor will they be allowed to congregate outside the school building - they'll have to remain outside the school grounds. If they're coming to świetlica, they'll have to call the teachers there who will release the kid. Kids will also have to come to school at allocated times, as to avoid large amounts of crowding.

It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]

They were also murdering civilians that had nothing to do with the government of the day. Furthermore, are you saying that Mikołajczyk was Jewish?

Law / American camgirl considering moving to Poland for a few years. Taxes? [6]


Basically, you're covered by this - ssa.gov/international/agreements_overview.html - you don't have to pay self-employment taxes as there's an agreement between PL and the US on this matter. I'd give the IRS a call directly and ask about it, but it seems to me that you're exempt from those taxes because of the bilateral agreement between the two counters.

Law / American camgirl considering moving to Poland for a few years. Taxes? [6]

1) Yes, you will. I'd strongly advise getting an accountant with experience in this field, as it's likely that most accountants won't understand the specifics of your business, particularly relating to legitimate business costs.

2) Set aside ~$300/month USD in social insurance taxes (it will be less to begin with, but this gives you a good idea of what to expect) plus 19% flat income tax.

However, will you have to pay the 15% to the US if you're not tax resident there? My American friend here is self employed, and she doesn't pay that.

Life / Paying Hospital Bills in Poland [23]


Nah, me neither. It's the oldest trick in the book to ask for money for medical bills from foreigners.

History / Heritage of partitions still present in Poland [107]


As is the one you've posted, as population wise, you can't compare small rural communes with large cities.

This is a good map when looking at elections to the Sejm, though.

History / "Poland Syndrome" should be renamed [45]

I think we should also consider renaming Polka dances, because not only do they leave out half the population of Poland, they also cause one to associate Polish women with spots.

Life / Paying Hospital Bills in Poland [23]


Right now, there's no shortage of work for physical workers. He could walk into a factory and get a job tomorrow.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]


Which means that they died for no other reason than their religion and nationality. Textbook martyrdom.

History / "Poland Syndrome" should be renamed [45]


Perhaps we can rename them Telegraph Dutches, on account of the fact that Poles aren't particularly tall?

History / "Poland Syndrome" should be renamed [45]

Yes, absolutely. We wouldn't want anyone getting offended, so perhaps we could change them to "North British Point" and "South British Point" to remind everyone of the glorious Empire?

Life / Paying Hospital Bills in Poland [23]


It happens to many people, so don't beat yourself up over it. If you're in the US, high hospital bills would be normal for you, so it's easy to see how you could be deceived.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]


So why were innocent civilians murdered then? Tell us, Ironside.

History / Polish Museums and Selective Forgetting [10]


I suppose it's the difference between reading about a museum on the internet and actually visiting it in-person.


Actually, this is something that rather proves the OP's point. This little fact is rarely stressed, and IMO, there's a need for a museum focusing on martial law as a significant event. For me, despite having read many books on the topic and having watched many films, it's still unthinkable as to just how much the Polish regime clamped down on citizens.

Life / Paying Hospital Bills in Poland [23]

All costs of treatment related to Covid-19 are free in Poland irrespective of whether you have health insurance or not.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]


What's heroic about killing defenceless civilians? It implies they were cowards who didn't have the guts to take on a real enemy.


They died for no other reason than their religion and language. That's textbook martyrdom.

History / "Poland Syndrome" should be renamed [45]


I also strongly dislike the way that we use "to polish off something". It implies gluttony and greed, and could be changed to "Russian off". For instance, "oh, she Russianed off those leftovers".

History / Polish Museums and Selective Forgetting [10]


Indeed it is. The exhibition that the OP complains about is merely a snapshot of Krakow's history during three years, designed to allow the visitor the chance to compare and contrast those three periods of Polish history. It isn't intended as a catch-all museum of the PRL, as it's a topic that has been explored elsewhere, such as in the excellent "Centrum Historii Zajezdnia" in Wrocław which does a terrific job of outlining the history of the city in the 1945-1989 era.


Most scholars researching that period in Europe tend to differentiate pre-1956 and post-1956 for several reasons. It's very clear to anyone that knows their history that the Soviets took a back seat after that time, and even after they pacified the Prague Spring, they put trusted Czechoslovak henchmen in place to run things, not Soviet generals.

News / Poland adds Latin to core curriculum to help pupils understand foundation of Western civilisation [13]


Could it be really just a way of getting priests/nuns more hours in schools? Still, it's hard to see where they're going to find qualified teachers of Latin to turn up for a handful of hours a week.


Mine were actually quite good fun, because the guy teaching it knew how to make it interesting. He also understood that most people just wanted to get a pass and go away, so his condition of passing was that you had to attend and take part in the classes/exercises, but then the "final exam" consisted of turning up and having a chat with him about what you'd learnt during it.

History / Polish Museums and Selective Forgetting [10]


Incorrect. Polish scholars give the date as 1956, hence why the exhibition focuses on that year. In that year, an official agreement was signed between the Polish Government and the Soviet Union which regulated the presence of the troops, which is why the Soviet occupation is deemed to have lasted between 1941-1956.

Furthermore, given that you are apparently a world class curator, I strongly suggested that you should write to Dr Niezabitowski and explain to him why his exhibition is wrong. I'm sure it won't be a problem for someone with the name "Poloniusz" to write a well written letter in Polish to explain why the exhibition should be changed.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]


It's quite sad to see how fascists, communists and the Polish domestic opposition used war crimes against civilians, isn't it?

For me, there can be no excuse for ever murdering civilians during a war, no matter what the alleged provocation might be.

News / Poland adds Latin to core curriculum to help pupils understand foundation of Western civilisation [13]

The problem will be teaching it. I had a truly excellent Latin teacher when doing some post-diploma studies here, but he is one of a kind. If it's badly taught, it will do nothing for Polish children except turn them off even further.

Law / Polish Army WWII and citizenship [17]

They don't need Polish citizenship. If they want it, they can come here and integrate rather than using Poland as an easy way of obtaining EU citizenship.

Travel / Architecture style in Poland [24]


I'm always amused by how these allegedly poor people are able to build such big houses.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]

Let's also not forget how the Home Army and the Cursed Soldiers maimed civilians.

For instance, one should pay attention to the massacres in Pavlokoma - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paw%C5%82okoma_massacre - in which the Polish Home Army murdered hundreds of Ukrainian civilians inside the local church.

History / Polish Museums and Selective Forgetting [10]

As usual with dear Bieganski, he fails to provide the full story.

The exhibition in Kraków is actually designed to tell a story through three years: 1939, 1945 and 1956. The full name of the exhibiton is "People of Kraków in Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956", and so it is divided into three parts accordingly. It isn't intended as a catalogue of terror, but rather as an exhibiton that provides a snapshot into those three periods of time in order to compare the horrors of the Nazi and Soviet occupations.

muzeumkrakowa.pl/exhibitions/people-of-krakow-in-times-of-terror-1939-1945-1956

If Biega...I mean "Poloniusz" has a problem with it, I suggest that he directs a well-written letter (in Polish, of course) to Dr Michał Niezabitowski, director of the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow. I'm sure that Dr Niezabitowski (CV here: ihia.up.krakow.pl/pracownicy-up/niezabitowski/ ) will be delighted to learn from Bieg...I mean "Poloniusz" about how history should be correctly presented in the museum. After all, "Poloniusz" clearly has a stellar CV that surpasses the 35 years of experience that Dr Niezabitowski has in the museum.

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [282]


It's about time. Those people were killed for no other reason than their faith and language, and they certainly did nothing to deserve being hacked to death.

Life / Is Polish church involved in politics too much? [124]


Terlikowski has been pointing out for a while that the current actions of the Church can only lead to ruin. He mentions it again in this article that this is the path that the Church went down in other countries, and that it resulted in disaster there as well. If you read the article, he also makes it clear that he regards the institution of marriage to be sacrosanct and that couples should find a way to preserve it, even if it's very difficult.

What I find interesting is the amount of disgust coming from hard right Catholic circles towards Kurski. There are comments that he's slapping a lot of Catholics in the face with his behaviour, especially those that have tried (and failed) to get an annulment without the traditional contribution to the Cathedral's roof fund.

News / Thousands of Polish women attend Czarny Piątek rally in Warsaw [780]

Do tell us the specific parts which you claim are

News / Thousands of Polish women attend Czarny Piątek rally in Warsaw [780]


They certainly do care, but like a good Bolshevik, you're repeating the Party line as gospel.

Anyway, it turns out that PiS are already backtracking. It turns out that this isn't actually a position taken by the government, but only by Solidarna Polska. They're clearly trying to find a way out of this as it's backfiring...