News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

As an private English teacher I do have sympathy with main stream public school teachers. There has already been talk in this posting about the lack of creativity from teachers and I can say that like all teachers throughout the world, it is a necessity to be creative when planning lessons. It is fair to say that like any business there are good and not so good employees and this also applies to teachers. However be careful when judging teachers as I am sure there are many other professions/businesses who employ many no hopers and unproductive employees whose only objective is to work as little as possible for the salary their receive.

Not only is it necessary to plan and create lessons for students (often outside teaching hours and late into the night) that are stimulating but they need to carefully plan the delivery and timings of such lesson plans which can be difficult. In addition there is the added pressure of dealing with difficult and challenging children/students who so quickly make the lives of teachers stressful and are resistant to any form of encouragement or help offered. I am sure there are many more issues which are equally important and relevant to the current strike but unless you are a teacher it is really unrealistic to know how teachers feel and how difficult life can be when teaching. For teachers to earn as much as a KFC employee is obscene and a disgrace.

The public know that the teaching profession needs to employ the best teachers to ensure that students receive the best possible education to prepare them for life. It is right to say that there are good and not so good teachers. Perhaps increased regulation of teaching ability needs to be improved and new ideas, approaches adopted. In this way teachers can develop their skills further and add value to their current skills set. Money is not the sole solution to quality and improvement but teachers do deserve an increase in salary to bring them up to and exceed the salary of KFC employees...! At the end of the day teachers are the foundations on which a progressive society is based on and should be respected and rewarded where necessary. Like any business, teaching will positively progress if the right approach is used to develop and equip teachers with the right tools.

I only hope that my comments help to show some of the difficulties experienced by teachers.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

Yes that's correct I am a Brit......

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

It seems to me that the 500+ scheme is clearly beneficial to parents/couples having children but I wonder if this just encourages having babies to benefit from the payments..(not sure if this is the best way to increase the population...far better to improve the services so that people feel valued...)..I also wonder where this money is coming from and how long it can be sustained....It could be argued that there are other sections of society who are more deserving....perhaps social issues, for example improving the health system which in any society is essential if Poland wishes to provide a professional, efficient and caring service to those in need....Perhaps also financing infrastructure projects to supplement European funding...and financing increased regulation on rubbish dumping/clearance of rubbish, such as can be found in forests and ditches which is my view is unforgivable and a blot on the landscape.....

How on earth is Poland going to attract tourism (because of course there is so much to offer in Poland) if the countryside is full of rubbish and dogs on the loose.....I do wonder when the PIS are going to put their money where there mouth is when it comes to improving the lives of their citizens....will it be this year...next year....year after...? It doesn't seem very transparent and clear when listening to the news on TV..... Financing the 500+ project is short termism and unlikely to last so do the recipients of these payments realise this when it comes to voting in the forthcoming elections or will they blindly vote for PIS just to keep the payments they now rely on..? I have to agree that teachers do deserve a pay increase and also deserve more respect and understanding...It is said that there are good and bad teachers but of course this is the same in all professions....what I think needs to be understood is that teaching is an essential part of providing a stable educational starting point for students who are starting out in life.....Further teaching development training and more pro-active management support, would go a long way to address poor performers ..

Finally perhaps this spare cash could be spent on encouraging people to steer away from using coal for heating and making it user friendly for people to use gas or at least a cleaner fuel..(500 zl per family for fuel payments should go a long way...)....if money is being spent to encourage people to use cleaner fuel, it is not happening quick enough...they need to try harder....

Real Estate / Buying and renting an apartment in Poland (South-west of Wroclaw) [4]

cms neuf and Nathans ......

Thanks for your feedback on my post...your comments are appreciated.....there are of course a lot of things to consider....air quality seems to be much improved and not as bad as the Krakow area where I currently live.....all other information you have both provided is very helpful.

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

Merged:

University speech on child abuse

I understand from the news today that a speech was made recently at a university in Poland on the extent of child abuse and alleged cover up by the church. The story focused on a priest/bishop who recently died and had now been accused of abusing a number of children in the past. It would appear from this speech that such abuse amongst the clergy in Poland is extensive and that the alleged abusers have been moved around different churches in an effort to protect them and prevent them being investigated and prosecuted. The speaker made it very clear that he would continue to give speeches in the future on this topic and seemed very determined to bring pressure on those in a position of authority to take action.

This seems to be quite a worrying situation and I just wonder what efforts the prosecution authority and police are doing to bring those abusers to justice. Are there prosecution/police units set up specifically to deal with child abuse? Are there any initiatives in Poland's legal system which focus on targeting abusers and bringing them to justice? I am also concerned that this cover up has been allowed to continue for so long (of course not unusual in child abuse) I haven't seen much about this on the news and it would appear to me to be something that should receive much more news coverage.

Could anyone throw any light on this story as it would seem to be an important issue and one which those in authority should be openly addressing....also I think that the general public must be horrified at the consequences of children being influenced by the clergy and I am surprised that so little has been reported on this, or perhaps I am mistaken.

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

Some of the stories and accounts of child abuse are truly shocking......and whilst it is important to promote the ongoing incidents of abuse, I think there really needs to be a more meaningful approach to deterring potential abuse crimes......prosecutors and police together with the government really need to take a more proactive role.....focused attention on abuse....increased prosecutor powers.....and a review of sentencing for offenders.....in this way it will send out a message to others and a 'get tough' approach will eventually filter through and hopefully reduce the number of incidents and clean up the church.

The clergy do have a lot of influence and this of course can be used to persuade families and children to do things that seem normal but later turns out to be a way to abuse the innocent. There really needs to be no 'safe haven' for the clergy and those responsible for covering up their abuse crimes should also be prosecuted and sentenced for this crime....(I presume that harbouring or facilitating a criminal is a crime in Poland?)

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

I think that there is more that could be done to supplement video evidence....a change in the law and the will to change the current status quo will make a difference.....it really comes down to how badly people want this abuse problem in the church to be sorted out...if you have the will to do things (such as government, police and the prosecutors office) then a lot can be achieved but everyone needs to be on the right side....if there is no will then progress against abusers it will never happen....

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

It's very difficult to know exactly what is happening behind closed doors and unless there is transparency on how the church is organised in terms of its behind the scenes arrangements....including why children are unaccompanied when seeing priests, particularly in private or at different times or places etc. A lot of child abuse often thrives on disadvantaged children and maybe this needs to be investigated. It is absolutely unforgivable that abusers are moved around to avoid prosecution, identification or whatever.....this simple gives other abusers a passport to continue carrying out abuse....there is no deterrent and this will not change their interest in child abuse....it just simply moves the problem on to another region where they could reoffend.

Need to get tough....as Mr Duda has said...'zero tolerance' Finally what about the victims in these cases....they are completely affected and will have to deal with being abused for the rest of their lives....yes we need to deal with the abusers in the church with thorough investigations no stone unturned and complete transparency.... but also to provide support for the victims....ie. in giving evidence....psychiatric help....social care etc.....Maybe victims receive this sort of support already but it would be interesting and helpful if someone fully outlined the procedures in place for detection and support instead of seemingly vague statements made on TV news from people who are simply giving opinions. Much better to have concrete information on what is being done so that the public are reassured and have some sort of idea what is being done. Why isn't there a senior prosecutor appearing on the news who could set out what is being done, the extent of abuse and initiatives in place.

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

Quite interesting listening to the Sejm today, as the politicians are debating pedophilia and the government speakers seem to be comparing child abuse with consenting homosexual adults....amazing...they really do not get it despite other speakers pointing out that PIS are clearly mistaken as to what abuse is....it would seem that they need to look up the definition in the dictionary....Strangely PIS seem to be supporting the idea of moving priests around if they are suspected of committing abuse and are in denial as to the extent of abuse....I agree with one speaker who said that priests should not be treated any differently than any other abusers.....it really is that simple..... The best way to deal with the abuse problem is not let the government get involved and instead appoint an independent all party committee to target abuse committed by priests......

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

It would seem that the government has doubled the sentence for child abuse to 30 years.....however that's the easy bit....the difficult bit is to prosecute and convict the abuser.....so hopefully there are strong and robust measures in place for prosecutors and police to intercept and prosecute abusers....

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

As a starting point do you think that Bishops and senior clergy who were aware of this scandal should be interviewed and charged with aiding and abetting or joint enterprise or maybe perverting the course of justice....or some related offence. It seems that despite the promised investigation not much is being reported on by the media which would at least provide the public with ongoing information.....what are the views of the church going public who have children....or have the Bishops responded with their side of the story....what do the prosecution service/police say about abuse in general and what knowledge on the child abuse scandal could they share with the public, even on a very limited level just to show that something is being done or has been done in the past or at least to provide some sort of reassurance that this is not something swept under the carpet and that it is being taken seriously....

Have any Bishops/senior clergy been interviewed by police and if so how many and do police expect to interview more...are criminal charges likely to arise. Are the prosecution service taking advice from established child abuse units in other countries....?

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

I think that is a valid point but this posting is really about child abuse by priests in Poland.....Maybe the issues with LGBT are another topic altogether and could form a different posting....

Life / How do Polish people treat their animals? [31]

Merged:

Creulty to animals

It would seem that a dog was walking along a road in Poland (as they do) when a bus driver either deliberately or not hit the dog with his bus.....the sickening part of this story is that the bus driver apparently turned around or reversed so that he could run over the dog again......(the dog was of course crying in pain from the first incident).

This is a completely shocking situation and the behavior of the bus driver and the heartless, nasty and cruel behaviour he exhibited is disgusting.....

He must be a complete simpleton/moron to think that this was acceptable behaviour....unbelievable...!! Apparently it seems he is able to drive a bus but sadly unable to negotiate the road properly....in any event his employers have now sacked him and he is likely to be charged with a criminal offense.... I just wonder how he treats his children...if he has any...

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

Just wanted to find out if there have been any more developments on the abuse scandal and whether anyone has been arrested or charged....I expect that the investigation is ongoing and will take time to identify those involved, but just interested if anyone has heard any news.....

Life / How do Polish people treat their animals? [31]

Any news on the bus driver who ran over a dog twice....haven't heard much in the news and just wondered if there have been any developments in this case....

Life / Three Reasons Why Poles Are Not Regular Human Beings... [16]

Not sure whether this posting is really appropriate in all the circumstances....firstly the title seems to be quite provocative and unnecessary and secondly it does not relate to the substance of the posting.....it seems to be without any respect or courtesy to Polish people....the title could apply to any country to describe their failings...USA...UK...etc....so why waste time on the posting....not sure what you hope to achieve...?

Real Estate / Plans and documents for a house (buy/sell) in Poland [3]

Nathans......thank you for your response

News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

Dougpol1.....The amount of money people have in the bank dictates whether they are likely to say to the boss "I just have to go out for an hour to buy some bathroom fittings..."

The amount of money people have in their bank acounts does of course dictate what they can buy....however when they do their shopping is another issue....how long in general do people have for their lunch breaks..enough for some people to return home for lunch so why not use this time to do shopping or after work.....maybe the problem is with the amount of time employers give employees for their lunch breaks.....perhaps it is a employment law issue that needs to be looked into..... In any event Sunday opening for many people is very useful...perhaps not for the people working on Sundays but then again they should be paid more for Sunday work...if not then again employment law needs to be looked at.....

One issue I have noticed recently are Tesco stores which appear to be rapidly going downhill will little choice of products, poor staffing, bad customer service..miserable looking aisles....etc...Tesco stores just do not represent the model of how they should look and I get the feeling that Tesco is planning to pull out of Poland.....

News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

Sunday opening is all about making the lives of people in Poland a positive and useful occasion to do shopping when their weekly demands be it work, children, holidays etc continue to deplete their time. Whether Sunday opening is a success in Poland I am not sure but it seems to me that it will benefit most people as it does in other European countries. It could be said that there are too many supermarkets around and perhaps by reducing the number and investing into what remains will make them an attractive shopping experience for shoppers. In turn people are more likely to spend money on wider ranges of products than you could find elsewhere. Yes cost is a key factor but when a shop provides a wide range of goods, there is a likelyhood of paying a higher price....but this is all to do with choice...

Supermarkets seem to be spread too thinly and it is noticable that some are losing their gloss and need some serious investment to make them attractive to people as well as providing a greater choice of products. .......and yes a simple coat of paint for some of these buildings or any building for that matter does actually make a difference to the people living in that area and for those people who choose to visit that area....there are too many tardy and tired looking buildings/supermarkets around which would benefit for a simple lick of paint....this would create a degree of attractiveness to the area and encourage more people to use supermarkets/shops in addition to creating a sense of pride in their surroundings....

There will always be people against this idea but at the end of the day people can choose to go shopping on Sundays or not. It is good for business and of course the people who have little time during the week to go shopping. Yes it is a shame that staff have to work on Sundays but I am sure there are plenty who are happy with the extra money......and if one of the arguments is that staff don't receive additional money then that is another issue which needs to be taken up with whoever is responsible for agreeing realistic wages and conditions of work, in accordance with employment law....it is not a reason for stopping Sunday opening.

In my opinion the actual concept of Sunday shopping is perfectly proper and provides a choice which in turn will improve the lives of people who have busy lives. Choice is one important factor which drives an economy, encouraging sensible spending, gets money moving around and creates a general feel good atmosphere amongst shoppers.

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

I think when it comes to 'milking' the EU come first.....they have the upper hand....Poland is not in a position, politically or financially to pull out of the EU, and I think people need to remember that the money has to be paid back to the EU.....not only that but Poland needs to remember the enormous benefits they have experienced since joining the EU.....to throw that away would be a big mistake, despite the financial positives Poland is enjoying....Poland has received billions of zloty over the years and will need to pay this back....it is tempting to believe that Poland is invincible and can stand on its own two feet but I think it needs to learn how to walk first.....

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

Brexit as we all know has been a long drawn out political episode in British life and I believe that most people in the UK are relieved that it has finally moving forward.....at the beginning remainers put forward their views on staying in Europe and likewise with leavers.....From my point of view I was disappointed that the referendum in 2016 wasn't honoured (as all referendums are)....and there followed three years of political nonsense where leavers went to extraordinary lengths to justify their position, rubbishing leavers, digging up anything to discredit leavers....UK will run out of medical supplies...the economy will take a nose dive...etc...etc....as it turned out nothing changed and like any economy there are experts whose job it is to keep it on track and adjust policy to suit changing conditions......

In short people voted to leave.....they were fed up with the EU and were prepared to vote to give the UK an opportunity to do things for themselves and put trust in the economists (and of course politicians) as they have been doing for many, many years. As for leavers the three years allowed people to understand why they were so against leaving, and it became clear that for many (certainly for the so called 'elite') money was the main factor....because for many they relied on the EU for funding their businesses....or relied on the EU as a means of income....etc etc.... The leader of the Liberal party who since the election is no longer is the leader is married and her husband has a business which receives EU funding (which like many similar stories had to be forced out into the open to see the real truth) and so the Liberal mantra was to cancel Brexit altogether......it just didn't work. The elite (and other high profile people) cynically suggested that leavers were stupid...didn't know what they were doing...and used every excuse (apart from funding) to put forward their case to remain in the EU. Change is dificult for people to adjust to but maybe after a decade there will be another referendum to re-join the EU....which for me is fine....politics is like this and people are used to voting on many different issues......

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

Ironside....Yes, but Poland would have more freedom on more control over it direction and affairs'.

I'm not sure that now is the moment for Poland to even consider leaving the EU.....there is too much at stake....Poland is still rebuilding and creating its infrastructure and therefore will continue to rely on funding from the EU....Poland has a lot to offer but it really should not run before it walks....

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

Torq.....


Not sure if having no children and no proper family..? is really a quality which is detrimental to someones aspirations to a career in politics.....is having a family really that important....I would have thought that it is more important to put forward ideas, suggestions in a manisfesto which provides solutions to the problems which currently face Poland....(to suggest having a family is necessary in order to be credible in politics is in my view a little simplistic..). Having seen the PIS show on channel 5 this evening I wonder if channel 5 will be giving the same amount of air time to the other political parties...it would seem fair to do so but who knows....

I hope that people do not vote for PIS on the basis that they will continue to give out 500+ money to people having babies....I really hope that voters also consider the bigger picture......rather than short sighted outcomes.....rather worrying if they do and this is likely to continue to restrict future growth and prosperity in Poland.....(wages will continue to be low and unlikely to increase significantly if people continue to support 500+ as the saviour of Poland....it just won't work....) People should really look at their personal situations and decide what they want for their families and future....do they want real jobs with good wages or are they just happy to continue with a basic but constant income....? People need to grow balls......and think about themselves and not what the PIS are doing for them which appears to be a cynical attempt to keep the masses happy......

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2744]

It would be the worst thing ever to follow the USA with similiar gun laws in Poland....a complete mess and an escalation of crime would inevitably follow....Poland doesn't need to follow the USA and if they did it would be a complete disaster which in the USA is now irreversible and beyond help.....the big problem are the organisations/businesses who use gun laws in the USA to peddle more and more weapons....even worse is the gun lobby who have far too much influence over politicians and any form of opposition.....just impossible to make any changes to reduce firearms.....why on earth are Americans arming themselves with automatic weapons...the wild West is still alive and well in the USA...

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

Why was it so important for members of Parliament to query the provision on abortion law and ask the Constitutional Judiciary to decide on the issue of abortion in cases of deformed babies....it seems that this provision was perfectly suited to these circumstances which gave the mother the choice to have an abortion or not..... it now seems that there is now no choice and mothers have to give birth and then decide what to do.....? This is a rather odd decision and clearly a lot of people disagree with it. Any reason why this has happended....or is it now a useful distraction from Covid?

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


I think you will find that there are currently quite a few chubby children in Poland, and it is no coincidence that eating habits have been influenced by food chains such as KFC...MacDonalds...kebab shops....etc..and the need to embrace new food experiences amongst the young.... The UK already has obesity problems but I must say Poland should take care not to fall into the same trap.....

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


....or 2000 PLN once a month for some families....possibly more..... the problem also is that high income families also receive 500+ payments who already have the means to raise a family....if anyone should receive payments then low income families should, albeit the allowance should be reduced to 200+ and the difference redirected to the health service.....perhaps the payments should only be limited to the first two children only. It would appear that this has been a complete drain on resources when focus should have centered on the health service....

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


This is complete nonsense.....you can always switch the TV off or change channels....if the public are influenced or swayed then they are more stupid than anyone first thought.....just look at the propaganda station TVP....Anyone knows that choice is what Europeans want, its that simple, they get choice in other countries why not Poland....and think of the revenue it brings to Poland....the extra tax is all political and an easy and simplistic way for PIS to raise funds to cover up the mess called 500+ (not Covid)...they really could have been more creative or at least learn from other European countries on how to govern effectively.