Hi , I would appreciate if you can kindly share back your recommendations about the best Polish Primary school in Wroclaw that would welcome foreigner 's kid , and also share back your experiences to understand if this is a suitable option for a kid who can speaks daily polish (not difficult topics) ?
if you can also provide your experience regarding the environment and pros/cons it would be great . thanks a lot ,
There are very few, if any, members here with children, living in Wroclaw. But here is a link to a ranking of public and private primary schools in the city with reviews from some parents and past pupils. Use Google's 'translate this page' facility to read it if your Polish is limited.
I was a primary school teacher in Ireland and though it's very different there, some of the same basic principles apply as far as your child is concerned.
1) Don't worry about the language. The child has basic language skills already and daily exposure, especially among other children (they really do learn from each other) will be a big help. Don't worry about academic progress for the time being.
2) The smaller the school, the less daunting it is for the child. Apart from being less overwhelming, the class sizes are smaller and the child has a chance of a bit more time and attention from the teacher. You don't say how old the child is, but if they're new to school, then the smaller the better is definitely the case.
3) If you can get a school near to where you live that meets those requirements it's preferable, as friendships formed in school are easier to develop and maintain if children live near each other.
Hi Atch , and thanks for the respond . It was helpful . my daughter is almost 10 and she is currently in an international school. In General there are not many foreigners in Poland , and specially not many in Public schools . I have heard some stories about how kids can be isolated in the schools , and that is one of the main concern I have.
In that case Edi, I would say that a school near your home where your daughter can mix with her schoolmates during holidays etc. is probably the best route to take. Depending on what your daughter's interests are you should look at trying to get her to join one or two group activities/clubs where she can also develop a bit of a social network but don't overload her with extra-curricular activities.
I changed primary schools myself three times when I was a kid and the social isolation aspect is the worst, even when it's in your own homeland, let a lone a foreign country. It can impact a child's academic work too if they're unhappy so ironically, a 'good' school is not always the best option, sometimes a friendly school is more important.
Hope you find the right place for your little girl - wishing you all the best!
Indeed , I totally agree that the friendly atmosphere is very helpful . It is really a difficult decision for us , to rather keep her in the international school that is obviously charging high rates but she is very happy there , or to move her to a local school that is free but with the risk of isolation that may end up with bad results, specially that we are still not sure that how long we will be here in Poland .
Well, if she's already attending school in Poland (you didn't make that clear in your original query) and based on the fact that she's happy in her present school, it's actually far wiser at her age, not to move her. If the only reason for the move is financial, then I'd look at other areas in your household budget where you could make a saving. It usually means a sacrifice or compromise of some kind but it will be worth it.
Also, academically, if you are not sure about whether you will remain in Poland, it will be better for your daughter to follow an international curriculum. The Polish one at primary level is not that great and won't prepare your daughter well for continuing her education in another country later on. Poland is still very much a post-Communist country in many ways and that's reflected in its education system including the mess of 'educational reform' instigated by PIS a few years ago and now further ill-thought out reforms by the new government.
Also, she is following a particular curriculum now which she can pick up again elsewhere if you leave Poland.
Children need as much stability in their lives as possible so if you can leave your daughter where she is, do :)
Indeed , the most safe option would be keeping her in the current school , despite the concern that I have regarding the level of education there . Her current school is applying British methodology that seems to be light , and rather not putting focus on the main subjects such as mathematic. So actually , not only it is financially pressuring , also we are not sure about the level of education, as it completely leaving to the kids to put effort and learn or skip. so it will be shocking for the kids if they have to do some serious education .
I know people that are just immediately putting their kids in Polish schools and leaving the situation to the kid to adopt and catch up , believing that kids can adopt anyway and it will even build their personality . But knowing my daughter , I think she will be also able to adopt , but I see risk of emotional impact , as it is super important for her to have friends, and I am not sure she will e able to manage it in polish schools .
Also my daughter has a very cheerful , active and talkative personality , that is not very common within the kids in Poland and probably teachers are not used to it , so it may cause misbehaving toward her .
Finally we need to decide between below 2 options :
1. keeping her in current school Pros : continue in an international and friendly environment , so almost no emotional negative impact Cons : financial pressure , light education on main topics , loose the chance of shifting to polish schools in case we stay for much longer (so long term financial pressure)
2. Moving to Polish private school (yet I could not find a proper one) Pros : Shifting to polish so less financial pressure , Special attention and understanding toward foreigner kid (Vs public schools) and also to parents , still some focus on English
Cons : educational impact due to the lack of fluency in polish language , Risk of adopting to new environment , no international kids around , uncertainty about the education quality
3. moving to Polish Public schools Pros : Shifting to polish so no financial pressure , more seriousness on the main topics without compromise , Cons :educational impact due to the lack of fluency in polish language, Risk of adopting to a fully Polish environment and serious emotional impacts , No special attention to the foreigner kid , loose communication of parents and school due to lack of polish language .
Perhaps your daughter's aptitude is in the arts or humanities.
Thanks for the comment . my point was rather to elaborate that I don't see the balance of same focus on different topics , as there is lots of focus on the humanities than the science part which is also important.
If so, at that age the lessons will be balanced between:
English maths science design and technology history geography art and design music physical education (PE), including swimming computing ancient and modern foreign languages
That seems a very appropriate balance of subjects.
But that's your personal view, rather than an objective one. From your use of the word 'shifting' I have a feeling you may be from India and having taught quite a few lovely children from India in my time, I know the concerns of Indian parents about their children's academic development and how their view is often influenced by the Indian approach to education.
In the British system, the holistic development of the child is very important. Literacy and numeracy are important but are only a basis for all the rest. The very word 'educate' comes from the Latin 'educere' meaning 'to lead out'. An expansion of the mind. Rather than pouring information and facts into the brain, rather we should encourage a lively, enquiring mind, a balance of skills and development of reason and critical thinking skills.
Finally on a purely practical note, if the school she's in is following the British system it will serve her better if you should be considering sending her to university in the UK at some point.
@jon357 They claim that they are following a mix of polish National Curriculum and British. from subject you have mentioned , History , Geography , design and Technology , Computing are not being provided .
@Atch Well , that is of course my personal view and observation regarding this school , and that is the reason I am looking for the alternatives . I am not denying the importance of the all subjects , what I am objecting is the lack of balance , as the Literacy and numeracy are getting the least attention. So I want to make sure that she will stay on-track and not getting shocked in case of need for relocation in future.
By the way, I am not from India, and also not a native English speaker , but from middle east :)
I've taught plenty of kids from that part of the world too :)
a mix of polish National Curriculum and British.
Ah now, there's the problem - neither fish nor fowl as we say in English ;) You can't mix curriculums willy-nilly. You have to be extremely competent to pull that off and not have a mess on your hands. How many hours per week is she getting in Maths and English?
Would you consider naming the school she presently attends? I could take a look at their website and give you an opinion. You could PM me with it if you prefer.
I've taught plenty of kids from that part of the world too
I'm doing it now in the MENA region, albeit adults. I've taught teens from North Africa and liked it. One problem though is that they tend to want everything at once rather than step by step. I've done school inspections there and what struck me was that there was opaque boardwork with the kids copying stuff down and half-expected to understand without any sort of scaffolding or the teachers working towards objectives and/or partial objectives..
neither fish nor fowl as we say in English
And no use to man nor beast.
History , Geography , design and Technology , Computing are not being provided .
There definitely should be. I wonder what they're doing instead.
Here is some information that might help you. The UK national curriculum would place your daughter at Key Stage 2 and either Year 5 or 6 of that, depending on whether she's nearer to 10 or 11 years old. The link will show you what your daughter should have attained or be studying in Maths at that point. You can check and see whether she's getting this tuition in her school. You can do the same for English.
If you feel unsure about whether she knows everything she should in Maths and you think she's not being tested adequately, you can test her yourself at home. Just do it in small chunks, not all on one day! and make it a fun time together. Make sure to have some drinks and snacks that she enjoys and make it a relaxed family time.
For example, if you're wondering about her mental arithmetic and knowledge of tables. you can play a little game 'take a number for a walk' - give her a number eg. 7
Your number is 7 - add 5, (pause while she does that in her head) multiply by 10 (pause) divide by 2 - what have you got now?
I used to do it with a whole class of children and we would keep it going for a lot longer than three calculations. In Ireland we start them doing that when they're about seven years old with simple adding and subtracting of single digit numbers. So by the time they're ten they can do more complex calculations.
@Atch Thanks a lot for the link . Checking the file , I see probably my daughter is not On-track in some topics . School is rather claiming that they are providing similar subjects and levels , but as I said it is not taken to account seriously , so kids are not at the level that they should be (at least mine).
Also the method you have mentioned regarding checking her knowledge level is very helpful . Actually I am doing it time to time , but not in a very structured way.
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