Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies.

You do realize that PiS was democratically elected by Polish citizens... If they're "occupiers" it's only because the will of the Polish voters wants them in power.

Yes, it`s true, thanks for reminding us about it. That is why when I refer to them as occupiers and call out to topple them, I still mean democratic elections in 2023. But remember, if PiS refuses to leave despite the will of the Polish voters who will vote them out of power, I will be the first to man the barricade. Enough is enough.

Sure you will...

See me my life role models:

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So, our new member Novichok stated that 90% US teachers are Demo-oriented or leftist. And asked why it is so.

That`s an interesting issue and I thought about Polish teachers for a while. I think, from my own experience after spending over 30 years in education, about 80% of them are centrists, 10% are leftists and 10% are rightists. Why?

Check the main principles of teacher`s conduct from the Polish Teacher`s Charter - I wrote about them in message 85.

Teachers should educate and raise the youth in accordance with the love of the Motherland, the abidance with the Constitution, the atmosphere of freedom of conscience and respect for every person.

Teachers should develop in students moral and civil values in accordance with the ideas of democracy, peace and friendship between people of different nationalities, races and beliefs.

Isn`t it obvious that those values are mostly kept up by centrist and leftist people? Let me sum them up as decent people. While rightists don`t promote friendship between nationalities, races, beliefs. They do not respect other people. They do not abide to the Constitution. etc etc.

That is why most teachers both here and in the USA are not rightists.

I think that was a clear explanation.

In both Poland and i n the US Teachers need a degree and most people with degrees vote against PiS or in the US vote Democrat (that is a recent trend - people with degrees were happy to vote for Lech Kaczynski or Buzek or for Bush and Romney)

Teachers generally tend to be more altruistic which means they are more likely to vote for left wing parties.

Teachers generally have a strong sense of decency, setting example, fairness etc - these are personal qualities that PiS, Trump, Boris etc do not have that.

Teachers are more likely to look at news from several sources before making up their mind about something.

Is there any evidence that conservatives are less compassionate and generous?


Bad examples as both are seen as spineless RINO's. You should know that to many Americans "RINO" is meant to be just as offensive as "leftard".

I couldn`t say it better.


Yes, Stay here for a few weeks and you will see it clearly.

Of course I prefered Buzek from Solidarity rather than those ex-communists. But Buzek was still an educated intelligent decent con compared to those fanatic gangsters today.

Every year I tutor two, three students to English Olimpiada competition, either primary or high school. Those are extremely difficult exams. The second stage of primary school one includes the knowledge of social, cultural, historical, geographical etc facts about English speaking countires. This year it is famous people in the USA and Great Britain. Look at the pics showing two pages (out of a dozen) with the student`s comments and translation.

Sorry, Pres Trump is not included. Those Polish treachers!! Libtards! hahahaha

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You're making way to many unnecessary corrections. 99% of what they wrote is fine and grammatically correct.

Not only are those corrections without basis, but they are in polish! Are you kidding, pawian?
You should apologize to that kid and give yourself an F.

They're not corrections, these are the study materials and the handwritten notes are mostly translations, presumably made by the student..

I do see a mistaken sentence about Britney Spears, it should be "She is best known for her tracks" (or "the tracks" or "for such tracks as") ..

Of course not. :):) My corrections are always perfect.


Of course not. I seldom kid in the forum. Don`t forget I am a serious and strict teacher.


Yes,. maf, you are the only one who read and understood what I had written. Dirk and Novi should go back to school coz they can`t read properly. Or to an ophthalmologist coz their eyesight is very poor.

Funny. hahaha
Here you are:


PS. Besides, do you really think my hand writing is so neat??? hahahaha


Blame it on a British site which was used to provide that info about celebrities.

Do you know what the Olimpiada are? You basically have to be flawless - it's a competition in which the winners get free entry to high school or the university of their choice, so the competition is insane. You need to basically be perfect in terms of grammar, as they'll pick on you for the slightest of mistakes.

Pawian - is it true that the requirements have gone insane in the last couple of years? An old PF poster told me a couple of days ago that the primary school exam was bordering on impossible, even for his bilingual son.

(I stay away from these competitions and I never want to prepare anyone for them)

The requirements have been steadily going insane for years - but it is natural coz so have some kids` knowledge of the language. Now, the grammar issues are almost the same as at high school advanced exam.


Not really. Primary school exam is still easier than the previous junior high school one.

Hey, Dirk and Novi, how about doing a little translation exercise from primary school Olimpiada??? :):):)

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I'm curious about how my answers would go... (in the example I wouldn't use 'some' I'd just have "smuggle valuable"...)

I once did a multiple choice test (with questions taken from matura of the time) and got 4 or so out of 20 "wrong"... A British friend said three of my answers were also okay in Britain (understood if not used) and that one of the questions simply made no sense....

Yes, fortunately, it was just an example. But if it was an exam sentence, one might question it. My two kids got to the final stage but only after heated arguments with the examining body over the key answers which are usually very limited and strict. I had to prove with examples that certain usages were appropriate. That gave us additional 2, 3 points and we scraped through. I still keep tonnes on past papers that we had done in preparation. But it was worth it - thanks to points from Olimpiada, they were accepted into prestigious high schools.


See pages from old junior high, the last stage. The third page shows a history quiz about American Natives.

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See my corrections of emails for basic level. The first one is exhaustive for the regular class, the other two are quick after a mock exam. I accept only hand written texts.

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@pawian

In the first one the guy definitely messed up. The sentence that goes " I approached my bookcase there was a book there I got from my ancle.

You corrected it to " When I approached my bookcase, there was a book that I had from my uncle." Wouldn't you need some kind of verb in the second part of the sentence? Like ...there was a book that I had received from my uncle" or "there was a book that I got from my uncle" kind of like the student originally had? The other two was a bit small to make out in the picture.

Look again. I corrected it as you are suggesting now: there was a book that I had got from my uncle. Had got meaning had received.


Oops, sorry, it means you are using a phone? I can view those pics in a good quality. on a regular monitor

Just sounds weird though... I'd think it'd be more had gotten or simply received, maybe had received?


No I'm at my office. I rarely go on this forum with my phone as it's more difficult to type responses

Gotten is American while we tend to use British English. Received - possible but if you look at the student`s general ineptness, it becomes obvious that using such a complicated word would be wasted on her.. In education, you constantly need to think and adapt to changing conditions, Dirk. hahahaha

To be honest, 'I had been given by my uncle' would be the best way to express it. 'I had got' sounds a bit clunky, 'I had received' a bit too formal. It's an interesting thing how mastery of a language always ends up in the ability to make the most, let's say, elegant choice from those available.


Funnily enough, back in the 18th and early 19th century, that would have been perfectly correct and cultured English :) To have something from somebody was a very common usage.

'What a charming fan, Lady Emma!'
'Yes, is it not, Miss Cardew! I had it from my aunt in London.'

Polish speakers usually avoid passives... (since it's a marginal category associated with stuffy bureaucratic language)

"(that) my uncle had given me" sounds the most natural to me...

and "there was a book there" doesn't sound bad to me... not very formal but okay casual usage...

the line between correction and editing can be very fine.... (and I tend to stomp all over it....)

Yes, that's very good too :)


Yes, you're right. That's 'English as she is spoke'. It would be the usual way to express yourself in spoken English, though it doesn't sound very elegant in written English.

Oops, actually that should "had given to me" in US English.... would "had given me" be okay in the UK or Ireland? I've heard colloquial usage like "give him it" which sounds all kinds of wrong to me, but maybe it's okay there....


No it doesn't.... though I don't think elegance was a goal of the exercise....

Only English freaks talk like that. Normal people say, "My uncle gave me..." Same with "whom" and "who". Not once in the last half-century here did I hear "whom", and would be too embarrassed to say it myself.

I only use it after prepositions at the beginning of a relative clause (and then only in formal circumstances)

He's the uncle from whom I received the book...

Here is the neanderthal version: Hey, see that guy? This is my uncle. He gave me that damn book.