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

What about the middle ages? Cause apparently that's covered in detail....

What does the curriculum say about Lech Wałęsa? I think that's more of an issue.... there's no consensus about what happened...

He is described as the main leader of the 1980s strikes and Solidarity movement which toppled communism. In post communist coverage, his harmful role is also mentioned.

A few days ago high school students sat an advanced English exam. This year the requirements have been lowered due to pandemic impact on education process. Check it out if you would still pass it. :):)

static2.cke.gov.pl/images/_EGZAMIN_MATURALNY_OD_2015/Arkusze_egzaminacyjne/2021/Jezyk_angielski/poziom_rozszerzony/EJAP-R0-100-2105.pdf

Below the screenhot of the last but one exercise

One of two topics to choose from in the last exercise: Write an essay presenting pros and cons of museums and art galleries sharing their collections online.250 words

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I would submit this as the second most boring subject that is likely to make students jump out of the widows and to their deaths.

The first: Describe how you would feel after eight hours of watching paint dry.

How about: Tell us in 250 words how you would ask a girl to go on a date with you in 10 minutes or less.

Boring? No topic is boring when you write an essay - you need to find proper arguments, justify them in a plausible way and arrange your text into logically connected paragraphs. Students don`t have time for boredom no matter what the topic is. Simple.


That is not a good topic for a high school essay, article or formal letter. It suits primary school level more. . :):)


That is also improper due to its discriminatory content. Why only a girl? :):)
But even if they added a boy to achieve the equality of sexes, , that would be still primary school level. High school students are expected to compose deeper productions.

The perfect quote for the assertion that something is 'boring' is what G.K. Chesterton said 'There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.'

my answers (given the test restriction and what I'd actually say)

have it checked ('get' is more idiomatic but have is okay)

are likely to ('are bound to' is more idiomatic)

crossed my father's mind

nothing we could do


Culturally that's not.... great. Effective writing in English expresses strong opinions and is deliberately one-sided (presenting the other side is the other side's job). Balanced pro and con essays are kind of..... let's just say that if I were asked to read them... I'd have the same reaction as Peter when he was invited to join a book club...

Yes, so true.

Besides, students are not expected to have fun at an exam, they are supposed to prove they are able to think and write logically using their rich knowledge about life and its matters. After all, the high school final exam is called MATURA.


No, maf, it is an aggressive American approach. :) We, British oriented teachers, try to adopt a more conciliatory and balanced attitude. Because that is the essence of British high culture - being aware of and remaining neutral about all sides of the problem and the rejection of blind fanatism. That`s what I have always liked in cultured Brits. :):) And Irish, too, of course.

But don`t worry - pro and con essay isn`t the only type possible at the exam. Students can also write an argumentative text in which they deliver a one sided opinion. It can be an article or a formal letter, too.

Last year`s topic

You recently watched a talent show finale. You consider the person who won not the best at all. Write an article where you justify why the winner's performance did not deserve to be awarded the first prize and propose another way to select a winner in such programs than the audience voting.

I already mentioned there are two topics to choose from so students are free to write what they prefer.


I don`t understand it. Has Peter got a health problem? :):


Yes, of course, as a native, you can`t get it wrong. :):) But imagine some poor Polish students. Students who have chosen the advanced level deliberately didn`t have a problem with it, in contrast to others who took it accidentally as a last chance coz no other school subject suited them for an exam.

Agree with them all.

I took a quick look at the test and I thought the suggested headlines sounded as if they were written by a non-native speaker.

'Fisherman falls victim to a shark attack' should be 'Fisherman falls victim to shark attack'. Headlines frequently omit articles.

'Boat owner alarms police about a huge shark' is completely wrong. You notify the police, or raise the alarm. You could have, 'Boat owner alerts police to presence of huge shark.' If he alarms the police, it means he frightens them. In that case you could say 'Police alarmed by boat owner's sighting of huge shark.' or something similar.

Like this?

independent.co.uk/voices/comment/thatcherism-was-national-catastrophe-still-poisons-us-8564858.html


in the US 'Fisherman in shark attack' or 'Shark attacks fisherman' (active voice!) or in the NY Post "Fish bites man? Shark turns the tables on angler!"


Calcque attack!

alarmować kogoś o czymś (to warn smn about sth)

Quite possible. It must be a result of PiS rule in the Ministry of Education - those rightists think they are the best and know everything so they don`t need to have the sheet proofread by professionals or natives. .


Yes, a good example of the lack of British high culture of balanced views. Besides, it is a private comment published on the paper`s site. Anybody can write such a comment.


Maf, it is an exam, not a real US paper. :):) They inserted fall a victim to on purpose - to check it students know this expression.

I remember Radek Sikorski once asking Mrs Thatcer this question on Polish TV:
- Mrs. Thatcher, what is thatcherism for you exactly? [Czym właściwie jest dla Pani taczeryzm?]
She couldn't tell precisely what it was.

Nor could anyone really. We just remember all the factories closing.

Classes on the premises next week! Wow. I almost forgot how to run a traditional lesson. :):)

I am not going to administer any tests or revisions. We shall sing, dance and have fun in general. hahaha

Maf and Atch, do you remember our little discussion on teaching kids a foreign language? As far as I remember, Atch advocated waiting until the child is ready to swallow such education. I was against and supported the option of starting as early as possible, even if it collided with child`s preferences.

I didn`t have time to reply that the competitive system that has always prevailed in Polish education requires the adoption of my approach. If we waited too long, then we would risk some deficiencies which could lead to worse results at final exams. The truth is that if you do well at the exams, you may opt for better quality education at the next stage. So, if you get good results at a primary school leaving exams, you can go to an elite high school. If you excell at high school exams, you can enroll at a prestigious university and study a high ranking course for free etc etc.

I had to take a lot of exams and struggle for quality education in my life - all for free. I knew the system has remained the same, that is why I started teaching my kids when they were 3 or 4. Yes, once I waited 2 years longer until one kid got mature enough to take it in - he was 5. One day I decided it was getting too long and I was losing too much time. And I said: Basta! yes, there were tears and resistance but I was relentless. :):)

As a high school graduate, that "delayed" son achieved 100% at an advanced exam. :):)

It is obvious to me that Helen Doro`s "patient" approach is not very useful in Poland.

Why should a high school graduate aim at 100% result in advanced English? Coz it is a gateway to many courses which allow you to hope for a good career in life.

Some of them, apart from various foreign language philologies, of course, are: law, economics, international relations, IT, engineering etc etc.

Decades ago, as a high school student, I was keen on marine life and biology in general, so my parents took me to Gdynia to check out Marine University there. We found out they required a foreign language and maths exam results. The requirements are still the same today. Amazing!!

umg.edu.pl/kryteria-rekrutacji-na-studia-i-stopnia

Nothing like making childhood a struggle for status rather than... fun...

The Polish education system is all goal-oriented and not process-oriented at all. Goal orientation is geared around high stakes exams rather than actually.... learning material.

Maf, my brother in law is a taxi driver. He had a lot of fun in his childhood, now he looks for benefits and loans to make both end meet. Thank you very much for such fun. :):)

PS. In 2007 I lent him 1500 PLN and he hasn`t paid it back since then.


So, do you suggest that a person who passes an advanced exam with max score hasn`t actually learnt too much??? All these points are just sheer pretence??? :):):)

not that you're keeping track...


Knowing how thinks have traditionally worked I'm liable to think there were ściągawki involved... high stakes testing tends to lead to a culture of cheating, the higher the stakes the more likely the cheating (I'm sure not in the case of your son but we both now how much cheating has been pursued and tolerated in tests).

maf, cheating has been reduced to minimum at high school exams- it is practically impossible due to several measures. One of them is the mixed order of choices in exercises.

the best measure against cheating is to make it irrelevant. That's why I prefer open book tests - those who don't know the material are shown up a lot more than with Stasi-monitored style testing.

Exactly, that`s not the case. They are simply above it. They know they are good enough to score max points: Besides, they don`t care so much about the rat race. I am sometimes really worried they are so relaxed. :):)


Nope, you can`t be serious. To have proper knowledge, you need to memorise things. Looking them up during an open book test is a joke. Do you imagine a doctor who goes through hundreds of pages during a patient examination?

But too often in Poland the memorization is treated as just a way to pass exams.... too much memorization not enough synthesis and students terrified of making educated guesses (absolutely crucial in real mastery of anything).

But you have to memorise phrasal verbs and idioms and Great Grammar issues to be able to pass an English exam. The same with biology - you have to memorise info about cells, birds, apes, etc. The same with history - you have to memorise events. And so on. This is all memory work.


After memorisation there comes synthesis when you are able to freely and without consulting books combine various pieces into the puzzle.

WHEN???????? My colleagues mostly seem to believe that they can't do anything requiring synthesis until the students have memorized every possible word and structure.... so students are tortured with awful (mostly British) textbooks for years after they should graduate to real world materials....

I'm also remembering a student who was bemoaning his group's lack of creativity "We aren't taught that..." as if creativity is something that can be taught (as opposed to nurtured).

No, it is not possible to memorise all words and phrases coz every day a dozen new ones are created. :) Therefore, the best option is to intermingle memorisation with synthesis as early as possible.


You are visibly biased. :):) There are lousy ones, yes, but most British textbooks are very useful, practical and simply fun to work with.


Yes, partly it can. You show your students a few examples of being creative and then they know what to do and how. Simple. That is why I have never had a problem with it in class.

The final year of primary school, aged 15, sat their maths exam today. See the exercises in this link
rmf24.pl/raporty/raport-egzamin-osmoklasisty/2021/news-egzamin-osmoklasisty-2021-arkusze-cke-i-odpowiedzi-z-matemat,nId,5256755#crp_state=1


Maf, look at the photo from the exam room and the photos of some exercises and understand that cheating is nearly impossible.

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Looks tough. I know I couldnt do it. No wonder the age of consent is 15 in poland and girls are so smart and know what or who they want already.

Yeah there's no way on earth the girl in glasses with long hair is pointing at the test and getting some 'help' from a colleague....

:):):) How can she do it if exam sheets come in two or even three versions, with the mixed order of answers in closed exercises? In open exercises, how can she get extensive help if teachers sit around students and watch them all the time?