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

@Johnny, Atch is right!
Since Continentals don't speak English as a first language, what can happen
is that, say, a Pole speaking in English with a German, or a Frenchman with a
Balt, a Spaniard with a Swede for example, will talk past one another, owing frequently to differing pronunciation
of English words.

Swede: Are you estranged from your parents?
Spaniard: Oh, jess, my parent are very estrange persons...

German: What do you make here for the work? (Translation: What do you do here?)
Frenchman: I make many money!

I think you get the idea. Often, the results are quite funny:-)

No Lyzko, you missed my point.
The Europeans here speak literally.
Many of us Americans speak figuratively.
We know what we mean but the Eurps here expect all the i's to be dotted and the t's to be crossed.
We speak generally and they speak precisely to every point..
I think you get the idea. Often, the results are quite funny:-)

A: How do you do, Sir?
B: Very well.
A: And do you do your wife?

There I agree with you, Rich, I didn't miss your point at all!
Europeans often speak a kind of bookish English
because they translate literally in their head before expressing
themselves and not figuratively, that's quite right.

Why d'you think most traditional American humor such as the Marx Bros.
or Abbott & Costello usually goes way over their heads?

4 years ago I mentioned those distinction stripes.

This year a discussion was started by the new head of the educational board in Lesser Poland. She twitted: Get rid of those stripes at last!!! And a few other people joined in, claiming stripes do more damage than good because the frenzy for better grades badly influences kids by forcing them to take part in the rat race which causes depression in less brilliant ones.

One expert even called on shops and recreational facilities to stop offering discounts to students who bring a certificate with a stripe which is quite a popular practice in many places. .

Amasing!

E.g. - striped students get two hours free at the swimming pool.

Red stripe on your certificate? Come and show it off at the Cieplice Baths and you'll get 2 hours of entry for free!

The school year ends on Friday, June 22. Termy Cieplickie will reward the most talented children. All you need to do is bring a valid certificate with a red stripe, or an exemplary result in grades 1-3 and your school ID to use the Baths completely free of charge. All children up to 14 years of age enter with an adult guardian (fee according to the standard price list).

• 
  55a9a1c7175e3_o_medi.jpg
  
• 
  532681_12314.jpg
  

A better thing than stripes for exemplary grades would be stripes for the most community spirited, kindest, most helpful and thoughtful to others, in short students who by their attitude towards their peers and their environment make the school a nicer place to be. Not every child is academic and may not have the support they need at home for homework etc. but every child can aspire to be the best person they can be.

Nice suggestion but too idealistic coz I already see problems with measuring the merits as you can`t set distinct criteria in such an initiative. Arguments who did what and of what value are unavoidable.

While the case of a stripe for exemplary grades is simple - having 4.75 entitles you to a distinction.

You just need to be a good observer of the students - and it needs to matter to you. If you have those two qualities it can work.

cambridge.org/elt/blog/2023/03/12/teaching-students-how-a-bit-of-kindness-can-go-a-long-way/

Yes, a very idealistic approach again - sometimes it if difficult to be such in class units consisting of over 30 students because local council tries to cut down on costs.

But I forgot to tell you about sth - students also get a yearly assessment grade for behaviour which is written on the certificate. A lot of what you proposed is included in the requirements:

I. The behavior assessment expresses the school's opinion about:

1) the student's fulfillment of school duties,

2) his personal culture,

3) the student's compliance with the norms of social coexistence,

4) acting in accordance with the good of the school community,

5) care for the school's honor and traditions,

6) involvement in class and school life,

7) care for your own and other people's safety and health,

8) decent, polite behavior at and outside school,

9) showing respect to other people,

10) compliance with school regulations and procedures.

Here is one for you Ms. Atch & Pawian.
Spanking in school might sound like a relic from the past, but it's still on the books in 19 states in the U.S.A.
In contrast, many countries have banned corporal punishment outright.
What is the law in Poland/Ireland for corporal punishment in your schools ?

It is strictly forbidden to use force, let alone violence. Even touching a minor student is forbidden. Each case of violent behaviour by a teacher, if reported by the media, causes a huge scandal.


An old tradition still remaining in the law but no longer applied in practice.

And in primary school, the teacher would hit us on our hands with a ruler.

No, they didn`t. It is an urban legend.

That happened many years ago in the U.K. until it was banned. Any teacher who tried that now would be in a courtroom and unable to teach or work with under 18s.

An anniversary, nameday or birthday??? I don`t remember.....

• 
  
  

Did I mention that from this September ALL Ukrainian kids will have to attend Polish schools? That`s about 60-80 thousand new students. So far they have had online education in their native schools in Ukraine. The Polish edu ministry decided it needs to be changed. I wonder why?

Print more money. Poles must be ecstatic...

And I don't wonder.

E.g, this year, the advanced final Polish exam for high schools included the topic of Cinnamon Shops by Bruno Schulz, Polish Jewish writer who perished in the ghetto in 1942.

Topic 2.
How is space created in literary works and what is the function of such creation in a given work?
At work, refer to:
· a selected short story from the volume Cinnamon Shops by Bruno Schulz
· other literary works from two different eras
· selected context.


Currently there is chaos and nobody knows anything for sure.

Teachers are sceptical about the idea.

I think that this solution will generate new difficulties. There are already a lot of Ukrainian children in schools, especially in Łódź. But they have been here for two years, they have passed the preparatory stage in terms of learning the language and adapting the requirements. Schools have implemented procedures, students have adapted and the teaching is functioning somehow, says Agnieszka Michałowska.

She adds: - Now, more children are to be admitted to the system. We don't know what stage of education they are at, what about their knowledge of the language. It is not known whether they will be automatically admitted to classes where other Ukrainians study today, or to preparatory classes. It should be emphasized that these are children whose families were not interested in Polish schools for two years, and now they are forced to do so. We have very serious concerns about how they will cope

The deputy head of the Polish Teachers' Union in the Łódź region emphasizes that motivation may be crucial in the case of new students. Experience shows that children from families who associate their future with Poland usually do better, they come to lessons willingly, they have a goal, they know why they are learning. The situation is different in the case of those families who are in limbo and do not know whether they will return to Ukraine after the war or seek their happiness elsewhere.

Amasing! Ukrainian minority who has resided in Poland for centuries has the right to education in the Ukrainian language. I have just run into a high school Ukrainian language exam for such students. Among set books to read before the exam I immediately noticed Taras Bulba by the famous Russian writer Gogol. It isn`t a literary masterpiece but certainly it is interesting due to the topic - namely, Cossack rebellions against Polish colonisers of Ukraine.

See a film based on the book and made by Russians a dozen years ago with a clear aim to spread Kremlin propaganda about Slavic brotherhood of Russia and Ukraine.

A bloody battle scene - Cossacks against winged hussar riders.
youtube.com/watch?v=LIh0FO0fhY4

No, they don't. They gave up that right claiming Polish land as theirs and they got it thanks to Stalin. So, since 1945, they have had no such right. Simple.
If they want to be Ukrainians, they can pack their bags and move to Ukraine, nobody can stop them.

It was only occupied by Poles but always belonged to Rus/Ukrainian MAJORITY. Poles/Polesses can blame themselves they didn`t reproduce more abundantly to become such a majority as Ukrainians. .
Sorry, too late. :):):)

Poles never occupied it. That claim is fake like all your fake BS history.

What is wrong with you? What majority? Poles were majority unless you cheery pick some regions at a certain timetable.
Even if they were that doesn't make any claims valid.

Stop spreading lies.
In the Second Polish Republic, there were about five million Ukrainians, or 16 percent of all Polish citizens. In Volhynia, however, it was exactly the opposite - Poles made up 16 percent. Ukrainians also constituted the majority in Eastern Galicia: in the Stanisławów and Tarnopol voivodeships, and the eastern part of Lviv.

BS!
Even if they were, so what? There was no Ukrainian state - never, ever. So they could claim anything they wanted and they would never got it if not for Stalin.
Seek help bubba.

Thank you for this nationalist meltdown. It is enough for everybody to see a whitewasher in denial again. :):):)
If I find another interesting set book for the final exam, I will notify you. Stay tuned!!! /:):):)

Another BS a fake history book? Why are you so kin to spread lies and BS?

The book is true in its main content - Cossacks and Rus peasants fighting for independence against Polish lords.