Stanisław Małkowski was the principal of I Liceum Ogólnokształcące for 18 years. And, as Czernatowicz admits, "the results of Principal Małkowski’s work are visible to the naked eye." "The principals of I LO have always been mature people, people who were aware of the institution they headed. I hope that I, too, will manage this institution in such a way that someone will be able to say one day, years from now, that it was the right choice," the mathematician adds.
The previous principal set the bar high. I Liceum Ogólnokształcące is undoubtedly a school with a strong reputation. Cezary Czernatowicz will not have it easy, especially since his former superior is not leaving the school. Far from it. Although Stanisław Małkowski is retiring after a well-deserved career, he will continue working as a teacher—he decided to prepare his students for their final exams.
The new principal is not afraid that he will fail to meet the challenge. He served as deputy principal of the school for eight years. "I know the school; I know how it operates and what its strengths and weaknesses are," says Cezary Czernatowicz. He would like the high school to remain a prestigious school. Nevertheless, he naturally sees things that could be modified. In fact, he presented his concept during the competition. "I want the school to change its image," the new principal emphasizes. This mainly concerns what Czernatowicz considers an unfair opinion that persists primarily among middle-school students: the opinion that I LO is a school one cannot get through; a school where teachers "grind students down," and where one can practically exhaust oneself studying.
Czernatowicz himself has a reputation as a demanding teacher. "I have developed certain ways of working with students. I know what I expect and what I am aiming for. I do not tolerate laziness and I try to motivate my students. The results are visible," the new principal explains. He is pleased when graduates of the high school later tell him that they have no problems with mathematics; that after years they appreciate the "drilling" they underwent. "A student must gain some distance from what happened in secondary school; only then can they judge that it was genuinely effective," Czernatowicz notes.
The new principal is a graduate of I LO. Immediately after graduating from university—where he studied mathematics at the University of Wrocław—he began working at his former school. He has been teaching for 15 years. He chose this profession himself. The choice was not accidental. He knew he would become a teacher, just like his father. According to the new principal, I Liceum Ogólnokształcące is a place where students allow teachers to develop; there are "gems here with whom one can really let loose mathematically."
Plans for the new school year? "I would like the school to come alive in the afternoons," says Cezary Czernatowicz. From September, I LO will offer its students a wide range of interesting extracurricular activities—sports, academic and cultural. There will be more going on at the school, and it will also stay open longer. Asked whether, given his educational background, he would treat humanities subjects as less important, the new principal replied diplomatically: "The humanities have a lot in common with mathematics. If someone is a good mathematician, they understand what it means to be a humanist."
(GA information)