During a recent session of the Sejm, MP M.Jurek stated: "a child should be beaten not only at home, but also at school..."
This opinion outraged me. I therefore decided to familiarize myself with publications on children’s rights, which I hear about increasingly often on the radio and television.
I searched for information in the sources available to me: the PWN Encyclopedia published in Warsaw in 1983, the Encyclopedia of International Laws published in Warsaw in 1976, and the Encyclopedia of International Organizations published in 1975, also in Warsaw. Unfortunately, I found nothing on the subject that interested me.
I know that work on creating the law known as the Convention on the Rights of the Child was conducted at an international forum, and that the Polish side demonstrated considerable initiative. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Skubiszewski, signed it and spoke about it in Parliament.
From my observations of everyday life, it follows that only adults have rights over children. They may beat and punish them, and are accountable only to their own consciences.
A child never decides for themselves; they must obtain their parents’ approval for "everything".
In our society, few people notice the harm inflicted on minors: frequently leaving them unsupervised, holding drinking parties in the presence of children, frequent beatings, and even torture are a picture of everyday life. I believe that a school, as an enlightened and progressive institution, will not beat its pupils; on the contrary, it will help spread awareness of their rights and responsibilities among minors.
EWA LIPIŃSKA, class Ib, LO No. I