Stagnation, minimalism and gloom are guests knocking on the teachers’ room door ever more frequently. And probably not because they are especially invited or expected. Turbulence in education policy, growing disparities between expectations and reality, and the status of teachers becoming less suited from day to day to their tasks and responsibilities are the main forces behind this situation. Administrative measures intended to stimulate teachers’ activity do not have the expected effect. Insignificant (in one’s wallet) allowances for specialization levels, or embarrassing incentive allowances (in the subconscious: I received more because Ms X or Mr Y gets less than 5%), do not live up to the hopes placed in them. So are times of educational misery really upon us? Or has the light of education not gone out completely after all? It is impossible to settle the matter unequivocally. It is worth attempting to look independently and cast one’s eyes around to see whether all teachers really display an attitude that, by analogy, could be called a minimum programme. Teachers in the Bolesławiec community became convinced that this was not the case. Initially united in the Group of Creative Teachers, within two months they drew up statutes and registered an association with the court. Their numbers have grown over time, and they include people engaged in highly diverse educational activities. Thus, the Association of Creative Teachers includes school inspectors, headteachers and teachers from schools and preschools, as well as other education workers. The statutes do not exclude people professionally unconnected with education from membership. The only requirements for applying are obtaining recommendations from two members and declaring one’s intention to pursue the statutory objectives. These objectives are formulated broadly enough to accommodate one’s own innovative ideas, provided that they aim to create and promote creative educational solutions.
In particular, the Association seeks to:
-create, assess and promote educational initiatives and innovation in education, upbringing and care
- make the teaching and educational system more attractive
- integrate various communities in order to create a local educational hobby
- create conditions for developing students’ interests, educating parents and enabling teachers’ self-education
- advertise and disseminate educational services
- raise funds for statutory activities.
How can these, by no means easy, plans be carried out? The STN members have no shortage of ideas. Among the most interesting tasks included in the statutes are:
- publishing its own materials promoting the work of Association members and other teachers
- organizing open classes presenting innovative teaching, educational or organizational solutions
- recommending particularly interesting works by Association members to educational journals
- establishing contacts and exchanging experiences with authors of innovative educational solutions, outstanding educators, and representatives of science and culture from Poland and abroad
- holding competitions encouraging teachers to seek original and more effective working methods and ways of organizing teaching infrastructure
- conducting courses and seminars for parents in various pedagogical disciplines
- organizing methodological training for teachers and organizational training for management staff
- establishing cooperation with local television stations and Educational Television, as well as the local press.
The coming months will be a period of intensive work on carrying out the planned undertakings. The most interesting prospects include tourist events for primary-school pupils, including the 3rd Bolesławiec Dwarfs’ Rally for grades II–III, which the Association is co-organizing, and a series of unconventional mountain trips, such as the “language-culture” expedition to the Karkonosze planned for October, during which an interschool language-culture competition will be held. There will also be competitions: “We Advise the Councillors of Our City” for primary- and secondary-school students, and a Technical Olympiad for technically minded students.
The Association wants to make the skills and experience of its members available to other teachers. A series of meetings with Polish-language teachers will therefore begin soon. Materials presenting the members’ innovative work are also being prepared and will be disseminated under the auspices of the SNT. The queue of ideas awaiting implementation is long, including creativity training, a bank of original curricula, integration of school educators’ activities citywide, creative meetings with mathematics, a course in operating technical equipment used in lessons, interdisciplinary quizzes and games, film education and many others. Most of these undertakings require financial outlays, however, so the STN’s services cannot be free of charge. The Association is actively seeking sponsors, whom it could honor in the future with the title of supporting member, and hopes to find them soon. For SNT members, the awareness that the services provided are not free is a significant incentive to raise them to an even higher level.
Returning to the conclusion contained in the introduction, one may ask whether it is worth undertaking such a major organizational effort and voluntarily taking on additional obligations. In the name of what? After all, there are methodological centers, scholarly societies, method consultants, inspectors and other people and institutions. But can they really help with self-fulfillment so effectively? There are usually only a few inspectors or consultants, while the teachers they are meant to serve number several hundred. Scholarly and educational institutions offering a high substantive level are generally located in the regional capital, so access to them is not particularly easy either. One can therefore give in and gradually become average—or take matters into one’s own hands. In Bolesławiec, they chose the latter.
Jerzy Janowicz
Association of Creative Teachers
ul. Armii Krajowej 12
59-700 BOLESŁAWIEC