The December meeting of the city authorities and directors of Bolesławiec schools with the parliamentarians—that is, the members of the Sejm and senators representing our constituency—can hardly be considered a success. The only MP present, Dr. Marian Michalski, arrived late; Superintendent Szustak left the gathering at noon, and inspector B. Woźniak did not speak. Other invited officials and decision-makers apparently found more pressing things to do (playing truant, perhaps?), because they did not appear in the meeting room at the rectangular (angular?) table... If this symbolism is any measure of the condition and prospects of local education, it is difficult to remain optimistic.
All that remained was the local government, which does not shirk responsibility or assistance, but surely cannot take over the duties of the government administration in this area. It does not lack professional expertise, but it does lack money. The fact that it can cope with educational and child-rearing issues is best demonstrated by the example of the municipal kindergartens, which are doing well and constitute a unique “oasis of happiness” on a provincial scale. This is neither an exaggeration nor cheap demagoguery; let us look at the facts. More than 1,100 children attend nine kindergartens, grouped into 43 classes and cared for by 170 people, including 90 female teachers. Educational care also includes corrective gymnastics, foreign-language instruction(!), rhythmics, remedial and speech-therapy classes, care for children with special needs, religious instruction, traditional games and activities, and varied meals. The facilities are well maintained, attractive and full of flowers; the buildings have been renovated and are well heated. Here, children come first, and childhood has its full flavor and color. In 1995, the city will allocate nearly 18 billion zlotys for this purpose.
The schools remain dependent on the Superintendent’s Office and have been struggling with proverbial poverty for years. The local government does not avoid providing assistance, to the extent the City Council can afford. Thus, last year the city allocated more than 2 billion zlotys for repairs to “foreign” schools (in terms of their legal status), mainly renovating dilapidated buildings. The technical condition of the facilities cries out to heaven, but the tears shed by school directors do not move education officials, from the superintendent’s level up to the ministry... The city therefore paid 425 million zlotys for swimming lessons for third-graders from primary schools, 45 million zlotys for extracurricular activities, 360 million zlotys for renovating the façade of the Old Theater, 50 million zlotys for a computer lab for high-school students, and 120 million zlotys for renovating the sports stadium (a superintendent-controlled facility); it supported the Music School and the Children’s Home, funded a scholarship for a ballet-school student, and so on. In December, the city coffers were empty, while the schools submitted requests totaling 2.3 billion zlotys for this year’s budget. Unfortunately, even Solomon cannot pour from an empty vessel, so the letters on this matter are simply being shelved: if there is a surplus, additional grants or revenue, the city councillors will gladly provide the money; for now, the situation remains deadlocked.
The Superintendent spoke about the province’s educational misery, schools’ debts to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and other institutions, the costs of maintaining the school system, directors’ stresses, the need for changes to the Teachers’ Charter, the cost of educating a student (7.5 million zlotys annually in Bolesławiec), and the region’s investment needs. For example, Kamienna Góra has a vocational-school behemoth with 80 classes, while a school is lacking in Jelenia Góra’s “Zabobrze” housing estate, home to 30,000 residents. Consequently, our city has no chance of building or expanding School No. 9 (Bolesławice, the “Przylesie” housing estate), or of building, with funds from the Superintendent’s Office (the Ministry of Education), a gymnasium at General Secondary School No. 1. We should forget about educational investments, because the demographic low is entering the primary schools and will remain there for several years. Besides, the town on the Bóbr has gained two major investments in secondary education: the building of General Secondary School No. 2 (the Staszica district) and the Vocational School Complex on Zgorzelecka Street, and that will have to suffice for a long time... All the alarmed voices of the discussants—E. Kowalski, E. Chodyra, D. Pińczuk, Director Małkowski, Z. Brusiło, Director Maksymowicz, B. Kościelewska, Director Smoleńska, S. Szlenzak, A. Hil and others—were received, despite the dramatic nature of their accounts, with stoic calm.
One cannot deny the eloquence or professionalism of the teacher by profession and PSL MP, Dr. Marian Michalski, who spoke at length about educational issues on a macro scale. We therefore know that the Sejm of the Republic of Poland has 71 educators among its members; that non-public schools have classes of eight pupils; that they offer foreign languages, music education and dance; and that the province lacks a comprehensive education policy. But what follows from this for Bolesławiec? Well—nothing. We know perfectly well that unpaid bills for electricity, telephones and coal; the abandonment of purchases of books and periodicals for school libraries; the lack of funds for basic teaching aids; the buildings’ accelerating deterioration; and the burden placed on increasingly impoverished parents with growing costs for education that is constitutionally free—all these are merely some examples of the degradation of national education. And what about the impoverishment of Poland’s teachers, loudly mentioned by nearly all the discussants? Successive “reformers” are not looking for a way out of this vicious circle. We are speaking of the so-called highest level of authority. The media claim that everything is the fault of the teacher’s 18-hour weekly teaching load, as well as the legal protection guaranteed by the “Teachers’ Charter” Act. The document is a standard scapegoat and a thorn in the side of education experts. Yet the Act is a dead letter that simply does not fit reality. If the teaching load is increased, it should be accompanied only by equivalent financial compensation. But money in education is being spent on institutions that are ostensibly meant to serve schools but are purely bureaucratic. The field offices of the Superintendent’s Office are a very strange creation. In practice, once a year they inspect a school’s documentation, approve organizational plans and occasionally demand various data or reports. They offer no assistance, sending only instructions and recommendations to find financial resources. There is a shortage of methodical advisers who should genuinely provide day-to-day guidance and assistance. It is therefore time to reassess the justification for these structures.
A school stands on its teachers—this claim was strongly emphasized. A sincere truth. But it also stands on its pupils, to maintain this line of thought. Yet no one spoke about that: neither about violations of children’s rights, nor about school-related stress and pathologies, educational work, ideals, or the psychological needs of the ordinary pupil. No one spoke about the moral degradation of the family and community, young people’s loneliness among others, the cult of strength and money, or the disregard for the philosophy preached by the Polish Pope, John Paul II, summed up in the question: “To be or to have?” or in the work “Crossing the Threshold of Hope...”
Quo vadis, school and Polish education, at the close of the 20th century? The question still awaits an answer. We will return to the subject in the next issue of “Głos Bolesławca”.