What does this mean for school?
– Parenting style. There are two distinct styles of education: authoritarian, focused on shaping the personality of students according to a predetermined pattern, and anti-authoritarian, of the Korczak type, which focuses primarily on creating conditions that are conducive to the young person’s ability to develop in harmony with themselves. In the Polish People’s Republic, education was ideologized and various means, from coercion to propaganda, were allowed to form citizens subordinate to the government, the party and the state. Authoritarian tendencies in education have existed since ancient times. Currently, they are returning as part of the “good change” in the Polish education system. Anti-authoritarian education, according to Korczak’s ideas, involves creating conditions that will allow young people to discover their own interests and possibilities, as well as to influence the environment in which they live in accordance with their own beliefs.
Albert Einstein stated that school should strive to ensure that young people leave it as a harmonious personality.
– Korczak, on the other hand, believed that a person should leave school as a person who has discovered his capabilities and desires and wants to pursue what is important to him in life. I have the impression that Einstein’s theorem does not contradict Korczak’s view – we should approach our students as people, in consultation with whom we try to create favorable conditions for their development.
How does this translate into practical work with young people?
– It is very important to create conditions for cooperation in school and opportunities for young people to take responsibility for the community they create with others. Only then will they develop a sense of agency: I can do this. In our schools, we have tried to base the education system on democratic principles so that students can actively participate in creating the school community. We have democratically elected authorities: the school parliament, i.e. the legislative authority, the school council, which acts as the school government, i.e. the executive authority, and the judicial authority, i.e. the school court. These three democratically elected school authorities, made up of students, parents and teachers, organize the life of the school community. This builds in students a sense of co-responsibility for the environment in which they live. We have also tried to create, in addition to the compulsory education program, many optional and extracurricular activities. Students can choose and discover what really interests them. We have science and arts faculties, for example, film, art, as well as extracurricular activities dedicated to volunteering. Many young people find themselves helping others. Our goal was to create the most favorable conditions for students to discover their own interests and needs, but also to open them up to the needs of others and to live together in community. I believe that when a young person finds what really interests him/her and at the same time knows that he/she is co-responsible for the community in which he/she lives, it will be easier for him/her to find his/her place in life. This does not mean that he/she has to leave school fully formed. When he/she leaves, he/she should be open to various new opportunities and be consistent in implementing them. Consistency is an important character trait, as is openness to others and shared responsibility for the community in which we live.
If school shouldn’t be a “forge” of characters or personalities, what should it be?
– School should, of course, help young people develop character, but I have difficulty with the word “form”. By help, I mean providing a young person with many opportunities. We shouldn’t say that you have to be such and such, but rather: you have these important and interesting qualities in you, try to develop them. Explore your abilities and talents. Do you like to draw, sing, write? Practice and see what you can use these skills for. We should constantly dialogue with the possibilities that exist in each child. Let me give you an example. We had a girl at school who did very poorly in school. She had such low self-esteem that it was sad to look at her. At one point, we organized a community center for children from refugee centers. The little ones were brought there and our students took care of them, organized games and prepared gifts. This little girl also got involved and suddenly an incredible change happened in her. She discovered that caring for the weak and defenseless is her passion. She loved working with these children and they loved her. This gave her self-confidence and boosted her self-esteem. She also began to learn better. She discovered something that was important to her and decided to continue her studies to become a kindergarten teacher.
I think that providing experiences in which young people find what they are passionate about, what gives meaning to their existence and arouses recognition from others, is the most important thing in their education. Authoritarian schools focus mainly on what you are bad at and punish you so that you do not do bad things again. In the spirit of Korczak, schools mainly look for what you are good at. When a student is being insufferable, it is a good idea to find something that they can do well and point it out: look how well you did it. As they begin to see their value, their behavior will also improve. In order for a person to leave school, as Einstein said, as a harmonious personality, we must first of all help them discover what they can be good at. However, we often fail to realize how important it is to increase likeability and self-respect. A school focused only on subordinating, punishing, putting everyone on the same page, striving to make everyone equal, harms people. He shows them that the only way is to submit to the strongest or to be stronger, that is, violence against the weakest. It is very dangerous when a young person convinces himself that he can only achieve success by being stronger than others. This is how authoritarian-aggressive attitudes arise, which provoke violence.
Personality is most strongly shaped during childhood and adolescence. Shouldn’t schools take the opportunity to actively influence and shape positive personality traits? Parallel to the teaching processes, the processes of building attitudes, habits and value systems take place. It is at school that you learn consistency, systematicity, relationship building, tolerance or cunning, rudeness, manipulation and violence.
– Of course. Teachers’ activities that provide opportunities to discover students’ interests and talents and help them develop should go hand in hand with a wise organization of the social life of the student community. The point is for a young person to discover how he should act towards others if he wants others to act towards him in a certain way. It is very important to teach reciprocity in relationships, as well as responsibility for what we do together. Co-responsibility for the community created with others and empathy are important personality traits for a successful existence. The school should become a laboratory of life where the student, through experience, will acquire knowledge about himself, about relationships with others and about what is particularly important for human existence.
Who should be a teacher in such a school: a master, a guide, a mentor, or a pack leader?
– Education is about helping students find their way in life. A good educator is a friendly guide for his students. I understand this guidance as helping a young person develop, not as imposing ready-made standards.
Which factor has the greatest impact on personality development: family, environment, country, place of residence, culture?
– It’s hard to say. Personality is shaped by the process of confronting reality, by following a specific path, by encountering various unexpected events that arise along the way. Sometimes we think we’ve made a mistake. However, it may be that it was important in shaping our personality, because thanks to it we become aware of various things. Personality is shaped by the various types of experiences we have. The role of the educator is to help them understand them and draw the right conclusions, or to provide other useful experiences for choosing their own path in life.
What role do school and home play in this guidance and personality development?
– A child experiences formative experiences both at home and at school. Which of these will shape him more depends on the situation and the strength of the experiences. The most important thing is where he will find a wise and understanding person who will help him sort out his experiences, so that the bad ones do not break him and he can make the most of the good ones for his development.
Little Red Riding Hood − journalist, editor, translator. She has worked for “Życie Warszawy”, “Puls Biznesu”, “Businessman Magazine”, “Forum”, “Impact”, “Manager Magazin”. Contributor to AFP and EFE. She has worked at the Lewiatan Confederation since the first issue of EFNI, responsible for the program and panelists. She constantly cooperates with “Ńewsweek Psychologia”.
Krystyna Starczewska − Polish professor, PhD in philosophy, ethicist and pedagogue. Co-founder and director of the Bednarska Community School Complex, president of the National Forum for Private Education. She was active in the opposition and was associated with the KOR. She was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Medal of St. Peter and George.
