You can have long discussions about the school reading list, how much mathematics and how much history, what should be in backpacks and what in lockers at school, whether to assign homework, why children don't go to PE, how to prepare for a world that is changing faster than ever before. And there are discussions about it. But one thing is certain – without teachers, nothing will come of these discussions.
There is no school without them. Teachers not only provide knowledge, they also motivate and show development paths. And often they are the first to lend a helping hand. – One of the girls came up to me and said: “you were a huge support for me” because she had panic attacks – says Maria Kowalewska from the Free School initiative.
Artur Tutka, a teacher of vocational subjects, and his students have been talked about many times. Among other things, they helped little Lilka by printing a hand for her. They constructed an electronic one for Kinga. Mr. Artur is now taking a break, he is on leave to improve his health.
– Less than the second month, but it's hard to survive without these beetles of mine – admits Artur Tutka, a teacher of vocational subjects at the Technical and General Education School Complex in Jarosław.
“The most difficult thing is probably the lack of respect from society”
Mrs. Elżbieta, a teacher, librarian and retiree, could not survive without school. – The most difficult thing is probably the lack of respect from society and the underestimation of our work – says Elżbieta Dmowska, teacher and librarian at Primary School No. 70 in Łódź.
It didn't appear suddenly. Over the years, this has been influenced by the statements of politicians, the actions of those in power and the repeated stereotypes that a teacher's job is only 18 hours a week.
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– Thank you for everything – says Barbara Nowacka, Minister of National Education from the Civic Coalition. She addressed these words to all education workers and recalled what they experienced.
– How much harm can be caused by hate done systematically and systematically, of which you, the teachers, were the victims? – asks Barbara Nowacka.
How much there is to be done is shown by a survey conducted by the Teach for Poland Foundation. Only four percent of young people consider the teaching profession to be their dream job. And as the foundation points out, it's not about a lack of will, but about a lack of appropriate conditions.
Mobilization action
– If you want, take action and show that it is worth being a teacher – appeals Daria Wellman, initiator of the “I support teachers. Your voice matters” campaign. The campaign brings together teachers who took matters into their own hands. They organized a campaign to support their peers and to encourage them to work at school.
– Even if one person changes their perception about teachers, it will be our success – says Aleksandra Bączek, an early school education teacher and the initiator of the “I support teachers. Your voice matters” campaign.
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Thanks to them, cards appeared on social media, whose authors pointed out that teachers shape future generations.
The action of two teachers, which is intended to show how important this profession is, may be an inspiration for the Ministry of National Education, for example, to organize a broad campaign, because good words and encouragement should be heard not only on holidays.
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