Today I came across a short article by Eva Hoffman, an acclaimed American writer of Polish-Jewish origin, about the person who is one of the strongest influences in my life: Janusz Korczak. It occurred to me that it would be good if TTC students - future teachers - had some idea of who he was and how he saw his role as an educator. Janusz Korczak is usually known for his heroic death in Treblinka, a Nazi death camp, after he refused to be rescued from the Warsaw ghetto and instead chose to accompany 200 Jewish children from his orphanage to the gas chamber.
The tragic end of his life overshadows the incredible work of his lifetime. Apart from his beautiful and thought-provoking children's books that we all know from school, he wrote a lot o pedagogical texts, where he explained his humanistic notions of childhood (e.g. How to Love a Child, 1919). He saw children as people, with their own dignity, need of love and respect. ("Dziecko to człowiek, tylko że mały.") This may seem rather obvious now, but at the time it was an almost revolutionary idea. Then, children were to be seen, but not heard! He taught them responsibility by introducing democratic procedures: they took decisions by voting, they elected their own jury to decide cases of misconduct among them, they issued their own newsletter, etc. This upbringing aimed to produce responsible, mature citizens, who knew their rights and their obligations. At the same time, however, the Old Doctor showed them how to love others. Although he never married and did not have any biological children, all the children at the orphanage were 'his own', and he let them feel that. They trusted him unconditionally, which one needs to earn very hard with children.
Now Korczak is patron of many educational initiatives and institutions, and his ideas are still valid. Admittedly, they do not seem to go very well with the permissive attitudes of modern approaches to "stress-free upbringing", because in his view all children need to have their responsibilities and take them very seriously, as an obligation to one another and to adults. On the other hand, children's rights and the concepts of democracy and justice are very modern ideas, and it is here that Korczak's influence is the strongest.
My own 'Korczak experience' started in high school, when I joined a scouting troop for a summer camp called Korczakowo. Korczak's ideas were realized there on everyday basis, including a daily newspaper published by the participants, frequent discussion sessions on current issues, and a lot of artistic events which were organized almost every day by everybody at the camp. Young people were allowed to believe that they can achieve a lot if only they try hard enough. It is also important to add that all this happened in the beautiful natural surroundings, in the woods, on a lake. In other words - a magical, irresistible place. I returned there a few summers in a row, and then, years later, I sent my kids there too. It is still a very inspiring place, with the spirit of creativity which helps children find new potential in themselves. Korczak's ideas live on.
A monument in memory of Janusz Korczak built in the woods, in Korczakowo.
This post has been submitted as an entry in the Bloggers for Korczak competition.
