“You are special because you are guided by the idea of a good school”, the students of the School of Education heard during the ceremony of opening the 2022/2023 academic year. It is already the seventh year that a group of students will study to get teaching qualifications under the joint initiative of PAFF and University of Warsaw.
Traditionally, the ceremony of opening the new academic year took place during the summer school – the five-day away meeting allowing new students not only to meet their staff and colleagues but also learn about the mission of the PAFF and UW School of Education and its methods of work at.
In her opening address, the School of Education Director Prof. Jolanta Sujecka-Zając noted that it was probably the first and the last time during their course of study that the students sit in rows and look at the backs of people in front of them. “It is not the model of education we promote. The School of Education is like jumping out of a safe aquarium straight into the ocean. But don’t worry – we have a lot of life boats, life belts, and divers that will watch you over. We will be with you at your most difficult moments, and we will take care of you,” Prof. Jolanta Sujecka-Zając said.
The students were also welcomed by Program Director of Polish-American Freedom Foundation Marianna Hajdukiewicz. She reminded that PAFF, which together with University of Warsaw co-founded the School of Education, has been working with teachers, pedagogues and educators for over two decades. “When 7 years ago we launched that program, we didn’t expect that we would have to face such problems as we do now. Changes in the system of education, pandemic, the war in Ukraine – they are all challenges we have to respond to. Therefore we are adjusting our curriculum to reality on an on-going basis. I hope thanks to that you will know how to solve problems when you graduate in ten months.”
Marianna Hajdukiewicz noted that the beginning of teacher’s path is a forming experience that influences the whole future career. “The School of Education is an unusual place because you will meet there unusual people – the staff, the alumni, the whole community. You, the students are unusual too, because you are guided by the idea of a good school.”
As part of the opening ceremony the students took part in an integration workshop conducted by Aleksander Pawlicki, a lecturer of the School of Education on historical and civil education, history of civilizations, and lesson and its contexts. The beginning must have seemed mysterious to the participants because the lecturer told them that during the summer school they won’t learn but will unlearn. What does it mean? To know it you have to become a student of the School of Education! That is the last moment to apply. The enrollment details can be found HERE.
