As a consequence of changes in the organization of spiritual lessons in schools, these lessons are simply pushed out. Students resign, catechestes lose their jobs. The situation is fatal due to the fact that the Ministry of National Education adopted an anti-clerical, aggressive policy line. He spoke about this in a conversation with PCh24.pl Dariusz April from the Association of secular catechists.
Marta Dybińska: In August, the Association of Secular Catechestes wrote a letter to the president of Poland. What was the reaction to your request?
Darius April: The president responded by inviting us in the individual of president Piotr Janowicz to a gathering of his Council on household Affairs, Education and Education. The Council was held on 13 September. They discussed the negative consequences of organizing spiritual lessons in Polish schools, and Piotr Janowicz could present our position. In a letter to the President, we besides made a request to mention the MEN Constitutional Decree to the Constitutional Court to combine classes in spiritual lessons. akin appeal was made by Polish bishops, only the president of the ultimate Court. The CCC accepted these objections and decided, before 1 September, to suspend the application of the discriminatory MEN Regulation on the organisation of spiritual lessons until a final judgement was given by the Court.
Unfortunately, the Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka stated in her kind that the Constitutional Court's decision does not, in her opinion, have legal effects, and the Episcopate wants to organize life at school by its actions and has implemented the decree.
First period of schooling in the fresh school year behind us. What has changed in teaching religion?
What we predicted. There has been a turnout among students in large cities, in older classes of primary and secondary schools. The catechists in smaller towns, where at times 100% of the students attended classes so far, and religion was in the mediate of the plan, they did not feel so much, but colleagues from large cities say that it was not so bad. I myself from my teaching occupation pulled over for 12 hours in the combined classes. In any advanced school classes I have 1 student per religion, from others respective people per 30-man teams. religion in advanced school is dying and that is what the ministry was doing. Besides, it's the same thing about ethics, which nobody's talking about. The women ruling in the ministry are not about raising to value at all, but about anti-clerical crusade, at the expense of children, youth and catechists.
Why is it inappropriate to organize spiritual teachings in groups?
We wrote in a letter to the president that merging into inter-ordinary groups, especially in primary schools, is against all the principles of the improvement of psycho-emotional children, and in everyone it prevents the implementation of the programme basis. As I have now connected young people in grades 2, 3 and 4, I truly do not know whether to implement a program with cognition of the Church, moral theology, or prepared for marriage.
As a catechist, you have contact with the parents of children you teach. What do parents say about the thought of combining lessons and placing them in utmost hours?
In advanced school, the contact with parents is less, but my parents sometimes compose to me through the net journal, justifying themselves to the decision to release the child. If you take your child's grade from the subject and I finish my religion class at 5:00 due to the fact that I have them in my last class, then any parents just compose their children out. There are children from the families of the deep believers who prepare in the parishes for confirmation and those associated with me over the erstwhile years. So that over 80% of the youth in my school do not receive axiological education either within religion or ethics. In my opinion, if parents – as voters – do not halt this conscious process of atheization of young Poles, in large cities there will be a break in the continuity of our culture based on Christianity.
What do the students say?
Elders feel a small uncomfortable with me erstwhile they quietly quit religion under the influence of the present changes. I don't even get to know most junior students.
There is another issue – many catechets will lose their jobs, but this is besides something that is not very loud...
Of course. I lost a 3rd of my job. I have children in school and in college, and my boy just went to Erasmus for Spain and we wanted to aid him financially. another spiritual teachers have loans, wellness problems, dependent families. Most of us are women who are presently experiencing depression and depression due to the fact that they feel pushed out of schools. any catechets take wellness leave, any enroll in “Solidarity”, seeking any defense, due to the fact that we are openly discriminated against. any are looking for a way of retraining, which is not that simple for older teachers. It's expected to be the minister's promise to aid in this respect, but for now, there's no cover. Besides, we want to teach religion due to the fact that we consider our subject essential and necessary, especially now in the age of intellectual collapse of young people in large cities.
Who is disturbed by spiritual lessons at school?
Yeah, who? In fact, only fierce atheists, of whom there is simply a marginal number in society, but who now have their "five minutes" due to the fact that their agenda in the Ministry of Education is implemented by an anti-cleric minister.
Religion is taught at school in twenty-three EU countries, including 8 mandatory, including Finland, which is an educational model in Europe. A colleague who was at a student exchange in Finland told me that in Finnish schools the Bible was read publically at appeals, and his fellow teachers in Finland were amazed that he did not do this as a catechist at his school. Who in Poland thought religion should be taught outside school? Earlier communists, and now it is simply a story of vicious anticlericals who did not come out of 19th century anti-Christian atheism. I sometimes argue with him on forums in social media and specified a condensed dose of aversion, irreconcilation and even contempt for believers I have never met anywhere.
What will consequence from less spiritual lessons at school?
The current power is to push and marginalize the Christian strategy of values in Polish schools, and if we do not halt it, it will consequence in a turn of the young generation in a decade, possibly two.
What tasks are facing you – the Association of Świeckie Catechests – in the fresh school year?
We are painful, but we do not quit and we believe that we will convince most of the society to compromise axiologically in Polish schools. We want to prepare a citizen's bill: religion or ethics to choose for each student, in order to root both these objects, already present in the Polish school for thirty-four years, in the educational law. We know that the present MEN authorities are not curious in this consensus, which exposes its intentions, but we are counting on the wisdom of Poles, besides the PO voters, the 3rd Way and the Confederation. After all, we succeeded with the CPK, so we believe that we will succeed.
Thank you for talking to me.
An crucial letter open to bishops. It's time for a fresh catechization!
