Undoubtedly the most major difference between students in the United States and students in Communist Poland is the ability to choose. I chose what schools I wanted to apply to, what I wanted to major in, what school to go to etc. Like the Polish student, I had the option of doing military service. Because I am an Israeli citizen, I was called up to the army at the age of 18, however due to my American citizenship I was able to come to school instead.
One of the things that was really interesting to me was that the Polish government actually paid for higher education. Considering the fact that most college students in the United States pay massive amounts of money and will be in debt for years, I was envious of this fact. However, that was about all I was envious of, as the Polish government also chose a certain number of Poles who would attend university, where they would go to school and also what they would study. This just really made me feel that a lot of us in the United States take for granted the tremendous amount of freedom that we have.
Polish students had to have been extremely anxious about this entire process, even more so than students going through the college selection process here in the United States. The government looked at everything from the profession your parents hold, what class you belonged to and whether or not you had family abroad. These are all things that a student cannot change or make an effect on. In the United States, we decide how hard we want to study, influence how well we do on the SAT’s and have to personally write our essays. The Polish system left no responsibility in the hands of the student at all. It is also almost humorous the order of “classes” considered for admission, the children of independent professionals (doctors, lawyers etc.) were considered to be at the bottom of the list!
We here in America are notoriously known around the world for not appreciating what we have. The Polish student would have definitely been jealous of the way that Americans are selected to schools, and for that we need to show a little more gratitude. The right to choose what you want to do is just a common fact in the United States, that does not take any thinking about, but in communist countries, such as Poland was, students did not have this luxury.
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Yitz, I thought is was pretty interesting as well the fact of the "classes" in communist Poland. You said, "It is also almost humorous the order of “classes” considered for admission, the children of independent professionals (doctors, lawyers etc.) were considered to be at the bottom of the list"!
ReplyDeleteI would have thought that the people of status would have been priority to attend the best insititutions. I wish things were like this here in the United States. Here it is all about politics. There is even a section on an application that asks the student if they had any relative that went to the institution prior to you applying. If my father went to Yale would I get in regardless of my grade?
There are countless things to talk about on this subject. I too, found my self envious of the Poles. I was angry that I am eighty thousand dollars in debt right now and counting. Although I'd much rather be able to choose my major... It's a really complicated subject.
I completely agree with the two of you. I am also going on $80 grand in debt and it's a horrible feeling that is hard to get of. Yet, I am so thankful for the chance that I actually get to put myself in that type of debt. That sounds absolutely crazy but thinking about it, I got to CHOOSE to put myself in debt because I have a great ability to make that amount back because of the education I will receive from QU and the job I will be able to get because of everything I have done/chose. So in the end, although debt sucks a lot, especially now, this was again a CHOICE I got to pursue that a Polish student doesn't even have that much. They are stuck in a rigid structure that does not allow them to pursue their wildest dreams- their dreams belogn to the government, at least I own mine.
ReplyDeleteI also agree. Polish students really have no control over whether they get admitted to the goverment run universities because their efforts do not matter. Even though a college education costs a lot of money I am able to enjoy my time spent in school because I am taking classes that interest me. In the long run, debt may not be so much fun but at least I was able to choose my major and will hopefully enjoy the career my degree will provide me. Those students lucky enough to be accepted to the universities may be forced to work towards a degree in a subject area they hate.
ReplyDeleteYou right on with your post but what did you expect for this time period in Poland?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapter I was not surprised the least bit after learning about this time period in class. And, its almost not fair to compare them to the US, we have the most freedom of any country, of course a communist school system is not going to have the same amount of freedom as we have.
I do agree with your post though and just think we need to put in perspective this was the norm for the time period.