USA Student v. Communist Polish Student

After reviewing the reading about Communist Polish students, it is crazy to think about the things we, as US students complain about! There are so many differences between the two students, yet with a common thread running through each of them- the desire to learn.
Keeping mind that there will be obvious differences because of the time periods and environmental changes…
One major difference I noticed right away about Communist Polish students and US students was that “university” in Poland was F-R-E-E for students! At first glance, FREE compared to $43,000 per year seems like a really great deal. Then I read on. Students in Poland during Communist times were not given any choices, at all. They were lucky if they were even CHOSE to be a part of the university. That’s right- they didn’t even get to enroll themselves. The state, as high and mighty and they believed themselves to be, CHOSE who gets to go into college and who doesn’t. There was no ‘ buying your way into college.’ The system for doing this is ridiculous and almost backwards from the way it works in America. It seems that the better your parents are doing in Poland, the more successful they are- the worse your chances [ if you even get a chance] are for being permitted to attend a university. On top of not only having your chances ruined, if your parents were successful – ie: doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur- you were often even PUNISHED because of this. The state would send these kids off to be slave labor in coal mines or sometimes in military camps. In Poland, the children of parents who were poor, rural farmers had the best shot of getting into a college. In the United States, [ for the most part] every student has the chance to be admitted into college based on their intellectual and personal abilities. It has nothing to do with who your parents are or how much money they make. – Although let’s be honest, to this day some wealthy families across the United States often make very generous “ donations” to elite universities in order to have their child accepted. Politics can definitely play a role in whether you’re accepted to a certain university in the US, but for the most part, if you graduate high school, you can be accepted to at bare minimum a simple community college or technical school. The more effort you put in, the better the school you can attend. It’s a fairer playing field.
Another major difference that I noticed between a Polish student and an American student is the resources available to each. Students in Poland rarely have a materials like textbooks available to them and solely rely on attending class and listening to a solely verbal discussion from the professor and reading their own hand written notes in order to learn anything. In the United States, students have textbooks provided all over the place, from being able to purchase them from hundreds of vendors, to taking them out in a library. US students are also able to use computers and are given pictures, videos and even live conferences to enhance their learning experiences. Polish students were banned from having outside knowledge of Poland or being “abroad.” In the US, diversity is promoted and studying abroad is highly encouraged! It is crazy to think about how I complain about how expensive textbooks are [ which they are, I’m not discrediting that] but meanwhile students in communist Poland were not even allowed to purchase them. It is mind boggling to think of the things US Students take for granted and yet STILL find a way to complain about them while students in other times and in other countries were not given nearly the same opportunity of growth and development.
Overall, I think that reading this article has made me a more grateful student and I have begun to realize the true freedoms I have as an American student and will try my hardest to appreciate each one a little bit more.