Under Rondo Dmowskiego

Whether I come to work by Metro to Centrum or by train to W-wa Śródmieście, or if an eastbound tram or westbound bus drops me off at Centrum, I have to go across Rondo Dmowskiego via the subway passage that leads pedestrians across Warsaw's central intersection. Located at the intersection of Al. Jerozolimskie (east-west) and ul. Marszałkowska (north-south), the roundabout is named after Roman Dmowski, pre-war National Democrat leader. The man was clearly highly influential in Poland regaining independence in 1918, but remains controversial in Poland today for many reasons, not least his anti-Semitism.

Above: emerging from Metro Centrum, or coming by foot from W-wa Śródmieście, one passes through the Patelnia ('frying pan') as it is known by Varsovians, a concrete square below street level. Vivid street art covers its walls. Commuters are dressed for the cold - few animal rights protesters make a fuss about the wearing of fur when it's -20C.

Above and below: the steps leading up to street level - to tram and bus stops. After December's occupation of the Central railway station by ads for H&M, the Swedish clothing retailer strikes again, this time by plastering black and white images of David Beckham all over Centrum. He seems to have been struck down by a disfiguring skin disease of his upper arms and shoulders, or else he hasn't washed them for months. Note the strong, low sunlight and the shadows it casts.

The underground passage forms a circle under the roundabout. Inside there are small shops selling footwear, used mobiles, knick-knacks, newspapers - and toasted cheese sandwiches that are responsible for the unpleasant stench of burnt casein that infests the passages.

Above: on my way home, about to dive into the underground passage en route for W-wa Śródmieście and a Jeziorki-bound train. A bit early today, as the electricity failed in the office; my brave new laptop's battery lasted until four pm before it gave out.

This time last year:
My Most favourite bridge

This time two years ago:
Street lighting under the snow

This time three years ago:
Ul. Poloneza - archival video before the S2 was built

This time four years ago:
Aerial juxtaposition over Jeziorki

Back to the blackboard?

Following on from my most recent education post of two days ago, I'd like to look a primary and secondary education.

My assessment of Polish vs. English schools can be summed up in the following stereotypical generalisations.

Polish schools - you are taught to memorise, not understand. Exams are about answering factual questions, not writing essays or discussing the subjects with teachers. Rote learning is the order of the day, every day; very few teachers inspire or bring insight into their subjects. Learning is neither fun nor does it open up new perspectives.

English schools (the school system is different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) - the kids are encouraged to, like, do their own thing, man, so if, like, a kid thinks three times three is eleven, well, they're being creative, man, and I'm, like, not going be the heavy fascist and tell them they're wrong, man.

If a child is curious, intelligent, quick on the uptake, it will do better in the English system (and I dare say the American system is similar). But if a child is less bright, just having bare facts drummed into its head gives it a better chance in life than being taught Plasticine, xylophone and Venn diagrams.

At the end of the day, Polish schools scored better on the OECD's latest PISA ranking in reading and maths than did UK schools, although UK schools did better on science.

So rote-learning has its place - getting the basics right - never mind why seven times eight is 56 - it just is, OK? And this is how you spell szczodrobliwość. No alternatives permitted.

The only trouble is - this model is then carried on into Polish universities, where Pan Ważny Profesor reads aloud from the textbook he wrote back in 1970, chapter by chapter, to bored students who have to memorise his increasingly-questionable teachings. The result - Polish universities are way down the global rankings, where US and UK institutions dominate when it comes to pure and applied research.

It seems that uravnilovka - the Soviet levelling-down of society - has hurt Polish innovation. Which is not to say that Poles can't be innovative - they can - but generally in foreign universities and for foreign corporations.

But can the Polish tertiary education system be reformed without a reform of the primary and secondary systems?

This time two years ago:
Greed, fear, fight-and-flight - and the weather

This time three years ago:
Where the new motorways will meet

This time four years ago:
Crocuses blooming in London

How much education for the nation?

With more and more OECD countries sending over half of their young people to university, I should like to to offer public policy-makers the following challenge: are over half of the jobs in your economy graduate-level?

When I read that 71% of South Korean 18 year-olds are university-bound (and that 100% of South Korean parents want their children to go to university) I was shocked. Where will the future bricklayers, shop assistants, hairdressers, bus drivers, postmen, barmen, chambermaids, street-sweepers,welders, security guards, car-parking attendants, ticket collectors, etc. come from in a country with imploding demographics?

In most advanced economies, there are more graduates than graduate-level jobs. The logical outcome of this situation is graduate unemployment followed by graduates being forced to do work that they consider beneath their potential. The best graduates - those who are demonstrably intelligent and can prove a capacity for hard work - will get the most rewarding jobs. The rest? Well, once you work your way down towards 'average', the job market becomes tougher, before young Spanish, German, British, Japanese or American graduates find that no employer is interested in their qualifications.




And here we are, policy-makers! Where does your nation's youth fit onto this grid? And what policy measures are needed to shunt the average up towards to upper right quartile? And when you get there - then what? A whole lot of over-qualified voters doing jobs that are beneath their potential? Or are you going to export your unemployment (as Poland did from 2004 on)?

Should the state educate more - or less? If more - in what direction? Mediaeval French Poetry? Comparative Cartoon Studies? Or IT, Biotech or Engineering?

Britain has already started rationing education. With annual fees rising to £9,000 a year (47,000 zlotys to Polish parents), potential students are beginning to shun those courses that will not open doors to high-paying jobs. My instinct is, that for an economy, high fees for state universities will lead to better results all round. Those who feel the hurdle is too high (for themselves or their children) will rightly avoid university and settle down to a more suitable job.

In Poland, state universities are still free; the less-gifted who feel (or whose parents feel) that five years at university is a good idea have a wide selection of heavily-advertised private ones to chose from. Britain, by contrast, has one private university, Buckingham. In America, the best universities are private (and very expensive), while the duffers go to state unis. So - no consensus as to how best to educate our youth.

Any thoughts, dear readers?

This time last year:
To the Catch - short story

This time two years ago:
Eternal Warsaw

This time four years ago:
From the family archives

From Jeziorki to Jeziorki

In today's world, information about anything is infinitely easier to find; online you soon develop your own well-trodden paths towards satisfying your need for knowledge. Yet among our bookmarked our favourite sites, there must be room for serendipity, random fortuitous events, that can bring unexpected information to us.

One heavily-used bookmarked site on my home and work computers is rozklad-pkp.pl, used to find out train times from Jeziorki to town and back again, and sometimes for longer journeys, for business or recreation. The software is not perfect. Type in a journey from "W-wa Śródmięscie" to "W-wa Centralna"...

And the result offered will be a far more exciting trip from Brussels to Chrzanów Śródmieście.

OK, it's a silly query as the two stations are connected to one another by underground passage, and indeed trains from one don't stop at the other. But my point is that the search software has problems disambiguating stations with similar names.

Now, type in "W-wa Jeziorki". Once again, the search engine cannot grapple with "W-wa" if there's any other station with a similar name in the system.

You get a disambiguation result (below), asking you to select from two stations...

So there are TWO Jeziorki stations?! Show me the other one! Well, it's Jeziorki Wałeckie, in the far north west of Poland, Zachodniopomorskie province. It's in an area so remote (closed line between Wałcz and Kalisz Pomorski. I bet most Poles couldn't accurately place these places on a map of the province) The station is not even open, the 40km line having been shut which means you can't make that journey. Leaving closed stations on the database always gives grounds for hope that one day they'll be re-opened. Indeed, two years ago, PKP published a tender for the restoration of traffic to the line.

But anyway, let's have a closer look at Jeziorki Wałeckie station (closed)...

Above: The station building at 'Jeziorki Wał.' Photo: Ryszard_K

Above: the platform at Jeziorki Wałeckie. Photo: Robert Nowicki.

So then... One day, a journey from Jeziorki to Jeziorki is in order.

This time two years ago:
Launching the General's book

This time three years ago:
A pavement for ul. Karczunkowska?
(For a while there it looked like the city authorities would provide us locals with a pavement so that we could safely walk to the station. Two years later - not a bit of it. Still waiting. A Big Boo to Bufetowa)

This time four years ago:
Taking off over Okęcie

At last - winter's gorgeousness

A big thank-you to fellow-blogger and near neighbour, Student SGH for offering me a lift this morning. We toured the roadworks around the S2 between Węzeł Lotnisko and Węzeł Puławska after which the anonymous blogger dropped me off on ul. Taneczna, I then popped into the local store for food and a paper and then had a refreshing (read: icy cold; it was -11C) stroll down ul. Wodzirejów (below) towards Puławska and Platan Park for my morning meetings. The route was slippery and I did well to avoid getting wet socks breaking through thin ice into freezing puddles.

The sun rose this morning at 7:23, a mere 22 minutes earlier than at Winter Equinox (by contrast, the day's gained 48 minutes on the shortest day in the evenings. A strange asymmetry. Below: Platan Park, on ul Poloneza, my destination.

After two hours at Platan Park, off to town. Another refreshing walk to Puławska (having missed two buses), then on to Wilanowska. And here, along with crowds of late morning commuters, off the 739 and on towards the Metro station. The blue sky makes the scene look quite summery - and yet it's -10C.

This time last year:
New winter wear - my M65 Parka

This time two years ago:
Winter and broken-down trains

This time three years ago:
General Mud claims ul. Poloneza

This time four years ago:
Just when I thought winter was over...

Warsaw is ready for winter

Proper winter is arriving. The past week has been a thoroughly unpleasant mix of rain and wet snow, temperatures just above zero. Last night the temperature fell to -4C and by tomorrow morning it will be -10C. The temperatura odczuwalna will be -17C. Light snow fell today, no more is expected in the immediate future. But the city is ready. READY - d'you hear me?!

Below: snow ploughs on Pl. Konstytucji, quarter to eight this morning. (Note the row of bollards keeping rogue parkers off the pavement. It's the only language they understand!)

Below: as much attention is being lavished on pavements as on roadways. Ul. Waryńskiego (between Nowowiejska and Pl. Konstytucji). Note the pattern of the swept snow.

Not just in town, but on the fringes - this is ul. Puławska in Grabów (between Jeziorki and Civilisation). A day earlier, at twenty to eight in the morning. Note the light traffic - this is ferie fortnight (Warsaw's school winter holidays).

Warsaw seems well prepared - nevertheless there was a spate of traffic jams and crashes today. The city can do its bit - but crazy drivers will wreck it for everyone.

And getting home in the evening, I spied a sure sign that winter has its costs... the footprints from the gate the gas meter and back. Will the bill for Dec-Jan be lower than last year?

This time two years ago:
Łazienki park, glorious midwinter

This time three years ago:
At the Rampa - work stops

This time four years ago:
Polecamy MROŻONKI - old-school retail

Get orf my lairnd!

Orjan's comment on my last post (sadly hijacked by the Smolensk issue) raises some valuable points that need further discussion in the ongoing debate about Polish-British cultural differences. His comment was in Polish, so an overview will be needed for the non-Polish speaking majority of my readers...

One interesting question that has yet to surface in British historiography is the influence of deportations to Australia on the long-term crime rate (comedian Alexei Sayle, being asked upon his first visit down-under by Australian immigration officers whether he had a criminal record, answered "Why - do you still need one?"). According to Wikipedia's sources, penal deportations to Australia went on for 82 years from 1786 to 1868 (82 years), depositing 165,000 convicts there. And before the USA won its independence, Britain dumped a further 60,000 convicts in penal colonies across the Atlantic. Whether this sustained onslaught on the nation's ne'er-do-wells left Victorian Britain a safer place for the building of low walls around houses is a moot point.

Now I will take the liberty here to translate the key paragraph from Orjan's comment:

"In Polish culture, there is a much broader concept of personal liberty, and also in its relation to other people's space. Besides someone else's ban on entry, there exists my own need to enter, does there not? Hence, a low wall is not culturally interpreted as 'crossing is forbidden', but as 'please, I'd rather you didn't cross' - in other words: "you're not allowed, but you can". By contrast, higher fencing gives the legal message integrated with a real obstacle: "you're not allowed and you can not".

This brings us back to that greatest of differences between British and Polish culture - common law vs. code-based law. The spirit vs. the letter of the law. The low walls embody the spirit, the high walls the chapter and verse.

But wait - there's another, quite paradoxical, difference between the landscape of Poland and the UK that requires explanation. In Poland, fields are not fenced off. And as long as you don't trample the farmer's crops, there's generally no gripe about you walking along the miedza between two fields. (As long as there are no dogs running loose.) In Britain, fields are enclosed. (See my photos of Derbyshire, here.) By hawthorn bushes and barbed-wire fences in the south, by stone-wall fences in Wales and the North (generally). Walkers must stick to marked (and mapped) public footpaths or bridleways. Failure to do so is regarded as trespassing; landowners take a dim view of people crossing their field and will bellow at them to 'get orf their lairnd'. Failure to do so may well result in a shotgun being fired into the air.

Which - when you think about it - is strange. Crime is far higher in urban Britain than rural Britain, as is unemployment. (Yes, there is livestock rustling going in Britain, something generally unreported in Poland). In general, however, while you are prevented by fencing from stepping foot on someone's agricultural land in Britain (you are not in Poland), you can walk off the pavement on most British streets and step right up to the front door of a house, and even push open the letter-box, without incurring any ill effect.

Where does that leave the British countryside? I believe that's a relic of the Enclosure Act of 1773 (with subsequent amendments), where landowners would use the law to turf peasant share-croppers off their land (that they'd farmed for centuries) and replace them with more profitable sheep.

And there you have it.

This time last year:
A Dream Too Far - part two

This time two years ago:
Electric in the dark

This time four years ago:
Elegant and proper

It's a conspiracy!

An incident on the way to work got me thinking. A guy sitting opposite me on the train commented on my US Army parka and fur hat; he told me that he collected militaria and pointed to his 1960s Red Army-issue boots. The man, in his early 30s, dressed like a manual labourer, then went on to talk quite knowledgeably, about his collection of military bits and pieces he'd dug up around Magnuszew, (where the Red Army established a bridgehead on the west bank of the Vistula and fought off a German counter-attacks in 1944).

He told me that he'd had a stash of 160 WWII hand grenades that he'd kept in his basement. When these were found by the police (his neighbours, he said, were always complaining about the explosions he was setting off) he was imprisoned for six and half years. At this stage, I began having doubts as to the veracity of the man's tale.

He then told of how he'd often recruit local drunks from Warka to dig for military remains, paying them 100 złotys for a day's work. “Two of them blew themselves sky-high”, he told me. "Fantasist," I thought. His grandfather was a German, he said, who had fought with the SS on the Eastern Front. “The things he'd seen...” His grandfather, who he said died when he was 12 or 13, said “they should have liquidated all the Jews.” By now, alarm bells started ringing. The guy's not only nuts but quite probably psychopathic. “The Jews are running Poland!” he said, drawing attention from other commuters. “Even this railway is owned by the Jews!” Without saying a word, I stood up and moved to another carriage.

This encounter – most untypical, I must add - got me thinking about the role of Conspiracy in politics. At the weekend, reading KGB – The Inside Story by Christopher Andrew and Oleg Gordievsky – the link between mental illness, paranoia and conspiracy all fitted together. Poland is still emerging from a dark period in its history – the direct result of the madness that fuelled the minds of two men – Hitler and Stalin.

Both were obsessed with conspiracies – one was convinced of a Jewish plot to run the world. The other – of a capitalist plot to run the world. The mental flexibility that allowed their ill minds to find plots and sub-plots that simply did not exist is staggering. During the Spanish Civil War, when Stalin was supporting the Republican side – his NKVD henchmen spent more energy chasing Trotskyites than they did fighting Fascists – which, ostensibly, was what they were there for.

Both Hitler and Stalin's secret services were in the business of torturing the truth out of innocent people in order to prove the existence of a given conspiracy. Stalin was so much more effective. His secret services effectively spread disinformation, they found useful dupes to do good propaganda for them, they were so much better at getting their victims to volunteer information to them. Hitler's propaganda had no room for shades of grey. Stalin's propaganda could make white look like black.

Destroying the bonds of human trust are a prerequisite for a New Order to step in, replacing centuries-old institutions with The Party. In the 20th C., this happened right across much of the Eurasian continent. It deeply affected the psyches (and indeed mental health) of those who lived through it.

To finally kill off the evil effects of totalitarianism in Poland – and other post-communist countries – what is needed is the rebuilding of social trust. Good must arise out of bad - not sinking back into a world of plots, counter-plots and counter-counter-plots.

One of my students, Marzena, who has just returned from her first trip to the UK, noticed how low the walls surrounding English houses were compared to the elaborate security measures that defend Polish houses. Despite (or because of) this, burglary rates in Warsaw are actually lower than in London. Three times lower, in fact. And yet, fear of crime is far greater here.

Paranoia – the fear that someone's out to get me – is at the heart of many populist political movements. Russia's Putin cannot accept, for example, that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – voluntary bodies set up from the grass roots – can exist or even spring up without the careful planning and support of foreign powers intent on using them to take over Russia.

Populist parties around the world use conspiracy theory to boost support among the disaffected. Those who believe that the fact that life has been less than fair them is the fault of some vast conspiracy. They will vote for anyone who can put their minds at ease by convincing them of that fact.

I'm not going to make any direct references to today's press conference by Antoni Macierewicz; I shall let readers make their own conclusion.

This time last year:
A Dream Too Far - short story

This time two years ago:
Compositions in white, blue and gold

This time three years ago:
Dobra and the road

This time four years ago:
Polish air force plane full of VIPs crashes on landing