Primary school pupils in many parts of Poland will be able to earn extra credits on their school certificates by entering a contest to produce songs, poems, films or other artistic content opposing abortion, contraception, IVF and euthanasia.
The competition – entitled “Help Save the Life of the Defenceless” – is being run for the 16th time by a pro-life group based in Kraków, in partnership with various Catholic organisations as well as a branch of the public broadcaster, TVP3.
However, this year’s edition is the first time that children as young as ten years old can take part, and that winners will receive extra credit, in addition to financial rewards of up to 1,500 złoty (€330), reports Rzeczpospolita.
Some parents and experts have expressed concern that this will give certain pupils an advantage during the application process for secondary schools, and have warned that such young children should not be exposed to such themes.
The decision to allow students to earn extra credit for success in the contest has been made by education superintendents (government appointees with oversight of schools) in the provinces of Małopolska, Silesia, Lublin and Podlasie, which together have a population of around 11 million, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.
When the newspaper asked the superintendent in Małopolska, Barbara Nowak, why she had approved extra credit for content that is not based on knowledge, but on presenting a certain worldview, she argued that it is based on knowledge.
The contest’s website says that it “encourages young people to reflect on the value of life and human dignity” and “gives parents and educators specific information about what the young generation thinks about pro-life themes and what arguments they use in their discussions”.
However, the organisers also celebrate the fact that works produced in previous editions have helped “save lives” by dissuading women from having abortions.
Yet the official support for the pro-life competition has also stirred criticism and concern. “Fourth grade is definitely too early for such issues,” commented Aleksandra Piotrowska, a child psychologist.
Children of this age are not ready to process such information and it can trigger in them “unnecessary fear and disgust with the sexual sphere”, Piotrowska added, quoted by Rzeczpospolita.
Mariusz Jędrzejko, a teacher and psychologist who defines himself as conservative and pro-life, called the idea “ideological insanity”. “Kids don’t receive any scientific knowledge about human sexuality but they are supposed to be told about termination of pregnancy?” he asked rhetorically.
Agata Diduszko-Zyglewska, an opposition councillor in Warsaw, expressed outrage on social media, writing that one of Warsaw’s primary schools is promoting the competition through the official online education management system.
“Fanatics push into schools again,” she wrote, adding that she had formally requested that Warsaw’s mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, intervene and send clear instructions to schools on what can and cannot be distributed through official school channels.
Abortion and other issues relating to sexual health and education have featured prominently in Polish public debate recently, especially following last year’s constitutional court ruling that would outlaw almost all abortion in Poland. It has prompted the largest protests since the fall of communism.
The ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party has publicly supported restriction of the abortion law, though following the demonstrations it has still not published (and therefore brought into force) the ruling.
It has also sought to introduce a more conservative agenda in schools, including the recent appointment of an education minister, Przemysław Czarnek, who has pledged to fight “the totalitarian dictatorship of left-liberal views”. He recently called for Pope John Paul II’s writings to be used to teach children about sexuality and business ethics.
As the education superintendent for Małopolska Province since 2016, Nowak, a former PiS local councillor, has pursued a similar agenda. She has supported anti-abortion actions in schools, saying that they are “in line with the core curriculum”.
Last year, during demonstrations against the constitutional court’s anti-abortion ruling, Nowak attended a counter-protest in support of it, standing in front of St Mary’s Basilica on Kraków’s market square holding up a rosary.
Nowak also opposes the annual tradition of “Rainbow Friday“, during which pupils display support for LGBT peers. She warns that it “indoctrinates children” and undermines “Polish cultural heritage built on the Christian system of values”. In 2019, she said that LGBT means the “propagation of paedophilia”.
You should 'follow the example' of Jan III Sobieski in 'defending Europe from Islam', the regional education superintendent, a PiS appointee, told children at a school named after the Polish king who defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna https://t.co/tqvNam99u2
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 13, 2018
Main image credit: Adrianna Bochenek / Agencja Gazeta
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
