It has been very interesting hearing about Polish history from various friends and colleagues. I did a bit of reading before arrival, but after about 400 years, many of the names and invasions became a bit of a blur. American students have it relatively easy with only 200+ years of national history to learn...
I've been particularly interested in learning about the post WWII era. This has been referred to as the "communist era", the "Russian occupation", and the "Cold War" depending on who I'm speaking with. (The usual US term is 'the Cold War') I've been told that immediately after 1989, everything communist was vilified as evil, but that that attitude has changed and become more reflective, recognizing that some good and some bad came out of that era. The thing that I hear most often is that the sense of community was very strong during that time because people had to pull together in order to survive. The contrast from having almost nothing in the stores, to being able to purchase almost anything you need (or want) is pretty astounding in just 20 years.
"American students have it relatively easy with only 200+ years of national history to learn..."
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Polish kids when they starting to learn history of Poland they start from first Polish king Mieszko I. He united people and ruled Poland about year 960-990. You may think about Mieszko I as of Polish Thomas Jefferson.
Mieszko I is the first known HISTORICAL ruler of Poland, as we have reliable written accounts about him. The first Polish king was Bolesław I Chrobry (Bolesław I the Brave or the Valiant), who was crowned in 1025.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, in the USA (or at least in some states) children can choose whether they want to learn popular history or the history of the USA or the history of their own state. However, in Poland children learn BOTH popular history and the history of Poland from the very beginning of their education (they usually start with topics covering ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome; next they commence lessons about Medieval Europe and move on until they reach the newest history, learning about Poland and other countries until the end of their education).