Hania B.

Yesterday I read in the news that in Singapore teachers will no longer give grades. It was quite surprising, considering that in most international tests their students get the highest results. However, they decided that their students should not focus on grades. Also in Finland, the schooling system is going to be changed. These changes are quite radical but it is great that in these countries the government is thinking about the future and did realize that education is actually what creates it. However, my second thought on this topic was not so optimistic because I realized that in Poland the situation is quite the opposite. I often feel as if the government was trying to lower the education level (maybe because it is easier to rule stupid people). It will probably take ages  to get to where for example Finland or Singapore are now or will get soon. I do not only mean the results we have (in comparison to other countries these are not the worst), but also the emotions the school...

Last week I saw a documentary about how consuming dairy influences our organisms. It referred to many scientific studies and researches. After watching it I wanted to check the sources because some of the information seemed quite unbelievable. The results of the studies quoted in the documentary were real and confirmed by many scientists, but I also came across various studies that proved the opposite. Is it possible that American and British scientists got completely different results of a similar research? Some people claim that the results of a study are directly related to its sponsors. This idea is quite disturbing, considering that numerous studies on cancer, heart diseases, diabetes etc. are sponsored by food companies, while food is very likely to be linked to all these diseases. However, nowadays all researches are paid for by ‘biased’companies or people. Does this mean that we should not believe any of them? It is terrifying that the society is so easy to manipulat...

The only answer I can give to this question is that people support and vote for radical right-wing politicians because they think that they are somehow better than some other option. There are so many different factors and situation that probably every person who supports such political views has actually a little bit different reason to do so. However, I think a lot about it because I personally often do not agree with opinions those politicians present and it makes me wonder why do they differ. Is it a result of the way of upbringing and the impact of society or does it ‘come from you’ and is something natural? On one hand it is hard to believe that we can ‘be born with some kind of morality’, but on the other I feel that my views are not imposed in any way but are natural for me and it is quite difficult to imagine that for someone else they could be not. In my opinion the problem with answering this question, and with politics in general, is that nobody can actually understand or i...

Yesterday the European Parliament approved ban on throwaway plastics. The use of disposable cutlery, straws etc. is supposed to be reduced by 2021 what caused some heated debates on the internet. I think that this decision could have been influenced by many campaigns supported by famous people from all over the world. It could be even called a trend or a fashion to be in the ‘Eco Club’. Strangely, some people make it an allegation, for example in comments on the internet they claim that those celebrities who engage in ‘save the environment’ or ‘save animals’ campaigns are stupid and hypocrites and do it just because it is trendy or because others do it. Of course in some cases it might be true but I really do not see the point of this criticism. In my opinion it does not make any sense to criticize a fashion just because it is a fashion. It surely can have many positive effects but it would probably have even more if people stopped judging and trying ...

Recently I attended two lessons on a similar topic, given by two teachers. I was surprised by how distinct they were. Those teachers gave us the same information but in a completely different way.  It made me consider how the 'style' of teaching influences students and what is the cause of their diversity. The thought that first crossed my mind was on the connection between the teacher's character and their way of passing the knowledge. Is there some set of qualities that they should have? And if so, why is it not the criterion of hiring teachers or accepting people to study how to teach? But why then some of them are appreciated by a half of students and the other half does not really get what they say? Maybe there are different 'styles' suitable for different students. I thought that this is issue has not been really examined scientifically what would be the reason of all these, as I believed, unanswered questions. However, it turned out that there is plenty of ra...

Last week I’ve had a discussion with a teacher about connection between behaviour, intelligence and education. I agreed with her that in spite of what I think is commonly believed these are not equivalent and sometimes do not come together. Some people are educated very well but it does not necessarily mean that they behave adequately to the situation or can use the skills and knowledge they obtained. On the other hand, sometimes people who were not properly educated turn out to be geniuses. A great example of the first kind which immediately crossed my mind was the Kavanaugh scandal and Bret Kavanaugh’s behavior during the judiciary committee hearing. It can not be said that he is not competent or well-educated but he proved that it has not much to do with his demeanor. In my opinion his hearing is not a good ground to call him an intelligent person. Fortunately, however, there is also a number of people who are very intelligent, knowledgeable and well-behaved (but they usu...

Yesterday Polish representation won the Volleyball World Championship . Although I find matches rather boring I watched this one with my friends. I found it quite interesting how impassioned people were about the games. Some of them were literally terrified when ‘their’ team lost the point and Polish fans started crying with tears of joy when it turned out that Polish representation won. I started wondering if those people are so emotional in all life situations but the answer is probably not. But why is sport what brings the feelings out? I guess that they feel some kind of a bond with the players and identify with them as of the same nationality. However, it seems a bit ridiculous to me. I can understand players who are emotional but fans have nothing to do neither with their success nor defeat. Maybe some people just need this feeling of being involved in something bigger? As for me, it is a psychological phenomenon which is quite hard to understand.