Polska szkoła karze za myślenie - tak przegrywamy przyszłość || Ryszard Szubartowski w Biznes Klasie
Business class
About
Polish schools often penalize unconventional thinking, as seen in the case of Jakub Pachocki, now a key figure at OpenAI, who was labeled a weak student for not completing homework. Professor Ryszard Szubartowski’s developmental teaching method fosters creativity by assigning challenges instead of traditional lessons, allowing students to work independently and present solutions. His approach prioritizes self-driven learning and emotional engagement over standardized testing and grading systems.
Key points
The flaws in Poland’s education system
- Schools systematically discourage gifted students by enforcing rigid rules, such as penalizing punctuality over actual knowledge, leading to the exclusion of talents like Pachocki who struggled under conventional expectations
- The emphasis on high teacher employment and excessive grading undermines real learning, as only a small fraction of students truly master the material, while the system rewards conformity over excellence
- Mandatory exams with strict formatting, like requiring knowledge of exact book passages or penalizing minor naming errors (e.g., "Andrzej" instead of "Adam" Mickiewicz), create artificial barriers that hinder creative thinking
Szubartowski’s developmental method
- Students receive challenges to solve independently, with no direct instruction or predefined solutions, fostering autonomous problem-solving and deep understanding
- Successful solvers become peer experts who guide others, creating an emotionally supportive environment where collaboration replaces competition, enhancing motivation and long-term retention
- Learning occurs in two brainwave states: natural beta (9–21 Hz) where endorphins enhance neural development, and avoided high-beta states where stress-induced adrenaline harms health and learning quality
Talent cultivation and systemic resistance
- Poland produces world-leading computer science talents, with Szubartowski’s students earning 126 international olympiad medals, including 22 golds, far exceeding global averages
- Despite proven success, the educational establishment resists change because effective developmental teaching disrupts traditional hierarchies and threatens teacher comfort, leading to the marginalization of innovators like Szubartowski
- True learning happens through positive outcomes and iterative improvement, not from mistakes—errors are not educational tools but signs of flawed methods that should be prevented, not repeated