Michael Parciak Speaks About Janusz Korczak And Children’s Rights, Part 2.

October 21, 2012 Leave a comment

Korczak, himself was summoned five times by the court.  Three times the court accepted his plea.  One time the court forgave him, because he regretted his action.  And one time the court accepted his admission of guilt.

Korczak also sided with children when accusations were made against adults.  For example, he rebuked a policeman who had wronged a child…

Korczak stood for democracy, freedom of opinion, and human rights as well as social justice, responsibility, and social progress.  Although, he mainly assigned himself to “his” children, this does not mean that he released the adults from their responsibilities or that he thought them unable to carry out their responsibilities for the future of their children.  Hints of that opinion are found in part of “Senate of the Mad” where one of the mad requires certificates for the adults to be understood as allowances for the keeping and educating of children.

What did Korczak expect from the adults in the community around him and the children as future adults?  Did he intend to build a bridge between both?  Which demand did Janusz Korczak make in regards to educating adults?  Did he really accept the possibility that his demands could be realized completely in the times he lived in?  Really, the main question is:  Which demands must be fulfilled to guarantee that children grow under optimum conditions and protection of their rights?

Korczak surely would have used the internet for pedagogic goals if it had been available.  He saw providing education to every child as a basic child’s right.  He also saw discussions as a valuable pedagogic platform for children to develop their own mind– social, political, cultural, and any other way.  In his eyes, a good school education was never just for the privileged.

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A Reversal Of Eden In The King Machush Novels Of Janusz Korczak

October 26, 2011 Leave a comment

An analysis of of Janusz Korczak’s most famous Polish children’s novels, the King Machush novels, reveals a reversal of the Eden motif so prevalent in much of children’s literature.  If it was Eve who tempted Adam, and caused the subsequent banishment from the garden, it is the boy, Fellek, who tempts Machush into a close friendship while eating cherries in the king’s garden, leading to Machush’s exile and eventual destruction.  Fellek is the son of a platoon guard, whom Machush envies because of his independent nature and ability to lead.  Machush never acknowledges Fellek’s devious nature, lack of desire to truly learn, and immense ego.  His trust in his “beloved” Fellek becomes his undoing.  It is the Young King’s spy, posing as a reporter for the children’s newspaper, who realizes that Fellek can be an instrument to get rid of Machush.(The Young King is Machush’s greatest enemy, because Machush defeated him in a war.)  Machush’s kingdom is forced to surrender to the young king because of Fellek’s betrayal and Machush himself is sent to an uninhabited island.  So, the first Machush novel comes to an end.  Towards the end of the second novel, Fellek appears  again as a threat to Machush’s good will.  Machush’s trust in Fellek results in his giving Fellek a factory job.  When Fellek’s laziness and lack of initiative  reveal themselves in an altercation, it is Machush who is killed in the factory accident.  Thus ends the second and last Machush volume. Although Machush grows to respect adults, children younger than himself and older children, he fails to see the danger posed by his “beloved” Fellek.  Illustration of Machush’s thoughts by Waldemar Andrzejewski from King Machush on an Uninhabited Island.

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