A Person Who Have Made A Different
Copyright © 2021
Table of Contents:
TOPIC PAGES
Introduction…………………… 2-9……………….
Biography &Timeline…………10-22……………….
Our Figure’s Influence on Us…23-26………………..
Interview……………………………27-41……….………
Reflective Writing………..….42-48………………
Bibliography…………………….49……………………
presentation………………………..50-57……………….
INTRODUCTION BY LIHI GOLDIN
Throughout history, there have been people who have influenced the way we live. Janusz Korczak is one of these people.
I chose to prepare this research project on Janusz Korczak for several reasons.To begin with, Janusz Korczak was aninspiring person who was not only a doctor but was a writer and educator too. In addition, he was a kind and caring person who set up two orphanages for Jewish and Polish children during his medical studies at the University of Warsaw.
There are a number of things that I already know about Janusz Korczak.Firstly, I know that he set up an orphanage for Jewish and Polish children. In addition, I know that when the Nazis sent the children from Janusz Korczak orphanage to the Treblinka death camp, they offered him to leave the children and be saved, but he refused and died with them in the death camp.
I expect to learn new and interesting things about Janusz Korczak.First and foremost, I expect to find out about his childhood. Also, I want to learn about his family. Finally, I would like to discover what made him work in his profession and what he went through in the years before his death.
Janusz korczak has left his mark on the world. I am looking forward to finding out more about him.
INTRODUCTION by Shir Banay
Throughout history, there have been people who have influenced the way we live. Janusz Korczak is one of these people.
I chose to prepare this research project on Janusz Korczak for several reasons. To begin with, Janusz Korczak was an inspiring man whose concern for children came first. He was a special man and many books were written about him and his many years of activity .In addition, Janusz was offered several times to save himself but he chose to continue with the children even though he knew they were going to die and here you can see how important the children were to him.
There are a number of things that I already know about Janusz Korczak Firstly, I know that he was born Henryk Goldszmit to an assimilated Jewish family in Warsaw. In addition, I know that he was an author, a pediatrician, and that he founded an orphanage in Warsaw where he helped care for many children.
I expect to learn new and interesting things about Janusz Korczak.
First and foremost, I expect to find out more about his personal life. Also, I want to learn about his special relationship with the children, who were in the orphanage. Finally, I would like to discover what motivated him to help so many people especially children.
Janusz Korczak has left his mark on the world. I am looking forward to finding out more about him.
BIOGRAPHY
Janusz Korczak was born Henrik Goldschmidt on July 22, 1878 to an assimilated Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland. After his father’s death due to illness, the family’s financial situation began to deteriorate, and to help support the household, Korczak began giving private lessons and became the sole breadwinner of his mother, sister and grandmother. The family environment in which he grew up influenced his personal development and his awareness and sensitivity to social problems. The pen name used by Janusz Korczak for the first time in 1898, in a literary competition. He took the name from the book “The Story of Janusz Korczak and the Royal Sword Daughter” written by Polish author Josef IgnatiKraszewski.
Korczak studied medicine at the University of Warsaw, and at the same time wrote for several Polish newspapers. Upon graduation he specialized in pediatrics. In 1912 the orphanage at 92 Krochmalna Street in Warsaw was established and Korczak was appointed director. Korczak advocated dialogic education in which the child should be empowered, educated in values and given the best tools for developing his or her personal skills and self-learning. The orphanage was run according to a plan of the “Children’s Republic.” As Korczak’s deputy and mother of the orphanage, Korczak appointed Stefania Wilczenska, who believed in the same method of education as him.
Concurrent with his work at the Korczak Orphanage he served as a military doctor and served in World War I, founded a Polish children’s newspaper called Mali Przeglad, and had his own radio program in which he answered listeners’ questions on education.
Korczak visited Israel twice, in 1934 and 1936, to see the landscapes of the country and learn from the method of education in the kibbutzim. Janusz Korczak’s work with children enabled him to apply his educational views, but the greatest influence Korczak had on his life and future generations was as a writer. He aspired and also managed to reach children and adults alike and leave a deep impression. He wrote over twenty books, many of them on children’s rights and the experience of a child in the adult world. Among his most influential works are: “How to Love Children” (1921), “King Matthew I” (1928), “The Child’s Right to Honor” (1929) and “Rules of Life” (1930).Korczak’s personality as a writer, pediatrician and pedagogue led to his innovative method and the revolution he brought about in relation to the child and which was expressed in various forms in the orphanage he ran.
In the ghetto:
In 1939 in Warsaw, at the outbreak of World War II, Korczak wanted to volunteer for service in the Polish army, but because of his age remained with the children of the orphanage. During the first months of occupation, the number of children in the orphanage increased because it was necessary to accept children who had lost their families during the bombings. In the early 1940s there were about 150 children in the orphanage. At the end of November 1939, the German government issued an order requiring every Jew to wear a white ribbon with a blue Star of David, Korczak refused to wear the ribbon and take off his Polish officer’s uniform, even though he had been banned for some time.
When the Jews were rounded up by the Germans in the Warsaw ghetto, the orphanage was forced to move to the ghetto. Although Korczak was offered refuge at the Aryan side several times, he vehemently refused these offers because he felt he could not abandon the orphanage children. Even in the ghetto because of the difficult living conditions, Korczak remained true to his values and continued to work for the children. He felt a huge responsibility for the children of the orphanage and made every effort to take care of all their needs and strengthen them. During the ghetto period, Korczak and Stefa’s main concern was concentrating on food for children. Korczak invested much effort in obtaining means for the trainees’ economy and appealed to influential people and begged for food, warm clothes and medicine for the children.
All this, out of commitment and loyalty to the children alongside his personal distress and health condition. With all the difficulty and against the background of the changing arrangements, Korczak continued on his educational path. The orphanage continued to operate according to the arrangements that characterized it in the period before the war and the children continued to take part in the management of the institution and in holding public trials. In the orphanage there were plays and concerts that attracted the general public and every Saturday after the meeting of the educators in the orphanage, Korczak used to tell a story chosen by the children. In addition, against the background of the harsh reality and sometimes also the loss of values outside, Korczak tried his best to educate the children to honesty and truth.
In the ghetto, Korczak kept a diary containing lists, memoirs, and events narrated from his personal point of view. This diary was published in Poland in 1958. From the diary one can feel Korczak’s difficulty alongside his personal coping with the hardships of life, hunger and mental difficulty.
On August 5, 1942, Korczak was sent by train to Treblinka along with Stefania and about 12 orphanage and about 200 children. There they perished.
OUR FIGURE’S INFLUENCE ON US
Janusz Korczak was an educator who wrote many books. One of his books was the book “Rules of Life”which was published in 1929. This book was written after a conversation with a child, who said: “We have a lot of problems because we do not know the rules of life …”The book is intended for youth and adults. In this book, Korczak wrote wise sayings and insights about the education and love of children.
The sentence we chose to concentrate on from his book is: “If something can be changed, it is worth thinking about, but if it has to stay that way, one should not be angry in vain … one should come to terms with the fact that not everything can always be on the best side… One thing succeeds and the other does not … nothing can be completely perfect…”
This sentence shows how Janusz Korczak looked at the world realistically with the hope of fulfilling his desire, which led him to establish and run special educational institutions. He did not think human nature could be changed, nor did he intend to do so. He believed it was important to create an environment that would help get the most out of all the good and bad they have.
We agree and believe in this statement, because we experience it daily, whether it is at school, at home, in classes. In our opinion the beauty in life is imperfect. Even if sometimes things do not go as planned and the road is a bit difficult, one has to come to terms with the fact that not everything is perfect. But there are times when things can change and we will do everything to prove ourselves. There are good days and there are fewer. This sentence goes with us every day and we should always remember it and not give up on ourselves even if it is difficult. In one thing we can succeed and in another, we fail. It’s the beauty of life and it’s what makes the world more interesting and colorful.
Interview
We chose to interview Rakefet Glik. She runs the Facebook page “מחנך בחצר”.
She works as an English teacher.
There are several reasons why we chose to interview this person. First of all, we were interested in the successful Facebook page she runs. Moreover, we wanted to know what she knows about Janusz Korczak and why she opened the page.
Q: What is your connection to Janusz Korczak? Why did you choose to open a Facebook page about him?
A: I’m an English teacher, and some time ago I bought a book about Janusz Korczak, during the first closure of the Corona I suddenly had time to read and felt it really helped me deal with reality, instead of seeing news and getting into anxieties, reading occupied me with something optimistic, maybe It will sound strange that the end of Janusz Korczak is not optimistic. But his messages – yes!
When I read the book about him, it was written that in Israel he is not treated as a writer of education, but more is said about his story in the Holocaust, while in the world, education teachers learn a lot about him. I was amazed! Even when I was teaching I did not learn enough about him.
I immediately wanted all the teachers in the country to learn about him! But how? I understand that many teachers are busy and not available to read a book. And I decided that a Facebook page that focuses on quotes from his books would convey the message in a more contemporary way. A bit like thinking – what Janusz Korczak would tweet on Twitter if he had Twitter.
Q: When did you first hear about his / her story?
A: I remember hearing about him for the first time as a child at school. But as a child I had a very hard time understanding the Holocaust. I am 40 years old today, and then the Holocaust was very much present in our lives. Everyone would talk about it, like it was very fresh. And I did not understand how he could have gone with his students if he could have saved himself. Today I more understand how complex humanity is, things are not simple. And he certainly could not have lived in the world without his children – they were his whole world!
Q: Do you personally know someone who knew him or one of the children in his orphanage?
A: Following the page I created on Facebook, Yaakov Belfer contacted me, who is one of the children who survived the Korczak orphanage. He lives to this day, lecturing and writing about life that was in Korczak’s orphanage. His testimony is amazing and shows that Janusz Korczak was one who does and writes truth – he did not just write things he thought were true. He acted on his belief that children need understanding, love, freedom, rights, and the forgiveness of the adults around them.
Q: What is the effect of Janusz Korczak on you?
A: Wow! Huge impact. He excites me in his writing about children, in his understanding of the needs of children. And along with all his wisdom and knowledge he accumulated, he always mentioned that this is just his truth, that there are other ways to be a good teacher, that everyone must try according to his character – there is no one recipe for success with children.
I learned a lot from it, to try every day to be better to my students, and to forgive, and not get angry at myself if I was wrong in front of them but try to correct. He really thought that good relationships are the most important thing in learning. I remind myself of this every day and try my best.
Q: If you had the opportunity to meet him what would you like to ask / tell him?
A: I would like more to hear him, to hear what he would think about learning today, what is right to do during Corona- the whole issue of closeness to children, is the essence of education, taken from us the ability to touch, caress with a loving look, touch in writing and encourage. How would he do that? I believe he would not use “zoom”. He would go out to visit his students, waving goodbye when he was at the door of their house.
Q: What is your favorite book/sentence and why?
A:
| “I went back to Warsaw and said that I had a very happy and pleasant stay in Eretz Israel … Mr. Yaakov gave me a book here, which I will study, but I have not started yet, because I have most of the work. And again, I do not have time to study for myself. “ |
I really like this sentence, because it’s amazing to me to think it was in Israel! He visited here twice but did not immigrate to Israel because he did not want to leave his orphanage. Besides he is talking here about the fact that a teacher always needs time to study on his own, and I also like to study. In fact, my page on Janusz Korczak helps me continue to learn from him, every day anew, not only in reading a book – but in practice.
And I love all his sentences! Everyone is smart, his writing is very emotional! This is not customary in books on education. He wrote like a poet with a lot of emotion and always mixed the personal about him and the world of education in general.
Q: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you mention his name?
A: heartache. It hurts me about him and the orphans. It hurts me about the evilness in which children were taken to their deaths because they were Jews. Sometimes when I upload posts to Facebook or choose a quote I do so in tears.
Q: What do you think of him as a human being?
A: He was an amazing man. That’s the truth!. With a real desire to do good in the world. It starts with the fact that he was a doctor, continues with the choice to be a teacher, continues with the fact that he actually wanted to teach Polish children with Jews together, but the Polish government did not approve of him. He had a love for Judaism, but mostly a love for man. Also in his writings from the ghetto, he describes a butterfly he sees trapped in his room and he manages to look at that butterfly with admiration and love, like an innocent little boy. I wish myself never to lose the love of man, and wonder of the world at any age and in any situation, like him.
Q: What do you think of the decision he made when he continued with the children even though the Nazis gave him a chance to be saved?
A: I understand he could not have done otherwise. Could he have let the children go alone? Could he have lived without them? The Poles gave him the right not to go to his death because he was famous even then, and they were afraid that their evil deed would be revealed. He could not live just because he was a “celeb”. He had to go with them. I very much understand the decision. And yet I am very sad about it. I’m sad about the orphaned children that no one let them choose whether to go or not.
Korczak talked a lot about the fact that children also have rights, the fact that they are small does not mean that it is impossible to listen to their opinions. Therefore, he had to go with them and not save himself- just because he is big they are small.
One of the toughest decisions in the world.
Reflection
We found the preparation of this project worthwhile for several reasons. To begin with, the project enabled us to learn more about Janusz Korczak. We think it is very important to learn about him and his impact, what he did for the children in the Holocaust and in general. In addition, we learned a lot about ourselves during the preparation of the project, we improved our skills in technology, preparation of presentations and speaking skills.
We learnt many things while working on the project. First, we learned about his personality, that he had great influence on people and children in particular, and he had many skills. For example, he was a writer, an educator and a doctor. Secondly,
we learned about his personal life some new things like the facts that he was born as Henrik Goldschmid, and he worked in a few jobs except running the orphanage.
We developed a number of skills during our work on this project. Firstly, we were given the opportunity to improve our English speaking skills. Also, we have proven our technological skills, same as “ZOOM” meetings and preparation of presentation, because it is not always possible to meet each other.
We enjoyed working together in a group for a number of reasons. To begin with, when working as a group, it’s nicer and more fun to prepare the project. Moreover, when working in a group, the work is done more quickly and efficiently. In addition, the work is shared between everyone, one can correct the other’s mistakes.
On the one hand, there were things we enjoyed while preparing this project. We enjoyed meeting each other and making the project together, learning more things we did not know about Janusz Korczak and interviewing Rakefet.
On the other hand, there were things we enjoyed less while working on the project. One of them was to find suitable people for the interview. We sent messages and tried to contact several different people but only one person answered us. In addition we had a hard time choosing what more important information to have in the presentation.
In conclusion, we are grateful that we had the opportunity to prepare this project. We were happy to expand our knowledge about Janusz Korczak and discover new things about him. We showed great responsibility for the project and we did our best.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/janusz-korczak-1
https://rm.coe.int/janusz-korczak-the-child-s-right-to-respect/16807ba985
https://create.kahoot.it/details/janusz-korczak/24df185b-8fb1-4a28-959d-cc8b7663128e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INaVgoKOtVc&app=desktop&ab_channel=%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A5KIDZ
Published: Jan 28, 2021
Latest Revision: Jan 28, 2021
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