Marcus Chavasse* & Kamila Łabno-Hajduk**
The end of the winter holidays in Poland was just approaching. Students who had been away visiting their families slowly thought about returning, including the Ukrainian students of Anna Skiendziel, a high school teacher from Katowice, Poland. Her students had been to visit their families in Mykolaiv and Uman. She was getting ready to go back to school on Monday 28 February but, as we know, everything changed on the 24th. She did not know if her students were in Poland or Ukraine, when they would come back, or if they would come back at all. Liubov Shynder is Ukrainian and lives in Poland, she is an informal educator and works with international youth groups. She says that in Poland there is an extreme sense of closeness to the situation, you can see and feel it in every step. Taras Oleksyn, a teacher from Lviv, emphasises how important it is to talk to students about what is happening and answer their questions; students should not be left alone.
Between 5 and 6 million children have had their education disrupted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, of which around 3 million have been displaced. School buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and others are still at risk of attack and lack safe locations where teaching can take place. In the occupied territories in the east and south of the country, Russia has already taken over the education system. As of 1 September, students are back in school, and teachers are being coerced into using a modified Russian curriculum. Those that refuse face punishments.
For the teachers, challenges arising from a lack of good resources and the strong emotions that the situation brings still overshadow the didactic opportunities presented by the war; but these opportunities could become more important in the future, when the war is over and Ukraine is able to start rebuilding and reshaping.
Challenges at home and abroad
The migration and displacement of students affects the work of all educators. The vast internal migration within Ukraine led a lot of people to Lviv, Taras’ hometown. With a population of around 1 million before the war, it is difficult to say with certainty just how many people have passed through or settled since. “According to official statistics, about 300,000 refugees came to our city,” notes Taras, “some estimate that over 3 million people have come through Lviv, others more than 5 million.” Those that travel through Lviv often go abroad to Poland and other countries. Of these, around 15 Ukrainian students ended up in Ania’s school in Katowice, in addition to the handful of Ukrainian students already studying there since before the war. “There weren't so many,” she says, “so we were able to concentrate more on this small group and help them and their families.” There are some new students in Taras’ classrooms, too, but many of his old students have left to go abroad with their mothers - their fathers must remain in the country. Thanks to the prevalence of online teaching as a result of the pandemic, he is still able to teach some of them; but this also means that new students arriving in Lviv often continue their education online at their old schools, rather than starting at a new school. “Many decided that it would be better for them to not go to a new school, but to return to their home school at the beginning of the new school year,” he says, pointing towards the optimism of many Ukrainians that the situation would have deescalated by the autumn. As we see, the war is still ongoing and these students are, for the most part, continuing their education online.
Despite the high number of Ukrainian students arriving in Polish schools, Liubov is yet to have the chance to work with refugees. Although this would be an interesting new experience, in some ways she is glad that the opportunity has not presented itself: “We had one group planned with two Ukrainian kids, but they got sick. I was worried about this group for a whole week beforehand.” It was not only the question of what language she should use with the group that was causing her concern: the nature of her work is to talk about emotionally challenging topics such as discrimination and the Holocaust, and she worried that this would be inappropriate for students coming from a situation of war and disaster; she wasn’t sure how they would react.
Despite online education still being the most popular - and indeed safest - option in Ukraine, all educators said that finding a degree of normality is very important at the moment, and that means going back to school. Not only is it useful to get back into a familiar routine, picking up the language and making friends is necessary, especially for Ukrainian students in Poland: “Other kids are curious about them because they came from somewhere they’ve seen on TV,” says Liubov. It’s not only the students that can provide help, of course. In Ania’s school, the number of ‘Polish as a foreign language’ lessons increased from two to ten per week. “I don’t know how my headmistress organised it!” she laughs, but the Ukrainian students are definitely benefiting from it: “They were able to integrate themselves well in these lessons, which is a testament to my friends who teach ‘Polish as a foreign language’.” Taras, ever the optimist, sees great value in students from different regions now being in the same classroom: “I see all these migrations as a positive thing for Ukraine … it’s a great opportunity to help these children understand each other better … it’s a chance for them to become more united.”
Teaching the war
Ania is a teacher of history and civics, so was supposedly most qualified to help prepare herself and fellow teachers for the potentially difficult conversations they might face. She was prepared not only to answer questions on concrete topics like Ukrainian history and Vladimir Putin, but also more difficult questions about why the war is happening. Taras also sees it as his task, and the task of teachers in general, to be able to answer these questions: “If teachers don't talk to students and answer their questions, someone else will.” Russian propaganda is already being rolled out in the occupied territories in Ukraine, where students have been taught Russian language, literature, and history over the summer. As of the start of the new school year, Russia has been accused of ‘weaponising education’: using the curriculum to discredit the independent statehood of Ukraine and promote a pro-Russian agenda.
Ania Skiendziel. Photo: Stefano di Pietro, 2021
In terms of the resources available to teachers to help them talk to students about the war, there was no swift response from the Polish Ministry of Education: “At first everything came from grassroots initiatives: teachers, educational and non-profit organisations,” explains Ania. “Of course, the Ministry of Education woke up and prepared something, but it was essentially the same as what we already had, so it didn’t really matter for us.” Since then, a Polish history textbook has been officially translated into Ukrainian, but without any methodological solutions about how this history should be taught to students who may have heard different narratives during their education in Ukraine. In the long shared history of Poland and Ukraine, several episodes are contentious, such as the massacres of Poles by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Wołyń during WWII. This event is known as the ‘Wołyń tragedy’ in Ukrainian, but as the much more provocative ‘Wołyń slaughter’ in Polish. For Ania, whose family is from Wołyń, this is a particularly sensitive topic.
In Ukraine, the situation is similar. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education, as well as certain NGOs, are focusing on preparing materials for students who are missing lessons to be able to catch up, as opposed to materials on the war itself. “In schools,” notes Taras, “we have been preparing different books and texts about the current situation, as well as ‘life hacks’ for teachers about how to talk to students about the war and its problems.” There are several online platforms where resources and materials can be shared. A lot of new materials have already been created, many also dealing with contentious aspects of history, especially between Russia and Ukraine. However, Russian authorities are also busy creating new materials for use in the occupied territories to re-educate students there.
A major problem in Poland is the assessment of Ukrainian students. The school systems, curricula and grading systems are totally different, let alone the language, which makes it almost impossible for Ukrainian students to successfully take exams in Poland. The solution from the Ministry of Education was to simply prepare the questions in Ukrainian. “It’s basically impossible for a Ukrainian student to analyse a text or a poem in Polish,” explains Ania, “and only 22% of the Ukrainian students managed to pass this Polish exam, so we have a clear problem here.” And it mustn’t be forgotten that these students have arrived in Poland from a warzone. “Their homes were destroyed, and now we have to give them a grade - how can we do this?” she asks.
A marathon, not a sprint
“We knew that this would be a marathon, not a sprint. We had to prepare ourselves for this marathon; our emotional and physical wellbeing was - and still is - very important.” - Ania Skiendziel
Emotionally, the war has taken its toll on us all. Liubov tries not to let emotions get the better of her but uses the current situation to talk to students about emotions, which she feels is a very important task for a teacher - now even more so. “I think emotions are key in this: we can’t theorise anymore; we have to deal with practicalities such as how we feel and what we fear … There is a big possibility that we are all experiencing the same, or at least similar emotions caused by the same event which makes it a good chance to talk about it.” Emotions have the capability to get the better of us, particularly teenagers, and working to understand what they are feeling and why can help avoid hatred and radicalisation. Ania has had a similar experience, even becoming closer with her students as a result: “In Polish schools there can often be a sort of feudal hierarchy, with students at the bottom, teachers in the middle, and the Minister of Education at the top. But now, I feel like the students and I are more on the same level. They know and I know that we are experiencing the same emotions and that there are things that none of us understand.”
The emotions of the educator themselves are not to be underestimated. Self-care is extremely important as teachers can often bear the brunt not only of their own emotions, but also the emotions of the students. “I like to think that I stayed very strong at school, but in the beginning I cried a lot at home,” admits Ania. Liubov feels that honesty is the best policy: “It's about understanding the limits of what you can do. We should admit to the students that we can’t do everything, we don’t know everything, that some things make us cry, make us scared.” After having taught about WWII and the Holocaust for years - she works as an educator at the Krzyzowa foundation in Lower Silesia, often preparing students for trips to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp - the war means she now feels these topics much more deeply on an emotional level, because it’s happening in the place where she grew up, and to people that she knows. Ania remembers crying during one of her lessons at school: “It was actually a good thing because it's a natural emotion. For 2 weeks straight I was talking about the war in almost every lesson.”
But it’s important that teachers are there for students. In Taras’ case, he feels it’s his job to create a space for students to be able to talk about the war, even if it’s at the expense of the topics he ‘should’ be talking about. “We’re trying to show the children that our school and teachers are always with them; we’re on their side. The curriculum is not as important as their lives and ideas.” He is also trying hard to stay positive for his students. “Almost all Ukrainians are living under stress right now. We have so-called ‘safe’ areas, but no one is in a totally safe zone.” Nevertheless, he is trying to be optimistic and look to the future: “It’s very important for students to understand that although they are living in a stressful period, they have the chance to be winners, and to know that they will have a good future if they stay strong.”
Historia magistra vitae est
The challenges presented by the war are taking their toll on thousands of teachers in Ukraine and elsewhere, yet despite the difficulties, certain silver linings to the black clouds of war have presented themselves since the start of the war. The situation offers new didactic techniques and comparisons, and points towards a time where the education system and curriculum can be revamped and modernised.
The fact that a war is happening in one’s country, or in a neighbouring country, adds a whole new perspective when learning about wars from the past. During her emotional preparation sessions, Liubov now finds it impossible not to bring up examples of what is happening right now. She notes that students have also begun making comparisons on their own: “They see that there was a war, and now there is a war; that people had to flee back then and they’re fleeing now.” Through these comparisons, students are able to much more easily put themselves in the shoes of those who were alive during WWII, which allows for a heightened sense of empathy.
Similar comparisons are evident for Taras. It isn’t the first time that Russia and Ukraine have been at war, and his students are able to draw parallels between the current war and the Ukrainian War of Independence of 1917-21, or events under the Cossack Hetmanate of the 17th and 18th centuries, for example. “With this modern experience, our students have the brilliant opportunity to understand their ancestors from those periods … our task as teachers of history is to try to make our teaching more relevant and give our students the possibility to understand that historia magistra vitae est (history is the teacher of life).” Of course, not all parallels are useful: the Russian government’s insistence that Nazism is rife in Ukraine, coupled with the cult of victory surrounding WWII, is a vital lynchpin in domestic support for the ‘special military operation’.
Taras Oleksin. Photo: Stefano di Pietro, 2021
Taras points to the failure of Russian history education as being a key reason why the current war is taking place, another reason why the takeover of the education system in the occupied territories is such an unpleasant thought for many. In order to avoid a similar occurrence in the future, Ukraine needs to be able to deal with its own past and learn history in a way that is not overly nationalist or aggressive, or too pacifist.
Shifts in attitudes
The war is also responsible for a shift in attitudes towards refugees. In an exercise on human rights, Liubov has students create an imaginary country which is faced with 1000 refugees fleeing from a drought in a neighbouring country. Students have to decide how to deal with the situation. Where before students’ attitudes were more conservative and cautious, now they are happier to put aside a portion of their budget to set up temporary housing and extend a helping hand to the refugees. This highlights other issues, not least the fact that now refugees are seen as white, attitudes have immediately changed. And whether the students’ worldview has changed significantly is also questionable: there is still little sympathy for the hundreds of refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border. Nevertheless, she is hopeful that stereotypes are changing, and not just amongst students. In Ukraine, the mass internal migration has enabled Ukrainians to see what life is like in other regions: “It’s a good opportunity to get rid of the stereotypes of the so-called ‘pro-Ukrainian’ West and so-called ‘pro-Russian’ East,” claims Taras.
Defensive history
“When children are trying to understand why this is happening and what we are fighting for, we can say with certainty that it’s for a potentially brighter future.” - Taras Oleksyn
One thing that Taras is sure of is that one day this war will end. His admirable ability to remain optimistic does not mean he holds a rose-tinted view of the situation. He repeatedly states how terrible the war is and the fact that everybody in Ukraine has lost somebody close to them. But he does see the inevitable end of the war as a unique opportunity to reassess and rebuild, and not only the things that have been destroyed. “We have too many pro-Russian narratives in our lesson plans,” he complains, “ it would be better for the educational system to create something new to show our past without such narratives.” In Russia and other post-Soviet countries, the education system is often too ‘patriotic’ and nationalistic, which Taras believes to be detrimental. He is all for showing students why they can love a country, but not why they should love a country, which is what he proposes as ‘defensive education’.
The question of how Ukrainians should remember the war will come up one day, and there are a number of options of how they can go about it. One of them would be to take a phrase such as ‘never again’, create myths to forget about the horrible events that took place and move on, like what happened after WWII. Another option, of which Taras is an advocate, is to understand that with a neighbour like Russia, the threat of war will never fully go away: “Ukrainians will be forced to remember about this war in order to be ready for future escalations if Russia ever tries again.”
“I don’t want to see this war - or even victory - as something glorious, like Victory Day in Russia, we shouldn’t think like that. But our children and future generations should understand that this war is only a part of a total war between our nations - an existential war for Ukrainians. That’s why how we should deal with this problem and how we should learn this part of history are very important questions. We need to prepare our future generations for potential aggression from our neighbours, but at the same time not turn them into aggressors themselves.”
Marcus Chavasse is a project manager at EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, working on the historical memory and education programme Confronting Memories and providing support to history teachers from across Europe in preparing multiperspective lesson materials on WWII.
Kamila Łabno-Hajduk is a historian and political scientist working at College of Eastern Europe in Poland. She cooperates with the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum on providing support to history teachers from across Europe.
