Komisja Edukacji Narodowej
Encyclopedia
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, created by the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
and king Stanisław August Poniatowski on October 14, 1773. Because of its vast authority and autonomy, it is considered the first Ministry
Ministry (government department)
A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...
of Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in history and an important achievement of the Polish Enlightenment.
History
The beginning
The basic reason for its creation was that in Poland and LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
Jesuits run an extensive system of educational institutions. Although the Jesuit schools were fairly efficient and provided the Polish youth with a good education, they were also very conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
. In addition, in 1773 the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
decided to close down the Jesuit order (Dominus ac Redemptor
Dominus ac Redemptor
Dominus ac Redemptor is the papal brief promulgated on 21 July 1773 by which Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus.-Circumstances:...
). This threatened a complete breakdown of education in the Commonwealth.
One of the first items on the agenda of the Partition Sejm
Partition Sejm
The Partition Sejm was a Sejm lasting from 1773 to 1776 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, convened by its three neighbours in order to legalize their First Partition of Poland. During its first days in session, that Sejm was the site of Tadeusz Rejtan famous gesture of protest...
(1773-1775), which acceded to the First Partition of Poland
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
, was the disposition of former Jesuit property and ensuring the continuity of the education system.
The Commission was formally created on October 14, 1773. It was one of the newly set up "Grand Commissions"; organizations with the status of a ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
but a collegiate structure. Its main organiser and chief figure was a Catholic priest, Hugo Kołłątaj; other notable supporters included Ignacy Potocki and Adam K. Czartoryski. Initially the body was formed of 4 senators and 4 members of the Sejm, half of them representing the eastern voivodships of the Commonwealth (from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
). The first head of the KEN was Prince Bishop Michał Jerzy Poniatowski. Although the other members were mostly magnate politicians, the factual creators of the body were prominent writers and scientists of the epoch: Franciszek Bieliński
Franciszek Bielinski
Franciszek Bieliński of Junosza was a Polish politician and statesman. A Grand Marshal of the Crown, Marshal of Prussia and a voivode of Chełmno, he is best remembered as a strong proponent of the expansion and the modernisation of the city of Warsaw...
, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:...
, Feliks Oraczewski, Andrzej Gawroński
Andrzej Gawronski
Andrzej Gawroński was a Polish Indologist, linguist and polyglot...
, Dawid Pilchowski, Hieronim Stroynowski and Grzegorz Piramowicz
Armenians in Poland
Armenians in Poland have an important and historical presence going back to the 14th century. According to the Polish census of 2002, there are 1,082 self-identifying Armenians in Poland,, although Armenian-oriented sources cite estimates as high as 92,000....
. They were joined by Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was a French nobleman, writer, economist, and government official, who was the father of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of E.I...
, the secretary of the King of Poland (and father of the founder of the DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
company).
Although initially the KEN had to face strong opposition inside of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
, it was supported by both the king and the Familia
Familia
Familia was the name of a Polish political party led by the Czartoryski magnates and families allied with them, and formed toward the end of the reign of King August II...
party, which gave it almost complete independence.
Early period (1773-1780)
In 1773 the KEN was granted much of the former property of the Jesuit order, including all the schools, and many palaces and church-owned villages. Thanks to that the Commission had not only the necessary infrastructure, but also its own profitable farms.The Commission supervised two universities (the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and the Vilna University
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
in Wilno), 74 secondary schools and about 1600 parish schools. The third Commonwealth's university, the Lwów University, has been lost to the Austrian Partition
Austrian partition
The Austrian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Austrian Empire during the partitions of Poland in late 18th century.-History:...
.
Soon afterwards Hugo Kołłątaj prepared a three-level education plan:
- Parochial schools - for peasants and burghers
- PowiatPowiatA powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
schools - mostly for children of the szlachtaSzlachtaThe szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
(nobility), but children of lower classes were also admitted - Universities - Academy of Warsaw, Academy of VilniusVilnius UniversityVilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
and Academy of KrakówJagiellonian UniversityThe Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
Since that all prior education in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was conducted mostly in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, the KEN faced a problem of an almost complete lack of books and manuals. To cope with that problem a Society of Elementary Books
Society of Elementary Books
The Society for Elementary Books was an institution formed by Poland's Commission of National Education in Warsaw in 1775...
(Towarzystwo Ksiąg Elementarnych) was formed. The Society sponsored competitions for creating the best textbooks. The scientists working on the new Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
textbooks at times had to invent the necessary specialised vocabulary. Much of the vocabulary they invented related to chemistry, physics, mathematics or grammar is still in use.
The Commission also prepared several documents describing the whole educational process. However, several of the new rules were considered too revolutionary and often disobeyed. This included, for instance, equality of both sexes in education. Finally, in 1780 the opposition refused to sign the statute of elementary schools prepared by Kołłątaj.
In 1774 the Commission took over the Załuski Library.
Second phase (1781-1788)
After the formative period, in which all the legal borders of the Commission were established, the KEN started to convert schools to the new model. The three universities in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
were granted the right of curatorship over schools of lower degree. This included the schools that remained under the influence of the church. Gradually, the teachers, who were frequently former Jesuit priests, were exchanged for young lay teachers, graduates of the three academies. Thanks to that, the opposition inside the local schools was finally broken.
Third phase (1788-1794)
After 1789 the supporters of reforms in the Polish SejmSejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
gradually started to lose their influence. Similarly, the KEN was deprived of many of its former privileges. During the Sejm Wielki the Reformers had to sacrifice many of them in order to gain support for the Constitution of May the 3rd. Finally, after the victory of the Confederation of Targowica in 1794 the KEN lost control over most schools in the Commonwealth and many of its members were banished or had to escape abroad. This included Hugo Kołłątaj himself, who had to escape to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
Effects
Although the Commission only operated for roughly 20 years, it managed to completely change the shape of education in Poland. The EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
-based school programmes and books influenced a whole generation of Poles. Also, although education was still far from being universal, it reached a much wider group of people, including peasants. The thousands of teachers trained in lay teachers' seminaries became the backbone of Polish science during the Partitions
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
and the generation educated in the schools created and supervised by the KEN became the most prominent personalities of the Polish Uprisings and of politics in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
in the 19th century. In addition, the 27 elementaries textbooks and manuals published by the commission laid the foundations for Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
terminology in chemistry, physics, logics, grammar and mathematics. They were used by all prominent Polish scientists and authors of the 19th century, from Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
to Bolesław Prus and from the Lwów School of Mathematics
Lwów School of Mathematics
The Lwów School of Mathematics was a group of mathematicians who worked between the two World Wars in Lviv, then known as Lwów and located in Poland, but now located in western Ukraine. The mathematicians often met at the famous Scottish Café to discuss mathematical problems, and published in the...
to the Lwów-Warsaw School of History. The guidebook to chemistry by Jędrzej Śniadecki
Jedrzej Sniadecki
Jędrzej Śniadecki was a Polish writer, physician, chemist and biologist. His achievements include the creation of modern Polish terminology in the field of chemistry.-Life and work:...
was used in Polish schools well into the 1930s.
It is often argued that because of the efforts of the Commission of National Education the Polish language and culture did not disappear during the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, despite heavy Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
and Germanisation
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
.