Post by Bonobo on Sept 16, 2008 20:25:27 GMT 1
This time it is parents who go on strike....
Polish schools facing more absentee parents
By Laurie Goering
The Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2008
WARSAW — Since their country joined the European Union in 2004, Polish workers looking for better-paying jobs have become a staple at British restaurants, Irish construction sites and German farm fields.
But as Poles have rushed abroad to work, a worrying number of them have left behind their children, often with relatives and sometimes on their own. That family separation is leading to falling test scores, growing truancy and a host of other problems among what Polish school authorities are calling the country's "euro orphans."
"Kids get into trouble with the law, have social problems, behavior and attitude problems in school, and absences," said Anna Wesolowska, a Ministry of Education official in Warsaw charged with looking into the phenomenon. "The lack of supervision is a problem."
A study released in June by Poland's national ombudsman for children's rights shows that in some southern regions of the country, up to 43 percent of Polish children have at least one parent absent from the home. Most schools surveyed around the country report at least a handful of children staying with grandparents, older siblings or by themselves after both parents went abroad for work.
Most of those left behind are older children whose parents think they will have more stability and continuity in their education at home than in a new school in a new language abroad. But in many cases, the lack of supervision that comes with parental absence "is a slippery slope for kids," said Teresa Zakowicz, principal at Wladyslw Grbski technical and secondary school in Warsaw.
Counting on herself
Malgorzata Skup, a teacher at Zakowicz's school, recently saw a 16-year-old girl in her class left alone in a rental apartment after both of her parents, who were divorced, went abroad to work. The girl, who had only a tenuous relationship with her grandparents, "could count on herself only," Skup recalled.
At first the girl managed to do the shopping, cooking and cleaning as well as her homework, the teacher said. But eventually she fell behind in her chores, was evicted from her apartment and, despite being a "clever" girl, failed to pass her exams, Skup said.
"Sometimes parents think if the kid was not a problem child, it will be the same when they leave. But that changes automatically, " Zakowicz said.
Tracking down "euro orphans" is not easy in Poland. School rules forbid violating the privacy of students by providing their names or access to them for interviews.
In the past year, Polish school authorities have launched a thorough study of the problem after "absent parents" was cited as a growing reason for truancy in many schools. An initial survey of 1,266 schools found only 213 students with both parents away, but "we think this is an underestimate, " Wesolowska said. Another recent study, by the European Law Foundation, suggests that 1 in 9 Polish children have at least one parent abroad for work.
In many cases parents return in a matter of months or manage to make regular visits home, the studies found. But in some cases, parents are gone for six months or longer, and efforts at supervision by grandparents, neighbors or older siblings fall short.
"Children need not only care for their basic needs but also an emotionally stable environment and help with homework," said Elzbieta Kalinowska, a family therapist who has looked into the "euro orphans" problem. A grandfather might be able to make sure a child goes to school in clean clothes and having eaten breakfast, she said, but might not be able to help that child figure out math problems or cope with bullying.
Behavioral problems
Those gaps in help and supervision often show up in school as unexplained absences, low test scores and behavioral problems, experts say. And the problems extend to classmates and friends of children left behind as well as the children themselves, school officials say.
"We have youth groups meeting in a house with no parents, and you can imagine what happens," Zakowicz said. "For me this is a vast problem."
Polish school authorities, increasingly aware of the risks, are moving to create support networks for those left behind, from counseling services to free school lunches. Schools also have added special summer catch-up lessons for children who accompanied their parents abroad for work and are returning home, Wesolowska said.
The best solution to Poland's problem, however, may already be on the way: more jobs at home.
As Western European economies and currencies show signs of weakening under the weight of a growing international credit crunch and falling home prices, jobs abroad are becoming less profitable and a flood of Poles have begun to return home.
The country's unemployment rate, once close to 20 percent, has been cut to under 7 percent thanks to strong economic growth. And young Polish workers are increasingly getting better technical training that allows them to seek skilled work at home rather than trying to sell their unskilled labor abroad.
That suggests "the problem of 'euro-orphaned' kids should get smaller," Kalinowska said. After all, separation "is difficult for parents and for kids too."
Polish schools facing more absentee parents
By Laurie Goering
The Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2008
WARSAW — Since their country joined the European Union in 2004, Polish workers looking for better-paying jobs have become a staple at British restaurants, Irish construction sites and German farm fields.
But as Poles have rushed abroad to work, a worrying number of them have left behind their children, often with relatives and sometimes on their own. That family separation is leading to falling test scores, growing truancy and a host of other problems among what Polish school authorities are calling the country's "euro orphans."
"Kids get into trouble with the law, have social problems, behavior and attitude problems in school, and absences," said Anna Wesolowska, a Ministry of Education official in Warsaw charged with looking into the phenomenon. "The lack of supervision is a problem."
A study released in June by Poland's national ombudsman for children's rights shows that in some southern regions of the country, up to 43 percent of Polish children have at least one parent absent from the home. Most schools surveyed around the country report at least a handful of children staying with grandparents, older siblings or by themselves after both parents went abroad for work.
Most of those left behind are older children whose parents think they will have more stability and continuity in their education at home than in a new school in a new language abroad. But in many cases, the lack of supervision that comes with parental absence "is a slippery slope for kids," said Teresa Zakowicz, principal at Wladyslw Grbski technical and secondary school in Warsaw.
Counting on herself
Malgorzata Skup, a teacher at Zakowicz's school, recently saw a 16-year-old girl in her class left alone in a rental apartment after both of her parents, who were divorced, went abroad to work. The girl, who had only a tenuous relationship with her grandparents, "could count on herself only," Skup recalled.
At first the girl managed to do the shopping, cooking and cleaning as well as her homework, the teacher said. But eventually she fell behind in her chores, was evicted from her apartment and, despite being a "clever" girl, failed to pass her exams, Skup said.
"Sometimes parents think if the kid was not a problem child, it will be the same when they leave. But that changes automatically, " Zakowicz said.
Tracking down "euro orphans" is not easy in Poland. School rules forbid violating the privacy of students by providing their names or access to them for interviews.
In the past year, Polish school authorities have launched a thorough study of the problem after "absent parents" was cited as a growing reason for truancy in many schools. An initial survey of 1,266 schools found only 213 students with both parents away, but "we think this is an underestimate, " Wesolowska said. Another recent study, by the European Law Foundation, suggests that 1 in 9 Polish children have at least one parent abroad for work.
In many cases parents return in a matter of months or manage to make regular visits home, the studies found. But in some cases, parents are gone for six months or longer, and efforts at supervision by grandparents, neighbors or older siblings fall short.
"Children need not only care for their basic needs but also an emotionally stable environment and help with homework," said Elzbieta Kalinowska, a family therapist who has looked into the "euro orphans" problem. A grandfather might be able to make sure a child goes to school in clean clothes and having eaten breakfast, she said, but might not be able to help that child figure out math problems or cope with bullying.
Behavioral problems
Those gaps in help and supervision often show up in school as unexplained absences, low test scores and behavioral problems, experts say. And the problems extend to classmates and friends of children left behind as well as the children themselves, school officials say.
"We have youth groups meeting in a house with no parents, and you can imagine what happens," Zakowicz said. "For me this is a vast problem."
Polish school authorities, increasingly aware of the risks, are moving to create support networks for those left behind, from counseling services to free school lunches. Schools also have added special summer catch-up lessons for children who accompanied their parents abroad for work and are returning home, Wesolowska said.
The best solution to Poland's problem, however, may already be on the way: more jobs at home.
As Western European economies and currencies show signs of weakening under the weight of a growing international credit crunch and falling home prices, jobs abroad are becoming less profitable and a flood of Poles have begun to return home.
The country's unemployment rate, once close to 20 percent, has been cut to under 7 percent thanks to strong economic growth. And young Polish workers are increasingly getting better technical training that allows them to seek skilled work at home rather than trying to sell their unskilled labor abroad.
That suggests "the problem of 'euro-orphaned' kids should get smaller," Kalinowska said. After all, separation "is difficult for parents and for kids too."
