All over the world, proud parents drop their children at the gates of schools, dreaming about what they might accomplish. They entrust teachers with the duty of nurturing their development and opening their eyes to a wonderful world of possibilities.

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Of course it’s a huge responsibility. The question is: is that responsibility reflected in their social status and pay? Are teachers getting enough respect? Are they getting paid enough?

While Europe ranks as the best place to teach in terms of salaries, Poland is definitely not one of the countries with high teacher’s salaries.

Yesterday, about 20,000 thousands of state employees in Poland, including teachers (nauczyciele), firefighters (strażacy) and health workers (pracownicy służby zdrowia), have protested in Warsaw to demand higher wages. As you know, Poland’s economy is booming and wages have been rising in the private sectors. But average experienced teachers in public schools earn not more than $1000 a month and starting salaries are much less than that.

Thousands of teachers who turned out also demanded the dismissal of the country’s education minister (Anna Zalewska). Protestants say an overhaul of Poland’s educational system has brought chaos and made their jobs more difficult. Hopefully the protest will help to resolve at least some issues.

Teaching is very demanding and I think that the salaries in Poland are not enough. It is not motivating, and if Poland needs to advance its education system, the salaries of teachers have to come with it. But despite the cracks, Poland’s educational system is an example to most other countries, and proof that it’s not just money that makes good students.

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