The kids are alright – its the parents

Talent turned out by schools and universities in Poland is recognised as top-notch. But there may be trouble ahead if learning is restricted to classrooms.

As a parent and university teacher and every now and again I get a glimpse of something not going so well.

On paper, Poland got a lot right over the past couple of decades.The country’s 15 year-olds were ranked 15th globally for mathematics in the OECD’s PISA tests, in 2022. Meanwhile, in 2025 a group of school students finished joint 4th in an International Mathematical Olympiad.

Reading statistics are more layered. While the literacy rate is 99.8 proc., PISA found as many as 40 proc. of adults have difficulty understanding texts, compared to 16 proc. in Britain. This suggests that the Polish system is failing to prepare pupils ready for more complex career paths.

In Warsaw I am mostly mixing with business or media types who are very ambitious for their kids. My Polish students at Kozmiński University are bilingual. The school teachers I meet are mostly in top high schools. If anything, the parents are overambitious for their kids.

It took a trip 150 km outside Warsaw to the town of S and a discussion with a primary school teacher to get a better picture of how education looks for the country’s youngest pupils.

Compared to a large city like Wrocław, where 8-th class 15-year old pupils scored 69 proc. for Polish and 56 proc. for maths in 2025, S’s school intake scored 62 proc. and 45 proc. respectively.

„Its a thankless job these days”, Ania, a teacher in her early forties told me. „I asked my seven year olds if they know the story of The Snow Queen. No reply. The Ugly Duckling, Snow White, The Three Pigs. You name it, they had never been told any of those fairy tales”, „Their parents don’t read to them, she said, with a look of disbelief on her face. „They don’t even get taught nursery rhymes, like „here comes the crab, when he catches you he goes snap!”

So she sets about teaching them these stories, the canon of children’s literature. But that is not enough.

„They don’t go out to play. They get driven everywhere. The boys might play a bit of football, but the girls do nothing”, Ania complained. Her pupils have been pacified with a cell phone and many are „hunched over like old people”.

„What kids didn’t pick up from their parents, they learnt from their friends, their cousins, from interactions in the town. Now that is all gone”, Ania says despondently, eyes down miming smartphone scrolling.

The scrolling reflex can also be observed in my 19-year-olds in Warsaw if they are not engaged with real-life examples and class debates.

A ban on smartphone use for Polish pupils aged 7-15 goes into effect as of 1 September, along with compulsory age checks on social media. Australia was the pioneer in this regard, introducing a ban in December 2025.

For Ania, the ban is only part of the solution. The change also has to take place at home level and people have to get out of their cars and their homes.

„They don’t get exposed to outside noises, like the sound of a car coming, insects. Smells. So she takes them out for walks, to experience life.

„I have to tell them to watch out for bollards. Literally, on one trip seven of them smacked right into bollards as they were walking along, as they have never developed any street savvy”.

A couple of generations ago many children in S would have been slowly preparing themselves for a trade or work on a farm or factory. Those same parents have higher ambitions for their kids but don’t realise they have to be involved in the education process and keeping an eye on the amount of their kids’ screen time. Most importantly, they need to steer them towards more active activities to help their overall development.