TO FIX ITS LAGGING EDUCATION, THE U.S. SHOULD TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT POLAND'S SUCCESFUL FORMULA

Poland remains a success story not only with its economy, but even more so, with its educational system, which in the past decade has moved sharply forward from the rear of international pack, and beats now the U.S. on most performance measures. Poland's success has not only been noticed by international educational organizations, but also by American newspapers, i.e. by USA Today, which took a close look last August at Polish education's reform. Apparently, Poland has now the fourth-highest number of higher education students in Europe, only behind the U.K., Germany and France. In reading, Poland is ahead of the U.K., Germany or France, and far ahead of the U.S.. Poland surpassed the U.S. even in math, by placing 19th on a survey by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) whereas the U.S. was ranked at 27th place, well below average.
Pursuant to last year's Pearson's Global Education Index,  the U.S. is ranked in 14th place globally in cognitive skills and educational attainment, whereas Poland, which surpassed the U.S., leaped to 10th place in the world. Following are the top 10 countries in the Pearson's ranking: South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland and Poland (Germany, Denmark and Russia are ahead of the U.S., too).
Poland's curriculum is mostly based on the effects of the education - not just what the students know but what they can do, and how they can use their knowledge practically. Poland started the revamping of its educational system only in 1998, approximately 10 years after the fall of communism, when the country already was flying in the aftermath of market reforms, and deregulation and privatization made Poland's economy one of Europe's fastest growing. But Poland's schools in that period of revamping of its economy still continued to rely on old course materials, with education putting emphasis on producing technicians and vocational workers for heavy industries. Miroslaw Handke, then Minister of Education, got a green light, and with remarkable speed, in a year, academia in Poland was unrecognizable. Poland switched its educational system to a new form of general education that resisted specialization. A year later, in 2000, Poland began leap to the international league tables. By 2012, the last time OECD conducted its survey, Poland was one of the best teaching countries in the world. In fact, its the only one to have gone from below average in the charts, to above average, with its GDP ranking only 46th globally. On key indicators - math, science and reading, it came from behind to rank well ahead of the United States. How did Poland manage to do so? Well, under the revamped system, primary school lasts six years, followed by three years of a new comprehensive lower secondary school, before a decision is made on whether to send a student to vocational training. Knowledge - reading, writing, arithmetic - is valued above technical skill. Foreign language, especially English - became a key component. In 2000 only 1 percent of kids received four hours or more of language classes. By 2006 that figure jumped to 76 percent.
Notwithstanding the success in education, Poland spends only around $5,000 per student annually from primary to tertiary education, but outperforms the United States, which spends three times more than Poland on education of one student. Of course, a part of the educational success is based in the socialist past, when Poland's education system went through its first wide and deep modernization.
The economy in Poland continues to be strong. In fact, Poland was the only European country which did not succumb to 2009 recession (in fact, it registered, as the only country in Europe, a 1.6% growth in 2009). January, 2015 indicators show a booming economy, with over 8 percent growth. However, Poland still remains a low payer for teachers, approximately $650 per month, compared with the national average of all workers of $945 per month (of course, one has to remember that education, healthcare and the rest of social safety net are still provided in Poland free of charge). Obviously, Poland will have to upgrade the salaries of their teachers rather sooner than later. There are also some unexpected sides to the educational success of Poland, i.e. Poland's rapid development of foreign language training has a negative side effect. Many Poles are leaving home to gain skills abroad. While it generally helps the technology sector, if they return, many of them never do, preferring to stay in the U.K., Norway, Germany, Netherlands, France or Austria, where they can count on higher wages. But despite the negative effect of losing so many of creative and energetic young people to economies of Western Europe, Poland's educational system is an example to the whole world, and a stellar proof that its not just the money that makes good students.

Janusz Andrzejewski, a New York City based attorney, writes on legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone (212) 634-4250 or, through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com or jwandrzejewski@gmail.com

LANCE ARMSTRONG: THE MOST SOPHISTICATED DOPING CONSPIRACY IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS

In 1999 Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France. My reaction then was one of total disbelief and shock. I followed cycling for many years and I knew that no one could improve so dramatically within one year without doping. Particularly that Armstrong was already 28 years old. When Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Mercks, Bernard Hinault or Miguel Indurain, the great heros of international cycling, were winning their multiple Tour de France races, they were strong all around riders from the beginning of their careers whereas Lance was mediocre in multiple stage races, which included mountain terrain stages. Prior to 1999 Lance Armstrong was known as an average cyclist in mountain stages whereas he was a very good sprinter who was able to win a flat stage, or he was capable of winning one-stage races on a flat terrain, like for example world championship or one-stage classics. Sprinters like Lance Armstrong, Olaf Ludvig, or Mark Cavendish are not capable of winning multiple stages races like Tour de France, Giro D'Italia or Vuelta Espana, that is without doping. Prior to 1999 Lance Armstrong was never a contender to win the Tour de France, in fact he was happy to finish it 15-30 or more minutes behind the leader. However, suddenly, out of the blue, barely a cancer survivor, he won record seven Tour de France races from 1999 to 2005! All insiders of cycling knew that Armstrong had to dope for, as many insiders said, nobody could have improved at the age of 28 so much or so suddenly change his characteristics as a rider (i.e. a sprinter could not have suddenly become a great mountain rider). Greg LeMond, a great cyclist, from the beginning of his career, knew all this of course, and he could not stomach the great Armstrong lie. He decided to fight Armstrong. But it was not to be easy. Lance Armstrong aided by his doctors and his chief consultant dr. Michele Ferrari, who was known in cycling for helping dopers, and was even convicted for it, continued the big lie. Lance Armstrong refused to dissasociate himself from dr. Ferrari after the latter's conviction, as without him, or without doping, Lance Armstrong would not have been able to win any of the Tours. Lance did not want to fight for a win in Giro D'Italia, as the greats in the past were doing, for the risk of being caught would multiply, and Italy developped strong laws against doping. There was no proper test for EPO in those years in which Armstrong won the Tour de France, therefore he was successful in beating the doping tests (Also, the EPO stayed in blood only for 12 hours, and the tests could not show it if it was taken more than 12 hours prior to the test being applied). Naturally, the tests were not able to show any of the blood transfusions. However, when the doping test for EPO was developped and Armstrong's old blood samples taken in 1999 Tour de France (kept in freezers) were reaxamined, suddenly the authorities had 6 samples proving that Lance doped during the 1999 Tours de France, the first of the Tours that he won. Of course, in the court of law, due to due process one could not rely on old samples, that's why he won a lawsuit when one of the sponsors refused to pay Lance Armstrong $5 million per sponsorship contract. But, his doping was confirmed for all to see, and Armstrong could have acknowledged the doping, but he decided that denial was the proper course for him. He vowed to deny to the end of his life. Since Lance Armstrong was a cancer survivor and was such a big hero to masses, he became a holly cow one could not touch. Over the years I have voiced my opinions regarding his doping and I knew how untouchable Armstrong became to media and fans, particularly in the United States. Suddenly, Greg LeMond, the true American cycling hero, has become an enemy of the American people. Anyone who attempted to touch Armstrong was enemy of the people. Lance Armstrong bullied everyone and played the legal system relying on the rules of evidence and protection afforded usually to those criminally charged. He was supported by the media, corporate sponsors, medical, research and cancer foundations, etc., all those who either drew material gains or who were looking for a great American hero. Thanks to that support, all his former coriders or confidantes who came out and spoke against him, paid the price by being villified, attacked and dragged in dirt by those who supported the Armstrong lies: the cog in the conspiracy - Lance Armstrong himself - and his doctors, sponsors, mostly U.S. media, lawyers, etc. They all bullied and crucified the following whistle blowers: Greg LeMond, Armstrong's teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife Betsy Andreu, journalist and writer David Walsh, Armstrongs' masseuse Emma O'Reilly, cyclist and columnist Christophe Bassons and teammate Floyd Landis, and then more of his former teammates. The most perplexing was Lance Armstrong's attack on Christophe Bassons during the 1999 Tour de France. Bassons was a cyclist who was known as the only cyclist on Festina team who never doped, pursuant to testimony of his doping teammates to the Police. He was known for fighting with doping in cycling and was the author of the phrase of "two speeds" in cycling, one of the dopers and the other of those not doping. During 1999 Tour de France, while himself riding in the Tour, Bassons was also a columnist for "Le Parisien" and in his column he started to question Armstrong's shocking and unexplained bursts of speed; Armstrong cycled to Bassons during one of the stages and bullied him and threatened so viciously, that Christophe Bassons, the cyclist and columnist felt that he had no choice but to leave the Tour, afraid for his own safety. Lance Armstrong's cancer foundation (which apparently raised more than $500 million out of which only $20 million was provided to cancer research, the rest spent on so called cancer awareness, etc.) has been a cash cow for Armstrong's circles, and was a great PR success for Lance Armstrong himself and his shield from doping accusations. More and more people were coming out with revelations about Armstrong's doping, yet Armstrong was able either to play the media or the media were willing participant in his conspiracy, and with support of the media he bullied the few who dared to speak out against him. Yet now, when he was charged officially with doping, when the court of law in Austin, Texas dismissed Armstrong's lawsuit and decided that USADA can proceed with the doping case, Lance Armstrong decided not to appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport and said "enough is enough" in order to stop the witnesses from testifying. This way, he can be stripped of his wins but he still can claim in the court of public opinion that he is a victim of a witchhunt. How smart! It is enough to read various forums online, mostly here in America, to realize to what extent his gullible followers would go to protect the myth of Lance the strong man, the American hero, the man who beat cancer and then won seven Tour the France races, the most grueling sporting event in the world. Should have he decided to proceed with the case in CAS, the public opinion would have heard his confidantes and riders from his team testifying graphically about his doping, taking EPO which after 12 hours would not show in his blood during tests or numerous blood transfusions, or about his doctor predating a prescription for a steroid based ointment which steroid was uncovered in his blood after one of the tests and when his whole team panicked; he would have been finished for all to see. Lance Armstrong is a smart cheater, and always was, so he did not file the appeal with Court for Sport Arbitration, said "enough is enough", by same cutting off any public testimony with graphic details of doping by ten witnesses consisting of his teammates and confidantes! He still is trying to salvage the myth and some of his sponsors. He defended himself in courts when there was no one willing to testify against him. Now, when USADA has 10 witnesses (former co-riders and confidantes of Armstrong) who would graphically disclose the details of Armstrong's doping scheme, he suddenly says "enough is enough". Where is the honor, Mr. Armstrong? Or perhaps, he does not want to enjoy the fate of Marion Jones, who if I remeber correctly also passed all the doping tests? Nobody is perfect in this life, and we all have our own weaknesses, our secrets, we all bear our crosses. We commit our mistakes, our sins, regret them, repent in our own ways and try to become better. We all try to learn from our mistakes. Not Lance Armstrong, though. This man is all about denials, this man bullied and destroyed others in protecting the big lie, this man used the mantle of savior of millions of people struck by cancer to protect the big lie and the money he earned as a result of perpetrating the big lie. This man, as they say, planned to run for the office of the governor of Texas, and then for the U.S. presidency. He made himself a public person and now he should be treated as such. As I hate to throw stones at anybody, for we all are sinners, including myself, I am one of the many who do not have any sympathy for Lance Armstrong, the public persona. But I wish well the tormented human being who hides behind the public image of Lance, the strong man.

Janusz Andrzejewski, is an attorney based in New York, writing on legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone: (212) 634-4250 or through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com