Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (KEN, Polish: "Commission of National Education," a kind of National Board of Education) was the central educational authority in Poland, created by the Sejm and king Stanisław August Poniatowski on October 14, 1773. Because of its vast authority and autonomy, it is considered the first ministry of education in history and an important achievement of Polish Enlightenment. Centralization is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group. ... In politics, authority (Latin auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to potestas and imperium) is often used interchangeably with the term power. However, their meanings differ. ... The Sejm building in Warsaw. ... For other persons named StanisÅ‚aw Poniatowski, see StanisÅ‚aw Poniatowski. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... In politics, authority (Latin auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to potestas and imperium) is often used interchangeably with the term power. However, their meanings differ. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ... The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later then in the Western Europe, as Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Golden Freedoms) were in deep crisis. ...

The basic reason for creation of the commission was that in Poland education was almost entirely controlled by the Jesuits. Although the Jesuit schools were fairly efficient and provided the Polish youth with a good education, they were also very conservative. In addition, in 1773 the pope decided to close down the Jesuit order, which could have resulted in a complete breakdown of education in Poland. The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Conservatism is a political philosophy that usually favors traditional values and strong foreign defense. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ...

History

The beginning

The commission was formally created on October 14, 1773. Its main organiser and chief figure was a Catholic priest, Hugo Kołłątaj. Initially the body was formed of 4 senators and 4 members of Sejm, half of them representing the eastern voivodships of the Commonwealth (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania). The first head of the KEN was Prince Bishop Michał Jerzy Poniatowski. Although other members were mostly magnate politicians, the factual creators of the body were prominent writers and scientists of the epoch: Franciszek Bieliński, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Feliks Oraczewski, Andrzej Gawroński, Dawid Pilchowski, Hieronim Stroynowski and Grzegorz Piramowicz. They were joined by Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours, the secretary of the King of Poland and father of the founder of the DuPont company. October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Noble Family KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj Coat of Arms Kotwica Parents Antoni KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj Marianna MierzeÅ„ska Consorts None Children None Date of Birth April 1, 1750 Place of Birth NiecisÅ‚owice Date of Death February 28, 1812 Place of Death Warsaw Hugo KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj (1750-1812) was a Polish Roman Catholic... The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and PogoÅ„ in Polish Another version of the Lithuanian banner The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji KunigaikÅ¡tystÄ—, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ), Polish: Wielkie KsiÄ™stwo Litewskie) was an... A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial prince of the church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent nobiliary titles held concurrently with their inherent clerical office. ... Noble Family Poniatowski. ... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ... Franciszek BieliÅ„ski (1683 - 1766) Grand Marshal of the Crown, voivode of CheÅ‚mno. ... Categories: 1758 births | 1841 deaths | Polish writers | Polish nobility | People stubs ... Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739 - 1817 August 7), born in Paris, France, was the founder of a dynamic and innovative family of entrepreneurs. ... Poland was ruled by dukes (c. ... This article is about the DuPont company. ...

Although initially the KEN had to face strong opposition inside of the Sejm, it was supported by both the king and the Familia party, which gave it almost complete independence. The Sejm building in Warsaw. ... Familia (The Family, from the Latin 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 (reigned 1697-1706, 1709-1733). ...

Early period (1773-1780)

In 1773 the KEN was granted all the former property of the Jesuit order, including the schools, palaces and church-owned villages. Thanks to that the commission had not only the necessary infrastructure, but also its own profitable farms. Soon afterwards Hugo Kołłątaj prepared a three-level education plan: 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Look up Ken, ken in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

1. Parochial schools - for peasants and burghers
2. Powiat schools - mostly for children of szlachta, but children of lower classes were also admitted
3. Universities - Academy of Warsaw, Academy of Wilno and Academy of Kraków

Since education in Poland was until then conducted mostly in Latin, the KEN faced a problem of an almost complete lack of books and manuals. to cope with that problem a Society of Elementary Books (Towarzystwo Ksiąg Elementarnych) was formed. The scientists working on the new Polish language text-books 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. A county (Polish: powiat, pronounced povyat; plural, powiaty) is the Polish third-level unit of administration, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (NUTS-4 or rather LAU-1) in other countries. ... Polish szlachcic. ... Warsaw University (Polish: ) is one of the largest universities in Poland. ... Vilnius University (Lithuanian Vilniaus Universitetas, Polish Uniwersytet Wileński, formerly Stefan Batory University) is the oldest and biggest university in Lithuania. ... Jagiellonian University (Polish: Uniwersytet JagielloÅ„ski, often shortened to UJ) is located in Krakow, Poland, and has been ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement as the best Polish university. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Polish (jÄ™zyk polski, polszczyzna) is the official language of Poland. ...

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 commission took over the famous Załuski Library. 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Chesma Column in Tsarskoe Selo, commemorating the end of the Russo-Turkish War. ... ZaÅ‚uski Library The ZaÅ‚uski Library (Zalusciana, Biblioteka ZaÅ‚uskich) was built in Warsaw 1747–1795 by Józef Andrzej ZaÅ‚uski and his brother, Andrzej StanisÅ‚aw ZaÅ‚uski, both Catholic bishops. ...

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 Warsaw, Wilno and Kraków 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. Warsaw (Polish: , , in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: ) is the capital of Poland, its largest city, and a gamma world city. ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes Vilna; Polish Wilno, Belarusian Вільня, Russian Вильнюс, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital city of Lithuania. ... Wawel Hill. ...

Third phase (1788-1794)

After 1789 the supporters of reforms in the Polish 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 Poland and many of its members were banished or had to escape abroad. This included Hugo Kołłątaj himself, who had to escape to Dresden. 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Sejm building in Warsaw. ... Sejm Czteroletni (Four-Year Sejm, also known as Sejm Wielki, the Great Sejm) was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth held in Warsaw, inaugurated in 1788. ... May 3rd Constitution (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). ... Categories: Stub | Polish confederations ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Noble Family KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj Coat of Arms Kotwica Parents Antoni KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj Marianna MierzeÅ„ska Consorts None Children None Date of Birth April 1, 1750 Place of Birth NiecisÅ‚owice Date of Death February 28, 1812 Place of Death Warsaw Hugo KoÅ‚Å‚Ä…taj (1750-1812) was a Polish Roman Catholic... For other uses, see Dresden (disambiguation). ...

Effects

Although the commission was only working for roughly 20 years, it managed to completely change the shape of education in Poland. The Enlightenment-based school programmes and books influenced a whole generation of Poles. Also, although the education was still far from being universal, it reached much wider group of people, including the peasants. The Age of Enlightenment (from the German word Aufklärung, meaning Enlightenment) refers to eighteenth century in European and American philosophy, or the longer period including the seventeenth century and the Age of Reason. ...

The thousands of teachers trained in lay teachers' seminaries became the backbone of Polish science during the Partitions 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 in the 19th century. The Partitions of Poland (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Padalijimas, Belarusian: Падзелы Рэчы Паспалітай) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... This is a list of Polish uprisings. ... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In addition, the 27 elementaries and manuals published by the commission laid foundations for Polish language 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 to Bolesław Prus and from Lwów School of Mathematics to Lwów-Warsaw School of History. The guidebook to chemistry by Jędrzej Śniadecki was used in Polish schools well into the 1930s. Polish (jÄ™zyk polski, polszczyzna) is the official language of Poland. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adam Mickiewicz. ... BolesÅ‚aw Prus BolesÅ‚aw Prus (pronounced: [bÉ”lεswaf prus]; August 20, 1847 – May 19, 1912), born Aleksander GÅ‚owacki, was a Polish journalist, short-story writer, and novelist. ... The Lwów School of Mathematics was a group of mathematicians in the corresponding Polish city (now Lviv, Ukraine) who worked together, meeting particularly at the Scottish Café to discuss mathematical problems. ... The Askenazy school (Polish SzkoÅ‚a Askenazego, sometimes referred to as Lwów-Warsaw School of History - Lwowsko-warszawska szkoÅ‚a historyczna) was an informal group of Polish historians formed in the early 20th century under the influence of Szymon Askenazy in the University of Lwow and Warsaw University. ... JÄ™drzej Åšniadecki JÄ™drzej Åšniadecki (1768 - 1838) was a Polish writer, physician, chemist and biologist. ...

It is often argued that because of the efforts of the Commission of National Education the Polish culture and language did not disappear during the Partitions of Poland, despite heavy Russification and Germanisation. The Partitions of Poland (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Padalijimas, Belarusian: Падзелы Рэчы Паспалітай) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

• KEN in Polish State Archives
• Polish Ministry of Education