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10 DECEMBER 2008
NO 1384
Work
Household tasks were carried out at Korczak's institution by children and staff alike, with the help of a housemother and a cook, and by him and his assistant Stefa as "heads of the house." In addition, Korczak took upon himself some part of every type of work. Staff members had to "study," as Korczak called it, and to work at all types of tasks so that they could do any job and instruct the children as they worked together in the kitchen and dining hall, the bathrooms, the laundry and the sewing room, in the playroom and the library, even in caring for the sick and in tutoring weak pupils. Work rosters were drawn up for short periods and carried out with the help of monitors from among the children. The children summed up their daily tasks in writing, these reports forming the basis for discussing possible improvement with the adults. Every item of useful work or help to others earned a merit card, 500 of which gave the child a flower card. For 12 of these, he or she won the title of "worker," which carried certain privileges and a money prize (Lifton, 1988; Sachs, 1980; Wolins, 1967).
Yehuda Kahana (1989), who was on Korczak's staff, reports on the importance of education for work when he tells of becoming a bursary student while he was studying at Warsaw University:1
At the end of August I arrived at the Orphans' Home ... Stefa, Korczak's second in command, received me. She said that The Doctor would be back in two days and would talk to me then. She led me to one of the apprentice teachers' rooms, saying it would be my room if I was accepted. Meanwhile, I was asked to clean the room, which had been empty for two months, and she added that there was no cleaning staff at the Orphans' Home and that everyone cleaned his own room. She took me to a broom closet down the corridor and showed me the cleaning equipment. I rolled up my sleeves and went to work ... I cleaned the window panes, the sills, the walls, the furniture, and the floor as thoroughly as I could. A few hours later Stefa came into the room, looked around and said: "You passed the test, you're accepted." She made no further mention of the conversation with The Doctor. (pp. 71- 72)
YUVAL DROR
Drore, Yuval. (1998). Educational activities in
Janusz Korczak's orphan's home in Warsaw: A historical case study and
its implications for current Child and Youth Care practice. Child
and Youth Care Forum, 27, 4. p. 289.
NOTE
1. Bursary students came from local colleges and universities to live
and work at the orphanage in exchange for their educational expenses and
the opportunity to participate in and learn from Korczak's work.
REFERENCES
Kahana, Y. (1989). Korczak in everyday life. In Sachs, S., Kahana, J. (1989). Korczak – Memories and Thoughts. Tel Aviv. Papyrus, Tel Aviv University. (In Hebrew).
Lifton, B.J. (1988). The king of children: A biography of Janusz Korczak. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Sachs, S. (1980). Korczak for educators in the eighties. Tel Aviv. Am Oved-Tarbut Vechinuch. (In Hebrew).
Wolins, M. (Ed.). (1967). Selected Works of Janusz Korczak. Washington D.C. National Science Foundation.
