Janusz Korczak: The Man and the Mission

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the multifaceted personality of the Polish-Jewish writer and educator, Janusz Korczak. It analyzes his contribution to the theory and practice of education and his influence on changing attitudes toward children in society as a whole. Central to the article is Korczak’s saying “there are no children – there are people”, which he introduced into pedagogical and common use. It also explores the need for legislative observance of the rights of the child – a topic that featured prominently in Korczak’s essays, which are still unfamiliar to Russian readers. In addition, it considers the unique literary form of Korczak’s so-called non-classical pedagogical texts among other subjects the genre, which targets mixed audience, both children and adults, the narrative technique that seamlessly, alternates between the protagonist, the child, and the narrator acting on their behalf. Here, in his narrative diction, Korczak knits together the long train of words and expressions to point out all possible shades of relations between child and adult. The article concludes by considering the relevance of Korczak’s ideas – which were generated over a century ago – to the modern day and age as well as contemporary pedagogical discourse.