More than half of the resignations? Nowacka and Wielichowska appeal to parents

The conference, three days before the deadline for a decision on whether or not to drop children from health lessons (September 25), was organized by Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Monika Wielichowska. The goal - to convince those who are (still) hesitant to give health education a chance. This is what the Education Minister also called for on Monday, both at the conference and in other public statements. At the same time, Barbara Nowacka admitted in an interview that the dropout rate will certainly exceed 50 percent.

- Health is the foundation, without it there is neither development, nor security, nor daily well-being. Knowledge of emotions, relationships, psyche, body and safety is not a luxury, it is an everyday need," said Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, opening the conference. Wielichowska stressed that a lack of health education means agreeing to leave young people to their own devices, and in fact, exposing them to the dangers of looking for answers in unverified sources, primarily the Internet.

Barbara Nowacka stressed that the core curriculum was prepared to give youngsters the tools to take care of physical health, mental health, online safety, prevention and relationship building. - A child will be able to save life or health. Because he or she will know how to build relationships, how to help a peer in crisis or how to notice that one is in crisis, she added.

Deputy Health Minister Katarzyna Kęcka pointed out how much depends on knowledge and accompanying - acquired - skills to make healthy choices. - According to WHO estimates, as many as 80 percent of cases of heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes, as well as 40 percent of cancers could be avoided by eliminating major risk factors and promoting healthy lifestyles. This all depends on the knowledge and habits that children and young people acquire from an early age," she explained.

Piotr Borys, deputy sports minister, drew attention to the dramatic decline in physical activity among children. - In Poland, only 20 percent of children meet daily physical activity standards. 27 percent of children and adolescents are in complete immobility," he scored, also pointing out that the vast majority of children lack basic movement skills - they can't jump on a skipping rope or do a forward flip.

Professor Zbigniew Izdebski, head of the team of experts who prepared the core curriculum, stressed that health education in Poland must show health as a value. - Health is not something given once in a lifetime. We should talk about preventive medicine and prepare young people for life in the real world, not leave them to their own devices, he said. The professor explained that the subject covers physical, mental, social, sexual health. Although, as experts pointed out, less than 10 percent of the core curriculum is devoted to sexual health and issues related to sexuality. At the same time, as Dr. Aleksandra Lewandowska, national consultant in child psychiatry, among others, said, we absolutely cannot talk about sexualization. On the contrary - health education identifies sexualization as a threat and gives students tools on how to recognize the threat, how to avoid it and how to defend against it.