Wbrew rodzinie: obligatoryjne stancje uczniowskie w Wileńskim Okręgu Naukowym w okresie międzypowstaniowym

Abstract

After the collapse of the November Uprising (the Cadet Revolution) Poles under Russian rule in Russian partition were Russianized more severely than before. The tsar authorities focused on the educational system, on the upbringing of the youth in the name of loyalty to the Romanov dynasty, and submission to any authority. This educational aim was fulfilled under supervision both in school and outside.As the aim was in contradiction to family upbringing (values), the boarding schools, which were supervised by the Educational Board, started to be organized and approved by the Tsar. In Tsarian Russia there was no tradition of boarding schools; as a result, there were neither prepared or experienced teachers nor material goods to provide students with appropriate care and living conditions. Parents who were forced to place their children in the boarding schools had to bear higher cost. They did not have any influence on the way their children were raised/taught. The situation had to raise an objection of Polish society that lived in the Kresy (North-East Borderland of Polish Commonwealth). After the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War (1853-56) and the death of Tsar Mikolaj I, the process of Russianization was lessened and the institution of boarding schools was officially criticized. This criticism was expressed by marshals of the gentry and honorary patrons of schools.Following the pressure resulting from such criticism local and ministerial authorities were forced to abandon implementing the idea of obligatory boarding schools for children and teenagers. In the late 1850s the boarding schools were gradually being closed. Once again parents had the right to decide about their son's place to stay during his education at school. The idea of anti-Polish pro-government education (against the family) suffered a defeat this time.