Abstract

This phenomenological study is a search for the essence of the Polish Green School. We explain the Green School, examine its rationale and scope, and give an overview of the history of Poland’s environmental exploitation. Then we present a week-long experience in one such school and in that context examine children’s reflective drawings. The Green School week-long program consists of highlander folk music demonstration, several hikes, a hunt to find beauty in nature, and in contrast, a trip to Auschwitz. The children’s reflective drawings were mainly mountainscapes that contain a secret cave, human figures, including the highlander blowing his horn, some animals, and stylized trees. What is suggested by our findings is that through aesthetic means, children can learn to become aware, preserve the environment, live in peace, and share. At the root of the Green School experience is aesthetic consciousness without which the spirit may not survive.

How to Cite:

Stokrocki, M. & Samoraj, M., (2003) “The Green School as an Ecological, Aesthetic, and Moral Folk Experience in Poland”, Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education 21(1), 44-59. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jcrae.5001