Non-Serious Pedagogy

'My life has been difficult, but interesting. This is exactly what I asked God for in my youth' — these words Janusz Korczak wrote in his diary in 1942, while in the Warsaw Ghetto. In the same year, the famous children's writer, doctor and educator, founder of the legendary Orphans' House, together with his pupils (about 200 children) would die in a concentration camp in Treblinka. In 1942 Janusz Korczak turned sixty-four; he was widely known for his original views on the principles of raising a child, which he actively and quite successfully put into practice. At the heart of his pedagogical system lay a very simple thought: a child is a fully fledged human being, having the right to his or her own views and to his or her own attitude toward the surrounding world. The present edition includes two well-known works by Janusz Korczak — 'Non-Serious Pedagogy' and 'Moments of Upbringing', as well as various pedagogical journalism, in which readers will find both valuable practical recommendations and fascinating stories and reflections on the problems and joys associated with a person's growing up and self-determination.