The Society for Elementary Books (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych''; 1775–92) was an institution formed by

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...

(''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej'') in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1775. The Society's mandate was to design school

syllabus A syllabus (; : syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is a document that communicates information about an Academy, academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curriculum. ...

es and

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

s for newly reformed schools.

History

Since education in Poland had until then been conducted mostly in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, the

faced the problem of an almost complete lack of textbooks. It was to cope with this that the Society for Elementary Books was formed. The scientists who worked on the new Polish-language textbooks often had to invent the requisite specialized vocabulary. Much of the vocabulary that they invented, related to chemistry, physics, mathematics and grammar, is still in use today, and some of the Society's textbooks were in use as late as the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

(1918–39) The chairman of the Society for Elementary Books, in the years 1775-1791 was

Ignacy Potocki Count Roman Ignacy Potocki, generally known as Ignacy Potocki (; 1750–1809), was a Polish nobleman, member of the influential magnate Potocki family, owner of Klementowice and Olesin (near Kurów), a politician, statesman, writer, and offic ...

, and in 1792

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life and education Julian Ursyn Ni ...

. The main secretary, in the years 1775-1787, was Grzegorz Piramowicz, later Franciszek Zabłocki. Significant contributions to the Society's activities were put by

Hugo Kołłątaj Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Enlightenment in Poland, Polish Enlighten ...

. The ordinary members of the Society were also: John the Baptist Albertrandi, Józef Bogucicki, Paweł Czempiński, Jędrzej Gawroński, Szymon L'Huillier,

Szczepan Hołowczyc Szczepan Hołowczyc '' de armis'' Pierzchała (19 August 1741–27 August 1823) was a Roman Catholic archbishop of Warsaw from 1818 until his death in 1823 and a senator of Congress Poland. He previously served as bishop of Sandomierz from 1 ...

, Adam Jakukiewicz, Grzegorz Kniażewicz, Józef Koblański

Onufry Kopczyński Onufry Kopczyński (30 November 1736 – 14 February 1817) was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language during the Polish Enlightenment.

, Feliks Łojko,

Kazimierz Narbutt Kazimierz (; ; ) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, located south ...

Antoni Popławski Antoni Popławski (1739–1799) was a Polish Piarist educator and economist. A physiocrat and a proponent of the emancipation of serfs, in 1774 he coined the term "noble democracy" to describe the political system of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwe ...

, Stefan Roussel,

Sebastian Sierakowski Sebastian Alojzy Sierakowski (9 January 1743 – 9 August 1824) was a Polish architect and Jesuit pastor. Biography Sierakowski was born on 9 January 1743 in Bogusławice. His uncle, , was the Bishop of Przemyśl A bishop is an ordained m ...

Józef Wybicki Józef Rufin Wybicki (; 29 September 1747 – 10 March 1822) was a Polish nobleman, jurist, poet, political and military activist of Kashubian descent. He is best remembered as the author of "" (), which was adopted as the Polish national anthe ...

and scientific directors in

Corps of Cadets (Warsaw) The Warsaw Corps of Cadets (; or ''Akademia Szlachecka Korpusu Kadetów'') was the first state school in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 18th century The state Corps of Cadets was established in Warsaw on 15 March 1765 by King Stanisła ...

- Christian Pfleiderer (German professor of mathematics) and

Michał Jan Hube Michał Jan Hube (1737–1807) was a Polish physicist and educator who authored books for the National Education Commission. He was born in Toruń and held early jobs in that city, Warsaw, and with King Stanisław Augustus. ''God's Playground'' ...

. The honorary members of the Society were: Jan Dubois de Jancigny, Piotr Samuel Dupont de Nemours and

Scipione Piattoli Scipione Piattoli (; 10 November 1749 – 12 April 1809) was an Italian Catholic priest—a Piarist—an educator, writer, and political activist, and a major figure of the Enlightenment in Poland. After ten years as a professor at the Univer ...

Teodor Wierzbowski: Protokóły posiedzeń Towarzystwa do Ksiąg Elementarnych 1775-1792. Warszawa: Komisya Edukacyjna, 1908. Famous books created by the Society included ''Elementarz dla szkół parafialnych'' and ''Gramatyka dla szkół narodowych z przypisami''. The Society was chaired by

, and its general secretary was Grzegorz Piramowicz.

made many important contributions to the Society's projects. Members included

Onufry Kopczyński Onufry Kopczyński (30 November 1736 – 14 February 1817) was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language during the Polish Enlightenment.

and the academic directors of the

Corps of Cadets— Ch. Pfleiderer (mathematics) and

. The Society was dissolved in 1792, in anticipation of the coming total dissolution of the Polish state.

Results of activities

The Society, during its 17 years of activity, held 631 meetings (an average of 3 meetings per month). A total of about 30 elementary book items intended for students or teachers were prepared and published, including 5 compiled by foreign scholars. The results of his work included the creation of such textbooks as: Elementary for Parish Schools and Grammar for National Schools with Footnotes.

Publications

In 1775, the Commission of National Education issued a "Notice with respect to the writing of elementary books for provincial schools" addressed to authors who were qualified to write them. The proclamation was translated for foreign authors into Latin and French. Its contents announced an international competition for elementary publications for elementary education, in which the following financial prizes were set: for mathematics and for the more necessary knowledge of the sciences, 100 red zlotys each were promised; for physics and mechanics, a book on farming, 150; for natural history, logic, a book on pronunciation and poetry, 50 red zlotys each.

References

Bibliography

* T. Wierzbowski: ''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej 1773-1794. Monografia historyczna'', t. 1: A. Opracowania i źródła drukowane, B. Źródła archiwalne, Warszawa 1911. * A. Jobert: ''La Commission d'Éducation Nationale en Polgne (1773-1794). Son oeuvre d'instruction civique'', Paryż 1941, s. 1-24. 1775 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1792 disestablishments in Europe Educational organisations based in Poland History of education in Poland 1790s disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Science and technology in Poland {{Edu-org-stub