Get Przemek to Harvard and help him change schools
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When I was in school, I hated it. I was scolded for unconventional passions, involvement in 'weird' extracurriculars or disagreeing with teachers' opinions. Now, I want to transform how education looks like around the world. I got into Harvard and I ask you to help me fund it.
My name is Przemek Stolarski and I come from Białystok - a medium-sized city in one of Poland's least developed regions. This March, I got accepted to a master's programme in Learning Design, Innovation and Technology at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. At 22, I am one of the youngest people on the programme. This was not an easy journey but I plan to attend Harvard with big plans of changing education all around the world.
I hated almost every minute spent at schools in Białystok - my interests in social sciences were rarely appreciated unless I received accolades that my schools could market as their own achievements. Typically, I was disliked by teachers who rarely supported me in the pursuit of my interests and found me to be a nuisance unwilling to do as they said. In secondary school - I witnessed physical and psychological violence, discrimination, and mental health problems that were frequently caused by the very place that was meant to alleviate them: school.
This lack of validation and support from teachers made me desperately seek acceptance in other places. I was really troubled - lonely and lost. I easily got radicalized and spent three years as a member of an ultra-nationalist, right-wing organisation. Who knows where I would be now if I was not lucky enough to get involved in competitive debating. This was a real turning point. I became less arrogant. After all, being forced to defend many opposing views was not an easy thing for someone, who just until recently had been surrounded by far-right nationalists. But I was not humiliated. The egalitarian character of competitive debates where all teams are evaluated only by their intellectual merit was incredibly appealing. This is what I was lacking in formal educational settings and precisely what made me so fascinated about debating.
A few years later, in 2021, I fully understand the power of education. I am just about to earn my bachelor's degree (International Relations and Social Anthropology) from SOAS, University of London where I learned from fantastic professors and peers. But most importantly - I educate others. I work as a professional debate coach co-running Think and Speak Academy - my own company teaching competitive debating courses.
After achieving my own debating accolades - becoming Polish University Debating National Champion when still in secondary school or the first Polish judge of play-offs at European Championship - I found that I thrive most in classrooms. Educating young people and helping them find the power of the intellect. I absolutely love it. In this way, I was able to achieve many things that really make me proud:
- I have run debating classes in +40 schools in 14 different countries. I currently work in two most prestigious schools in the United Kingdom - Saint Paul's Girls' School and Westminster School as well as in a top selective school in Poland - Akademeia
- two of my students went through an extremely selective process, becoming members of the five-people English National Debating Representation
- they also won or made it to the finals of +50 international and national competitions, including the most prestigious ones such as Oxford and Cambridge Schools!
I continue giving back to my own community - coaching kids from schools in my home city, helping them in their university applications to most prestigious world universities and organising massive events, including bringing National Championships to my home city for the first time.
Debating is a fantastic tool of teaching critical thinking and logic but also empathy and humility. It allows people to understand the other side of an argument and develop their analytical skills. I genuinely believe it has the power to change the world. My goal at Harvard is to find ways how we can leverage technology to make debating an accessible educational tool for as many people as possible.
But Harvard is super expensive. The full cost of a one-year programme is estimated to be $84,844. I was lucky to receive a generous scholarship that covers most of my tuition, however, I am still looking for help in funding my:
- housing
- food
- medical insurance
- travel
Even using all of my savings and doing some part-time work, I need around $20,000 to devote 100% to my studies. I will be forever indebted if you can help me in making my dreams come true. I promise to give back in whatever way I can, e.g. running free debating classes for you!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
My name is Przemek Stolarski and I come from Białystok - a medium-sized city in one of Poland's least developed regions. This March, I got accepted to a master's programme in Learning Design, Innovation and Technology at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. At 22, I am one of the youngest people on the programme. This was not an easy journey but I plan to attend Harvard with big plans of changing education all around the world.
I hated almost every minute spent at schools in Białystok - my interests in social sciences were rarely appreciated unless I received accolades that my schools could market as their own achievements. Typically, I was disliked by teachers who rarely supported me in the pursuit of my interests and found me to be a nuisance unwilling to do as they said. In secondary school - I witnessed physical and psychological violence, discrimination, and mental health problems that were frequently caused by the very place that was meant to alleviate them: school.
This lack of validation and support from teachers made me desperately seek acceptance in other places. I was really troubled - lonely and lost. I easily got radicalized and spent three years as a member of an ultra-nationalist, right-wing organisation. Who knows where I would be now if I was not lucky enough to get involved in competitive debating. This was a real turning point. I became less arrogant. After all, being forced to defend many opposing views was not an easy thing for someone, who just until recently had been surrounded by far-right nationalists. But I was not humiliated. The egalitarian character of competitive debates where all teams are evaluated only by their intellectual merit was incredibly appealing. This is what I was lacking in formal educational settings and precisely what made me so fascinated about debating.
A few years later, in 2021, I fully understand the power of education. I am just about to earn my bachelor's degree (International Relations and Social Anthropology) from SOAS, University of London where I learned from fantastic professors and peers. But most importantly - I educate others. I work as a professional debate coach co-running Think and Speak Academy - my own company teaching competitive debating courses.
After achieving my own debating accolades - becoming Polish University Debating National Champion when still in secondary school or the first Polish judge of play-offs at European Championship - I found that I thrive most in classrooms. Educating young people and helping them find the power of the intellect. I absolutely love it. In this way, I was able to achieve many things that really make me proud:
- I have run debating classes in +40 schools in 14 different countries. I currently work in two most prestigious schools in the United Kingdom - Saint Paul's Girls' School and Westminster School as well as in a top selective school in Poland - Akademeia
- two of my students went through an extremely selective process, becoming members of the five-people English National Debating Representation
- they also won or made it to the finals of +50 international and national competitions, including the most prestigious ones such as Oxford and Cambridge Schools!
I continue giving back to my own community - coaching kids from schools in my home city, helping them in their university applications to most prestigious world universities and organising massive events, including bringing National Championships to my home city for the first time.
Debating is a fantastic tool of teaching critical thinking and logic but also empathy and humility. It allows people to understand the other side of an argument and develop their analytical skills. I genuinely believe it has the power to change the world. My goal at Harvard is to find ways how we can leverage technology to make debating an accessible educational tool for as many people as possible.
But Harvard is super expensive. The full cost of a one-year programme is estimated to be $84,844. I was lucky to receive a generous scholarship that covers most of my tuition, however, I am still looking for help in funding my:
- housing
- food
- medical insurance
- travel
Even using all of my savings and doing some part-time work, I need around $20,000 to devote 100% to my studies. I will be forever indebted if you can help me in making my dreams come true. I promise to give back in whatever way I can, e.g. running free debating classes for you!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Organizer
Przemek Stolarski
Organizer
England
