From the end of World War II to 1989, a Communist regime dictated political and economic policy in Poland as well as educational curricula. Heavily influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideology, the official state curriculum sought to build support for the Communist system and to promote acquiescence to the Soviet influence in Poland's internal affairs. Yet, the official curriculum contradicted the perspectives of many Poles who recalled the country's historically democratic traditions and lamented its 18th-century partitioning by the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian empires, which resulted in the disappearance of Poland from the map of Europe for 123 years . The resulting inconsistency between the official curriculum and the goals and knowledge of Polish teachers evidenced itself as they attempted to subvert the ideological indoctrination called for by the state. This qualitative study sought to better understand how teachers and students mediated the official curriculum in the classroom. Examination of official curricular documents and interviews with Polish teachers and students yields a portrait of schooling in Communist Poland that is far more complex than the label "indoctrination" allows.

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This article presents a detailed history of the development of a particular immersion program to teach English to young Polish students. The program draws support from two organizations, the Kościuszko Foundation and the Polish Scouting Organization. Kościuszko Foundation is dedicated to strengthening the ties between the United States and Poland as well as to increase knowledge of Poland’s history and culture in the United States. The cooperation of these two organizations developed an experience of immersion in language and cultural exchange. Both the teachers and the students in this program benefited from the opportunity to engage in a number of different types of language activities and cultural events through a summer camp experience. This program is, of course, unique, but the elements of context, culture and immersion could be used in other programs to develop English skills and knowledge in the context American culture.

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received his B.S.M.E. from Seattle University and his M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington (Seattle). He is an Assistant Professor in mechanical rngineering at Villanova University. His research interests focus on mechatronics, specifically modeling and control of scanning probe microscopes and unmanned vehicles.