Can education teach you how to live your life?

Oscar Wilde claimed that “education is an admirable thing but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” It seems that words uttered a century ago are even more accurate in relation to the contemporary state of education. After answering three simple questions you will have no doubt about the brilliance of that statement.

            Does education provide knowledge essential to one's survival? Cluttering young minds with dates, definitions and formulae – is what schools do best. What they tend to completely disregard is practical knowledge. What use do we have of knowing the names and specifications of all the crops planted in Europe when we are unable to plant and grow (not to mention make use of) a single one of them with our own hands? No matter how educated we are, when cut off from the goods of civilisation we are not likely to survive even a week on our own.

            Can education teach you how to live your life? The answer is simple – no it can not. 

CARS

            It is undeniably that popularity of cars has been steadily increasing from their invention in the nineteenth century. Not only did they revolutionize transport, but also influenced and changed our lives as well. This is the main reason why I can not agree with the statement that cars enslave us. In my opinion, the situation is quite the contrary – cars liberate us. Our lives have become easier, more convenient and mobile owing to them.

             It is important to emphasize the independence and freedom that we were given. People are no longer obliged to rely on public transport, which is rarely adapted to our needs. Timetables often fail, routes do not suit us, buses are crowded and dirty. Being an owner of a car gives you complete freedom of choice – you can drive whenever and wherever you wish. This leads us to the issue of traveling – with cars people are able to take trips on their own to places unreachable from a bus or a train. 

           Needles to say that cars are far more convenient and more pleasant means of transport.

MUSIC FOR EVERYONE

When we hear the word 'music', we usually associate it with our favourite song, with which we have some good memories. Music may seem irrelevant, but in fact it does influence our lives significantly. Some say it can be bad for us, because it provokes inappropriate behaviour, others say that it is a blessing not only for our ears, but also souls. The question remains whether it is able to save lives. In my opinion, yes.
Music is an integral part of people's lives, especially the young ones, those who often identify with the music they listen to. It is treated not only as an entertainment, but also a haven that keeps them hidden and safe whenever they need to escape from reality. What is more, songs' lyrics often help young, confused people in resolving problems, as they provide some answers and guidelines in moments of doubt. It is also important to notice that for young people, music is sometimes a significant, if not the only one, reason to live. We often hear or read about people who claim that they were able to find a purpose of their lives thanks to their favourite band or singer that saved them from a miserable fate. No matter if it is only listened to, or created by young people, music definitely helps in surviving rough times in their lives...

Why do some people believe in ghost?

Scientists have basically disproved the existance of ghost by doing research. Even though there is no scientidic proof that ghosts exist, in every culture and religion people have their oen theories related to ghosts or other spirits that remain on earth after death. In my opinion there are 2 main reasons for these theories:

FIRST of all people like to think there's an afterlife, eternal life after death of a body. Some bielieve that souls of people who went to purgatory wander about on earth.

Secondly, people like to believe that it is possible to see or maybe even interact with loved ones they have lost. Sometimes they just can't reconcile to loss of someone they loved and they believe taht this person still present in their life and takes care od them.

I think that those are both powerfull reasons to believe in ghosts and it is quite difficult for sceprics to refuse thouse beliefs. What do YOU think about ghosts? Have you ever seen ghost? ;> let me know!

WHAT EFFECT DOES SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE ON OUR LIVES?

In 2012 almost 30% of Poles, aged from 13 to 50, claimed to have a Facebook account. It gives us around 10 million people who found social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter appealing and the popularity of social media still increases. But is it really as exceptional as it appears to be?

Undeniably, such sites make staying in touch with friends or family way easier. There is no need to go out if we can switch on our computers and chat with them. It is a big advantage if a person we are talking to lives in another city or abroad. But more and more people are getting out of a habit of meeting friends and such lack of real contact can lead to isolation.

Do not forget about freedom of speech. It is an important aspect of social media. We can share our opinion and then be befriended by people with similar interests. But for some people anonymity on the Internet gives the opportunity to use hate speech or to defame others.

One sure thing about social media is that it has both good and bad points. As it is almost unimaginable not to use social networking sites these days, we should try to control the bad sides and focus on the good ones.

celebrity, be or not to be?

Nowadays it is almost impossible not to know about what is going on in the entertainment industry. We are surrounded by glossy covers of tabloids, Internet is full of pictures of celebrities and so on. No wonder people are worried that soon there will be no place in mass media for serious issues like the environment. But should they be?

                Undoubtedly most of us are curious about what celebrities have to struggle with in their everyday life. It is easy to find out about it thanks to mass media. But as in the past we could often put an equal sign between “popular” and “notorious”, now it has changed. Celebrities know they have a big influence on people and they try to be the role models for us, especially for the youngsters. More and more celebs are getting involved in the environmental issues. Wanting to encourage us to take care of the Earth, they participate in different campaigns or they simply have an eco-friendly lifestyle and hope we will follow.

                Another thing is that we cannot blame the celebrity culture for everything. The truth is people can find out about different ways of helping the environment effortlessly. It is as available as information about celebs. Yet, somehow we prefer wasting our time on reading meaningless things. We do not care about environment, because we assume the eco-lifestyle is expensive and time-consuming.  But maybe if we did some research, it would turn out to be different.

                Obviously, celebrity culture can be superficial and distract us from important issues, but it is up to us if we choose it over the environment. 

TAXES not taxi

I'm really into taxes, since I have filled my first PIT. So hère you can find some information from my notes about POLISH TAXES.

Taxes in Poland is 32% of Polish GDP. But what kind of taxes do we have in Poland? What is a difference between one another? What are the tax thresholds? In Poland, there are three types of taxes.

1.      The first type of tax is a direct tax, the main example of this tax is Personal Income Tax (in Poland called PIT). Personal Income Tax from are required to pay all persons receiving income. At the same time the people who reside in Polish, they have to pay income tax regardless of whether their income comes from work on Polish territory or any other country in the world. However, people who are not resident in Poland are not required to pay income tax. This means that the tax in Poland only profits earned on Polish territory. In Poland, there are several ways of accounting for income taxes. Every citizen can choose the most convenient form of in its sole discretion.     The first method is a progressive tax scale. With this kind of tax calculation, in particular, can benefit married couples and single parents. It is extremely beneficial for them. In a progressive tax scale, the first tax bracket is 18%, it relates to income which does not exceed 85 528zł (this is about 22,000 euro). If income is greater than 85 528 zl, a tax on the amount exceeded will be equal 32%. Second possibility accounting for income taxes is a uniform 19% tax rate. If a citizen chooses this way, he will pay completely only 19% of the total of your income. Flat rate tax (19%) is also designed for the companies and business. This type of tax calculation is called a flat tax. If, however, the tax office notices that the citizen does not fully explain the income, penalty is called remedial sanction and is 75% of the total income.

2.      In addition to direct taxes shown above in Poland there is also an indirect tax. It includes a tax on goods and services (VAT), excise tax, gaming tax. Nowadays in Poland there are four VAT's tax rates - mainly 23% but there exist also: 8%, 5% and 0%.

3.      The third and final type of tax in Poland is a wealth tax. Wealth tax includes taxes on inheritance and gift tax on civil law transactions, tax agricultural, forestry tax, property tax, vehicle tax. The wealth tax has not centrally established of tax brackets. The tax is determined individually, officials take into account the economic situation and financial possibilities of the person.

        The tax system in Poland is unreadable and difficult to understand for the average Pole. In 2011, the government made simpler method of calculating the tax, it caused that the accounting is a bit easier for the Poles. Since that time, we may also account for the internet which is very important for the younger generation. 

POLAND

Little introduction ....Poland is a country in central Europe. Now, the capital is Warsaw. Polish capitals in the past were also Gniezno, the first capital of Poland, then Krakow and Poznan. Finally, in 1815 the capital was removed to Warsaw by Sigismund III Vasa. Poland has free access to the sea, it border by the Baltic Sea in the north, the border has a length of 440 km. My country also has full access to the mountains. The most important and also the largest mountain ranges in Poland are the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains. Country on the Vistula River - so commonly referred to Poland - is a relatively large country. It is the ninth the largest country in the European Union - 312 679 km². Polish territory was drastically reduced after the end of hostilities in 1945 and it was the result of an agreement at the Conference in Tehran in 1943. In the years 1918-1945 Polish territory was 35% higher than the current. It is interesting to recall  that in its heyday of my country, Polish territory stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.  It is the sixth the largest country in terms of population. The population in Poland is 38.5 million. The population has also been significantly reduced as a result of hostilities in 1939-1945.

What do you want to know about Poland? ;)
stay tune...soon more information!