Is Polish Teacher in 'Dead Refugees' Scandal Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

The insensitive question, thought up by physics teacher Grzegorz Nowik for students at a school in the northeastern Polish city of Bialystok, reads: "Four refugees from Syria are trying to sail to Greece on a boat measuring 1m x 2m x20cm and g[?] 800kg/m3. If each of the refugees weighs 60kg, calculate how many of them will have to be kicked off the boat in order for it to reach its destination."

Prompting a complaint from a parent, the controversial question soon came to the attention of the local Board of Education. 

Publishing a photo of the macabre assignment on her Facebook page, Anna Mierzynska, a member of the Normal Bialystok Association, a local anti-racism group, lamented: "Unfortunately, it's real. This was the question read to students by a public school teacher in Bialystok. I am just at a loss for words on how to comment…"

Journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza confirmed the incident, which took place back in September. The newspaper explained that it was the effort of concerned parents, who were afraid that the school would sweep the matter under the rug, which brought the matter to the Board's attention.

Interviewed by Polish media, Nowik apologized for thinking up the inappropriate question, adding that he personally has "nothing against the idea receiving refugees." The teacher suggested that the question was just a joke anyway –a way to get students to pay attention, given that they "aren't interested when I explain the lift of a wooden block floating on water."

School officials have given Nowik a stern warning, promising that he would be fired if something like this were to happen again. Elzibieta Stasiewicz, the deputy director of the Bialystok Gymnasium, explained that a "disciplinary discussion" had been held, and that the teacher had "apologized and repented for what he had done."

Mierzynska doesn't seem convinced. "This question has some kind of subtext, not directly expressed, about how many people must die so that some can survive. This question is about murdering," she noted. 

Furthermore, the activist warned that the teacher's comments may represent just the tip of the iceberg of a much wider problem, quoted by Radio Poland as saying that "this situation is a symptom of a much broader situation which we have across the entire country. If a lot of famous people, politicians, and authorities are able to speak about refugees in a hateful manner, then it's no surprise that a teacher speaks in such a way."

Bialystok superintendent of schools Jerzy Kiszkiel suggested that ultimately, "even if it was inspired by stupidity, such behavior is not befitting of the dignity of a teacher."