Călin Georgescu, a character born from the toxic darkness of online networks, became overnight the most controversial character in Romania. His name, which didn’t tell us anything until a few days ago, is today on everyone’s lips, supporters as well as opponents. Through subtle manipulation techniques, he managed to attract over 2 million Romanians to his side who want him as president, as psychologists explain. The reason? His speech targeted the sensitive and extremely vulnerable points of some Romanians fed up with the current political class. Călin Georgescu touched painful wounds in his messages. Among them, the Education system in Romania, which he considers ineffective, just like most Romanians.
Călin Georgescu, a stone’s throw from Cotroceni. Source: archive
And who could argue with him? Nobody! Because it is obvious that the Romanian school has been keeping pace for more than 30 years. However, the problem is different, namely the fact that the independent Georgescu also released some statements in the public space that have nothing to do with reality. Two teachers, one of Romanian Language and one of Mathematics, dismantle with scalpel precision the false messages propagated on TikTok to fool those less knowledgeable in the field.
In a podcast, Georgescu stated that the great classics of Romanian literature are no longer taught in schools. Obviously, anyone who doesn’t know the syllabus would think that Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, George Coșbuc, Octavian Goga were removed from the textbooks. Which is a lie. “Think that Lucian Blaga is one of the main banned in Romania. So «I don’t want to destroy the crown of wonders of the world» – it is essential! Lucian Blaga, if you prove to me that it is taught in schools… There is no such thing. Mihai Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, Octavian Goga, Coșbuc. The topic is closed.” said Georgescu in a dialogue with the moderator.
Romanian language teacher: “Lucian Blaga studies starting from the 8th grade”
Ruxandra Achim, a teacher at the IL Caragiale college in Bucharest, told “Adevărul” that this statement is totally erroneous. “Lucian Blaga has been studying since the 8th grade when “Izvorul noptii” is proposed during the analysis of the lyrical text. Obviously, the work is taught at the level of understanding of some 14-year-old children, without going into the depths of the philosophically inspired lyricism. But this does not mean that there is no substantial contact with Blaga’s poetry”, explained the teacher. Then, Blaga returns, as an author, in the 10th grade textbooks. “Some textbooks suggest “Paradise in Disintegration”, others suggest “Song of Spices”. Having alternative textbooks, everyone conceives the diachronic analysis of Romanian literature, integrating them all”, continued the teacher.
Moreover, Lucian Blaga is among the canonical authors who could fail the Romanian language test in the Baccalaureate exam at any time. The work “I do not crush the crown of wonders of the world” is analyzed in the context of symbolism and the philosophy of creation. “Poetry is studied in the twelfth grade. But the students also come into contact with “The Death of Pan”. There are textbooks that provide an anthology of texts and there are textbooks that focus on a single text. It depends on the conception of the authors. But the students’ contact with these authors and these works exists”, prof. also explained to us. Ruxandra Achim.
Călin Georgescu, pages from the story
The students study the work of Mihai Eminescu since the gymnasium, starting from the 7th grade, when the children are introduced to “The Lake”. But the poet’s work also appears in high school textbooks. “In high school, epistolary text is studied, and here we have Eminescu’s famous letters to Veronica Micle. We also see another facet of the poet: Eminescu the man, Eminescu in an intimate relationship with Veronica Micle. The poet studied in the 10th grade through the poem “The blue flower. And his work can also be found in the 11th grade textbooks, this time in the context of the era of the great classics, in the context of the interaction with Junimea. Students learn “Luceafarul”, “Letter I”, study “Glossă”, “Ode in ancient meter”, the teacher continued the explanations.
Also in the XIth grade, in the context of the period of the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, poetry of traditionalist inspiration is studied. “Poems from Coșbuc and Goga are learned on this occasion. We are talking either about programmatic texts, such as those related to literary creation, or about texts that illustrate the messianic component. In Coșbuc, we study “Zamfirei’s Wedding”, an opera with reference to the popular ballad, and in Goga we have the religiously inspired poems “The Teacher” and “Dăscălița”.
It is true that regarding Goga’s work as well as Coșbuc’s, the Baccalaureate exam does not ask for an essay. “The two authors are integrated in the literature area of the end of the 19th century. I mean I can’t have essays. But they can be integrated as authors in other argumentative texts. They can be used as examples. The message of these works is not ignored. And Arghezi, Blaga and Eminescu are on the list of canonical authors for the Baccalaureate”, said the teacher.
Mathematics teacher: “Călin Georgescu made a huge blunder”
Călin Georgescu didn’t stumble only in the Romanian language, because the exact sciences are not exactly to his liking either. “If you want to become a musician, why do I have to teach you Mathematics and Physics? And not only that, they also make you take a test, a Baccalaureate, and an exam. But where? All in Mathematics and Physics. But why not give the History of the Romanians, why not give the Geography of the country, because they have no idea about Geography, they don’t even know where the waters are. I saw my students, I once asked about the Danube. They have primary knowledge, because it doesn’t exist in high school anymore, and this is the basis and foundation for future young people”the candidate also said in the same podcast. And because who are we to contradict him, this time we asked a Math teacher to comment on the statement. I spoke with Denisa Tănăsescu, a teacher at the same Bucharest college, who considers Călin Georgescu’s statement a huge blunder.
“If students will learn Mathematicsthey will easily learn anything else. Including getting by in life. Math trains you for situations you might run into at some point. It keeps your mind awake, alert, trains your brain, helps you make connections, analyses, syntheses, anticipate things, easily understand certain concepts, ideas and what is hidden behind those ideas”the teacher explained to “Adevărul”.
This is the opinion that each matter has its role. “Students from real must do more Mathematics than those from human, because that’s why they turned to this profile. How about taking a few hours off? Then these kids also learn History and Geography, it’s not like these subjects don’t exist in the curriculum. And so: human students learn more History and Geography and less Mathematics. It’s normal to be like that”considers prof. Denisa Tanasescu. Călin Georgescu, in her opinion, is not anchored in the reality of Romanian education, he is not aware of how the system works, lacking basic, elementary notions. “Mathematics, after all, helps you learn History, Geography, foreign languages and many other subjects better. They are closely related, even if it may not be noticeable at first glance”. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that History and Geography are compulsory subjects until the 12th grade. Moreover, there are even Baccalaureate subjects for technological and human students.
Instead of guiding students to dumb bliss, “you better tell them to turn off their phones at class”
Călin Georgescu also said that teachers should give a small speech to the students before starting class: “I am ready with my heart to guide you. On the way to freedom, to happiness. The most important piece is that it was given to man to be happy as it was given to the bird to fly”would be, in the opinion of the candidate for Cotroceni, the message that should be sent. Professor Ruxandra Achim believes that this rhetoric is outdated, against the times, it would not be found in today’s reality, and the children would not percuss. “I think that the mastery of the teacher is all the more valuable because he has to keep up with the huge amount of information that comes from the online area, from social networks, which bombards children daily, hour by hour, minute by minute. Here would really be the talent of the teacher. So I really don’t think that rhetoric makes sense. Things are outdated. Rather, you tell them to pay attention to the time, to close their doors the phones, to let them go, to take them to the place of storage”.
In the teacher’s opinion, Călin Georgescu made a false analysis of the education system. Professor Ruxandra Achim specified that, if we strictly refer to the subjects that the children study, they should not be eliminated or truncated, but supplemented. “We need more hours of Romanian language. We are dealing with generations that rarely come into contact with the book, young people have major deficiencies in expression. And then, somehow, having more hours, you could direct them to the book and to the nuances of how the idea takes shape in the Romanian language. And here I think that more work should be done”, also stated prof. Ruxandra Achim.
