Observations in the teaching of tourism geography

W nauczaniu geografii w szkole średniej duży nacisk położono na umiejętność rozwiązywania testów. Zaniedbano zaś nauczania obserwacji. Dlatego u studentów, również na kierunku turystyka i rekreacja jest duża nieporadność w samodzielnych obserwacjach. A w celach nauczania tego przedmiotu jest wykształcenie umiejętności samodzielnego pozyskiwania wiadomości o walorach rekreacyjnych, atrakcjach turystycznych i infrastrukturze. W toku nauczania geografii turystycznej należy wprowadzić i ćwiczyć umiejętność obserwacji. Obejmuje ona postawienie celu obserwacji, dobór metod oraz umiejętność odczytu i interpretacji wyniku. Analiza samodzielnych prac studentów pozwala wskazać, że głównym powodem kłopotów ze studenckimi obserwacjami są: 1– brak umiejętności ich dokonywania, 2 – nieporadność w przedstawianiu ich wyników, spowodowana słabym opanowaniem języka, 3 – braki w wiedzy ogólnej.In the teaching of geography in the secondary school a large emphasis was put on the ability of the tests solving, while teaching of observations was neglected. Therefore, a low level of the unassisted work, of the secondary schools students, was observed. The skill of obtaining information about the tourist attractions, landmarks and the tourism infrastructure is one of the goals in the teaching of geography of tourism. The skills should be practiced and used during the course of the geography of tourism. The exercises should focus on: 1) the goal of the observation, 2) the selection of the method, and 3) the appropriate interpretation of the results obtained. These stages cause problems also among the students of tourism. On the basis of difficulty posed for the students the reasons for that are as follows: 1– inability to perform the observation process, 2– awkwardness in presenting of the observation results, (often caused by low level of the native language), 3– gaps in the general knowledge. All Those negatively influence the effectiveness of the teaching of geography of tourism

Professor Jan Flis’s road to geography

In the study, the authors presented Jan Flis’ road to geography. They emphasized four significant facts in the Professor’s biography which had, in their opinion, impact on his choice of future field of study and professional career. He attended an eight-year Jan Długosz public middle school in Nowy Sącz; a classical school with Greek and Latin courses. The school education provided him with excellent knowledge of Polish, which resulted in conciseness of his works, as well as in uncompromising attitude as far as native language and geographical terminology correctness are concerned. His scouting activity, which started in Nowy Sącz and was continued during the first years of his university studies in Cracow, had impact on his choice of teacher’s profession. Professor Jan Flis improved his organizational skills through his scouting work; he took wide range of actions during the World War II (teaching director of a middle school and a secondary school in a scouting camp for Polish youth in Samloszolles-Sziko, Hungary) and after the war – he worked in the Institute of Geography in the Jagiellonian University, then in WSP in Cracow and the Polish Geographical Society. Jan Flis’ choice of geography studies was the consequence of his infatuation with his homeland landscape and mountain hiking, as well as meeting professor Jerzy Smoleński. As a middle school pupil, J. Flis would listen to professor Smoleński’s talks and lectures on sightseeing and geomorphology of the Karpaty Mountains, which he delivered in Nowy Sącz to popularize geography. Jan Flis was exceptionally interested in the lectures and equally fascinated by professor J. Smoleński. The authors also focused on professor’s war experiences and their impact on the subject of his publications and lectures on the Middle East, Northern Africa and Italy