Photos of a new high school textbook for Polish literature have generated controversy after they appeared on the Internet, with one lesson in the book dedicated to the “phenomenon of the miraculous child” Greta Thunberg, who is compared to Catholic Saint Joan of Arc, the national hero of France.
Saint Joan of Arc, who has been seen as a symbol of strength, purity and chivalry for centuries, is compared to what the textbook describes as the “hero of our times”, Greta Thunberg.
Polish parents of school-age children who see Thunberg in a different like object to her being evaluated through the prism of the French heroine.
The entry point to the discussion section in the textbook is an article written by publicist Maria Poprzęcka titled “Greta d’Arc”. In it, the reader is told that the teenager brought millions onto the streets and is continuing to stoke media coverage.
Thunberg’s speech in the United Nations is said to have added new vigor to the climate change conversation.
The teen, who skipped school for a whole year and still passed, is now being shown as an example for young people and compared to a holy martyr who was misunderstood by her contemporaries.
The article even puts two pictures side by side, with Joan of Arc at the top and Thunberg below her.
