In this article I make a critical analysis of educational policy in Poland during the 25 years of the political transformation. I try to refer to the Polish thoughts and practices of teaching experience in the period of 1989–2014. What is more, I present experiences of anti-socialist opposition during the socialist period. They influenced on impression in the works and commitments of many scientists and a new generation of academics. Furthermore, I indicate how my generation after 1989 went into the road of scientific autonomy and / or independence in the field of government and private education. Benchmark for these analyzes build up the hopes which we tied up with the Polish revolution of non- violence. Moreover, there was a strong disappointment, which revealed over the years due to the departure of distinctive political formation of the Third Republic of the ideals and the phenomenon of Polish „Solidarity” movement, and civil society, which included the move away from the base of participatory democracy. Finally, I look at how education as a science and practice of education fit into democratization of the Polish state and society. The key meaning for me has the perception of education as a common good, as environments and entities, institutions or management practices which participate in the democratic society. To sum up, this society is constantly in the period of recovery from years of experience not only fascist, but Bolshevik totalitarianism, too.

Educational policy is a complex social phenomenon which both determines and is determined by political, socio-cultural, economic or demographic conditions. It is treated as deliberate activities of state and local authorities strictly related to educational practice. Therefore, each educational policy should be a planned activity which is based on a broader programme and which takes into account developmental strategies not only of education but also of the region or state. The period following the system transformation in Poland has involved numerous activities which – from teachers' perspective – have been treated as unexpected or even threatening their professional situation or the whole education. however, J. Rutkowiak emphasizes that relations between politics and pedagogy result from social engagement of both educationalists and teachers in politics and, thus, it is indispensable to treat politics as a dimension of their daily functioning at work [1]. The following questions are raised: what are actual teachers' expectations from politicians and the educational policy? how do teachers assess the educational policy and situate it in their professional daily routine? Referring to Rutkowiak, is this policy a significant dimension of their daily functioning at work or a factor of unpredictable results which may appear at any time – the expected unexpected as the title suggests? what is presented in this study are some analyses of the data collected in the studies on educational policy and politicians, conducted among teachers in 2000–2014.

My article is a synthetic recognition of macro-Polish governments’ evolution over 25 years of political transformation. It is presented from the perspective of education for democracy, in a democracy and not about democracy. I explain, how it is possible, that the Poles after they got rid of monistic doctrine of the totalitarian state, are subjected to hidden process of democratization of education and the school system. I analyze public education ,mechanisms and structures for its management in a way that counteracts democratic change. The school is subjected to a mechanism of political gamemakers. It becomes an institution which is painfully ineffective and without its face. This institution devastates traditions and allows intellectual regression. There are threats to educational reforms which lie not only in the sociopolitical mechanisms, but also and perhaps primarily within the education system, which has not created procedures to eliminate Pharisees of innovation from it. Polish educational system after 25 years of transformation is not only partially reprivatized but highly bureaucratic and fully involved in political parties.