U svibnju 1841. godine otvorena je pri Židovskoj općini u Zagrebu prva škola, Bildungsschule, i prvi učitelj bio je Karl Saphir. U Varaždinu je tada već postojala škola sa 65 učenika. Troškovi škole namirivali su se školarinom i dobrovoljnim prilozima, a siromašni đaci bili su oslobođeni plaćanja. U listopadu 1855, nakon kraće stanke, otvorena je u Židovskoj općini Trivialschule sa tri razreda. Podučavani su njemački jezik i hebrejski predmeti. Jezik u nastavi u školama Hrvatske bio je odraz političkih prilika. Dok se u pučkim školama dozvoljavao "zemaljski pučki jezik", u gimnazijama se učilo na stranim jezicima. Tako je 1848. u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji nastavni jezik latinski s obveznim mađarskim. 1849/50 uveden je "ilirski jezik" s obveznim njemačkim. Poslije je njemački jezik proširen i na nastavu povijesti, prirodopisa, matematike i fizike. Ilirski jezik je službeni do 1854, a poslije se uvodi hrvatski, ali samo za učenje hrvatskog jezika i vjeronauka. U Rijeci je u školama neko vrijeme ilirski i talijanski jezik, a od 1854/55 njemački. ; The first Jewish schools in Croatia were founded in Varaždin and Zagreb, and later in Osijek. At first, they were under the control of the Catholic Church as were other Croatian schools. In 1851/52 there were four Jewish schools with 131 pupils and in 1853/54 the number of pupils amounted to 277. The first Jewish school was established in Zagreb in 1841 and in 1889 it was moved to a new Community building containing four classrooms. The first director was Rabbi Dr Hosea Jakobi. Besides the obligatory curriculum, pupils learnt the Bible, holiday customs and the Hebrew language. For pupils at other elementary schools in Zagreb religious education was conducted several times a week and secondary school pupils went to the Jewish community once a week to attend classes. Great attention was paid to the education of children and the young: support and scholarships were given; boarding schools, centres and canteens were founded. There were many youths and student's societies, for example, The Jewish Society for Supporting Poor Students, Judea, Esperanza (the Sephardim), Literary section and Credit cooperative "EZRA" and other organizations. In 1929/1920 the Jewish communities in Croatia numbered over 500 elementary pupils, over 1,000 secondary school pupils and more than 250 students at the University of Zagreb, mainly studying law and medicine (girls made up a quarter of this number). In the centres of Jewish communities secondary schools were attended by pupils from neighbouring villages and meals were organized for them (Tage esen) in Jewish families. Teachers from Jewish communities went to surrounding villages and organized religious education. Many libraries and cultural, music and other activities were organized for children and youth in the communities. ; Tekst je objavljen u knjizi "Židovi u Hrvatskoj - židovske zajednice", Zagreb, 2004, str. 141-145 (the text was published in the book "Jews in Croatia - Jewish Communities", Zagreb, 2004, pp. 141-145).
Hrvatska Vlada nastavlja kontinuirani rad s ciljem kurikularne reforme na čelu s premijerom Plenkovićem koji je postavljen da bi se osigurao nastavak rada. Talijanska Vlada je usvojila Zakon o reformi nacionalnoga odgoja i obrazovanja, tzv. "Dobra škola". Jasno su bili definirani svrha i ciljevi, alati, načini realizacije i vrednovanja te dodaci za rad za nastavnike i školu te za sve one koji žele ulagati u školsku infrastrukturu. Postoje dvije vrlo slične realnosti u školama koje imaju potrebu za snažnom podrškom društva. ; The Croatian government has continued with its work aiming at curriculum reform with premier Plenković at its head: he has been given this task in order to ensure that this reform will continue. The Italian government has incorporated a law concerning the reform of national education tiltled as the "Good School". The aims and means have been clearly defined, the tools required, the means of realisation and evaluation, as well as additions for teachers, schools and all those who desire investing in school infrastructure. There are two very similar realities in schools that have the need for the strong support of the community. ; Il Governo croato sta continuando a lavorare alla Riforma curricolare e a capo della Commissione per l'attuazione della stessa è stato eletto il premier Plenković per garantire la continuità. Il Governo italiano ha approvato la Legge sulla Riforma del sistema nazionale di istruzione e formazione, la cosiddetta Buona Scuola. Sono stati chiaramente definiti gli scopi, gli obiettivi, gli strumenti, le modalità di attuazione e valutazione, i bonus per docenti e gli school bonus per coloro che vogliono investire nell'infrastruttura scolastica. Sono due mondi scolastici molto simili che abbisognano di un forte sostegno della società.
Autor u radu na temelju dostupne arhivske građe i relevantne literature analizira metode djelovanja komunističkoga represivnog aparata u Narodnoj Republici / Socijalističkoj Republici Hrvatskoj protiv Katoličke crkve od 1951. do 1965. godine. U radu se prvi put navode brojčani podaci o suradnicima Udbe iz crkvenih redova te organizacija i pojedinaca usko povezanih s Katoličkom crkvom. ; After the establishment of communist rule in Yugoslavia and the elimination of all political opponents, the Catholic Church remained the only strong and well-organised institution in which the communists saw a possible opponent. This is why the communist authorities carried out a series of repressive and political measures in order to prevent its public activities and weaken its influence in society. Bishops and priests were assassinated or imprisoned, Church property was confiscated, religious publications and seminaries were banned, religious schools were closed and ordinands pressured to give up on studying for priestly vocations, a propaganda campaign was launched against the Church and its priests, priests were scrutinized (especially through clerical associations) and recruited as informants for the secret services, and a series of other measures was carried out with the goal of weakening the influence of the Church in society. The main operational role in the implementation of these measures was played by law enforcement services, primarily the State Security Administration and the other services of the Secretariat of the Interior as well as the Counterintelligence Service, which concerned itself mostly with ecclesiastical persons performing compulsory military service in the Yugoslav People's Army. These services' annual reports for Croatia from 1951 to 1965 and their analyses and studies, which only became available to the public in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb in 2017, offer us insights into law enforcement's views on the conditions in the Catholic Church, their assessments of its 'hostile' activities, and the ways in which they planned their activities and carried out certain anti-Church measures. In addition, this paper is the first to present the actual numerical indicators of priests and other Church officials or persons closely connected to the work of the Church who were in various ways employed as a part of the collaborator networks of communist secret services in their activities regarding the Catholic Church in the stated period. It is important to highlight that the vast majority of these persons agreed to collaborate due to pressure or blackmail, for the most part failed to produce the results that the State Security Administration had expected of them, and were therefore often removed from the collaborator network. The State Security Administration benefited little from this network, and the fact that it failed to achieve its goals in its struggle against the Catholic Church confirms this.
The paper reports partial findings of a research project into Croatian ethnonationalism (Croatian: narodnjastvo) as a religion (in the sense of a human invention of the sacred). The practical problems are as follows: ethnonationalism as a religion, which implies inter alia that an ethnic community (Croatian: narod) has the potential and/or capability to develop into, and ought to become, the substratum of a (nation-)state; consequences of ethnonationalism, which include the unattainability of ethnic democracy, ethnic economy and ethnic maturity; conditions of Croatian ethnonationalism, primarily the Catholic Church as a condition in 1961-71, and also before and after the period, especially since 1990. Theoretical problems, i.e. inadequacies in scholarly knowledge of the practical problems, include the following: firstly, Croatian Constitutional Court jurisprudence on ethnic and religious communities; secondly, systematic history of law and state in Croatia and Yugoslavia 1945-90; thirdly, transformation of both communism and catholicism into ethnonationalism; fourthly and fifthly, social structure and representation/agency. To attain the general goal of the research project, which is the use of reason in public affairs, the research is carried out within the theoretical and methodological framework of an integral theory of law and state which includes a modified Lasswell and McDougal's policy analysis expanded by historical institutionalism and critical theory. The subject-matter are the following features of Catholicism as an institutionalized religion, especially in Croatia 1961-71: (1) law, i.e. (1.1) sources of law; (1.2) internal law (organs, members, means); (1.3) external law (relations with the state and non-Catholics); (2) the Church and economy; (3) the Church and nation; (4) Catholicism on theory and practice. The hypotheses (which are ideal-types and as such cannot be either verified or falsified conclusively) are that ethnonationalism in Croatia is a consequence of, inter alia, the following beliefs maintained by the Catholic Church in Croatia in the 1960s and to a significant degree later on: 1. the only acceptable relationship between the Church and the state is the partnership of two legally equal public orders over the same subjects within which the Church has the exclusive power to regulate matrimonial and other family relations, and the power to control education in public schools; 2. peasant family is the basic organic human community; 3. the subjects to the ecclesiastical -- originally feudal -- power tied in fact to land make the ethnic community (Croatian: narod), which is united with the clergy into the Christian community (Croatian: krscanski narod); 4. since fundamental truths are accessible by theology only, and practice is an application of theory, practical knowledge, especially on the appropriate relationship between the Church and the state, is valid only if in accord with Church teaching. The evidence presented in the paper supports to a significant degree the hypotheses. The research findings contribute to the solution of all the theoretical problems, providing major contributions to the second and the third: the most probable reason why the Catholic Church in Croatia was rather silent in the Yugoslav and Croatian Spring 1961-71 and quite vocal since the 1990 is the Croatian Church's allegiance in matters of Church and state more to the First than to the Second Vatican council (which abandoned the Church's "divine" right to be co-sovereign with the state, exposing the "right" as a human invention of the sacred); the Church's ethnonationalism, which facilitates the political partnership of the Church and the state and ensures the dominant position of the clergy within the Church, has coincided with the interest of Yugoslav communists to retain their might and power by a metamorphosis, with the Church's assistance honoured by a concordat, into Croatian ethnonationalists, who, as newly born capitalists, have appropriated the greater part of the former socialist property and continue appropriating the greater part of present public goods. Adapted from the source document.
U naslovu rada je upitnik: to upućuje na pravnu problematiku koja još nije definitivno razriješena. Temeljno pravno pitanje na koje ovaj članak odgovara moglo bi se ovako formulirati: imaju li vjernici laici crkvenu vlast upravljanja ili u njoj mogu samo surađivati? Povod raspravi dale su dvije kanonske odredbe sadašnjeg Zakonika kanonskog prava: prva se odnosi na mogućnost suradnje vjernika laika u vlasti upravljanja (kan. 129, § 2), a druga na mogućnost da vjernici laici budu imenovani crkvenim sudcima (kan. 1421, § 2), što je služba povezana s obavljanjem odgovarajuće vlasti. Je li posrijedi nedosljednost u samom Zakoniku ili je moguće doći do sinteze? U pokušaju odgovora na to pitanje autori induktivnom metodom najprije govore općenito o vlasti upravljanja u Crkvi, a zatim o vjernicima laicima te općenito o njihovim pravima i obvezama u Crkvi. Zatim pristupaju analizi kan. 129, § 2 i kan. 1421, § 2, s posebnim osvrtom na izvore koji su utjecali na formulaciju tih kanona. Konačno, predstavljaju dvije škole, rimsku i münchensku, te dvije teorije, sakramentalnu i nesakramentalnu o izvorima i prenošenju svete vlasti (sacra potestas) u Crkvi. Moguće rješenje postavljenog pitanja i svojevrsnu sintezu u zaključku pronalaze u dvostrukoj izvornosti i dvostrukom prenošenju jedne i jedine Kristove vlasti u Crkvi: po sakramentu sv. reda i po kanonskom poslanju (missio canonica) u ime Crkve. ; Summary In this unsolved issue of the Canon law, the basic juridical question could be expressed in this way: do the lay faithful possess the ecclesiastical power of governance, or they can only participate in it? The discussion is motivated by two paragraphs of the current Canon Law. The first one deals with the possibility of collaboration of the lay faithful in the exercise of the power of governance (can. 129, § 2). The other one refers to the possibility for lay faithful to be appointed for ecclesiastical judges (can. 1421, § 2), which is linked to exercise of the power of governance. Is the Cannon law incoherent, or a synthesis is possible? The authors following the inductive method firstly explain the power of governance in the Church, then the status of the lay faithful, and their general rights and duties in the Church. Then the authors analyze the cannons 129, § 2 and 1421, § 2, giving particular attention to the sources that influenced the formulation of these canons. Finally, they present the theories of the Roman and the Munich school, the sacramental and the non sacramental theory, regarding the sources and transmission of the sacred power (sacra potestas) in the Church. The possible solution and synthesis are found in the double source and the double tradition of the one and only Christ's power in the Church, by the sacrament of Holy Orders, and the canonic mission (missio canonica) in the name of the Church.
It is well known that all educational policies promote inclusion as the major idea in a contemporary system of education. Inclusive education allows children with and without disabilities to attend the same age-appropriate classes at their local school, with additional, individually tailored support if needed. However, large equity gaps in education access and outcomes still exist between groups of children, because some marginalized groups of children experience shockingly low rates of access and learning. Children with disabilities are still faced with a lot of challenges in realizing their right to education and they are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups in education. The Croatian laws clearly indicate that disabled children have the right to an inclusive education and that schools have to provide conditions which lead to successful education of all children. A question arises, however, regarding the level at which the Law is implemented in educational practice, due to the fact that it is unknown whether the conditions for its proper implementation exist in Croatian schools. Some results of the research which was conducted in the frame of the project "Evidence-based early educational interventions" are presented in this paper. The main goals of the research are (1) to determine areas in which students with disabilities need additional support and (2) to analyse differences in the perceived inclusive dimension of the quality of educational processes, from the perspective of teachers as well as from the perspective of students, in five mainstream Croatian primary schools. The research was conducted on a sample of 97 students with disabilities and 97 of their peers without disabilities. Students and their teachers filled in two Questionnaires about students' behaviours that were developed for the purpose of the Project (the Questionnaire for students and the Questionnaire for teachers). The results suggested that students with disabilities have a need for additional support in the educational process, as well as support in developing appropriate relationships with peers. However, they do not reach the expected level of socialization and academic success, which indicates that the policy of inclusion is still not well implemented into educational practice. Different reasons for such results and suggestions for overcoming this situation are discussed. ; Dobro je poznato da sve obrazovne politike promoviraju inkluziju kao glavnu ideju svakog suvremenog obrazovnog sustava. Inkluzivno obrazovanje omogućuje djeci s teškoćama i bez njih da zajedno uče u istim razredima, u skladu sa svojom dobi, uz dodatnu, individualno prilagođenu podršku djeci koja je trebaju. Međutim, u obrazovanju još uvijek postoje velike nejednakosti u pristupačnosti obrazovanja i ishodima učenja nekih skupina djece, budući da postoje marginalizirane skupine koja doživljavaju izuzetno nisku razinu pristupačnosti obrazovanja i kvalitete učenja. Djeca s teškoćama još su uvijek suočena s mnogim izazovima u ostvarivanju svog prava na obrazovanje i ona u tom smislu predstavljaju jednu od najmarginaliziranijih i isključenih skupina. U hrvatskom je zakonodavstvu jasno naglašeno da djeca s teškoćama imaju pravo na inkluzivno obrazovanje i da su škole dužne osigurati uvjete koji vode uspješnom obrazovanju sve djece. Pitanje se, međutim, postavlja u odnosu na razinu u kojoj se zakon provodi u odgojno-obrazovnoj praksi, budući da je nepoznato postoje li uvjeti za njegovu primjerenu primjenu u hrvatskim školama. U ovom je radu prikazan dio rezultata istraživanja koje je provedeno u sklopu projekta "Rane odgojno-obrazovne intervencije temeljene na pokazateljima uspješnosti". Osnovni ciljevi istraživanja su (1) utvrditi područja u kojima učenici s teškoćama trebaju dodatnu podršku i (2) analizirati razlike u doživljenoj inkluzivnoj dimenziji kvalitete obrazovnog procesa iz perspektive učitelja i iz perspektive učenika, u pet hrvatskih redovnih osnovnih škola. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 97 učenika s teškoćama i njihovih 97 standardno razvijenih vršnjaka. Učenici i njihovi učitelji ispunili su dva upitnika o ponašanju učenika koji su razvijeni za potrebe projekta (Upitnik za učenike i Upitnik za učitelje). Rezultati pokazuju da učenici s teškoćama imaju potrebu za dodatnom podrškom u obrazovnom procesu, ali i za podrškom u razvoju primjerenih odnosa s vršnjacima. Međutim, oni ne postižu očekivanu razinu socijalizacije i akademskog uspjeha, što pokazuje da se inkluzivna politika još uvijek nedovoljno dobro implementira u obrazovnu praksu. Autori raspravljaju o različitim razlozima dobivenih rezultata i mogućim načinima prevladavanja uočenog nesuglasja.
Ljudska prava su temeljni standardi koje država mora jamčiti i osigurati svakom pojedincu. Osim zadovoljavanja bioloških potreba ona uključuju i sve druge uvjete života koji svakom pojedincu omogućuju da u potpunosti razvije i rabi svoje potencijale te da zadovoljava svoje društvene potrebe. Ljudima je trebalo puno vremena da prihvate činjenicu kako se ljudska prava odnosena sva ljudska bića, bez iznimke. I dijete je ljudsko biće i kao takvo treba uživati sva prava kao i odrasla osoba; djeca ih ne moraju "posebno" zaslužiti, i ona im se ne moraju "posebno" dati. No s obzirom na tjelesnu i psihičku nezrelost nametnula se potreba isticanja posebnih prava djeteta na zaštitu koja proizlaze upravo iz te činjenice. Obitelj je bila i ostala primarna zajednica čija je zadaća osigurati optimalne uvjete za rast i razvoj djeteta. Otuda njena važnost i nezamjenjivost sa stajališta pojedinca, ali i sa stajališta čitave društvene zajednice. Naravno, iz toga proizlazi da je obiteljska uloga najvažnija i u dječjem oblikovanju stavova i uvjerenja o njihovim pravima. Da bi se razumjela ljudska prava, a time i osposobilo za bolji život, potrebno je obrazovanje za ljudska prava koje treba započeti od najranije dobi. U tome bi se trebalo krenuti od prava djeteta, s obzirom na to da su ta prava djeci i mladima bliža. Obrazovanje za ljudska prava, učenje je koje razvija znanje i vještine, kao i vrijednosti za ljudska prava. Samo osobe koje razumiju ljudska prava radit će na osiguranju i obrani svojih i tuđih ljudskih prava.Empirijski dio rada odnosi se na rezultate koji su dobiveni istraživanjem kako adolescenti procjenjuju poštivanje svojih prava u obitelji, i to na uzorku od 104 ispitanika polaznika Ekonomsko-birotehničke škole u Splitu. Ukupno gledajući, dobiveni su rezultati pokazali da su mladi zadovoljni razinom poštivanja njihovih prava u obitelji. ; Human rights are the basic standards which government has to guarantee and provide to each individual. Except satisfying biological needs, human rights include all other life conditions that enable every individual complete development and ability to use their potentials in order tosatisfy their social needs.People needed a lot of time to accept the fact that human rights relate to every human being with no exceptions. Children are human beings, and as such should have the benefits of rights as the adults; neither do children have to deserve them nor should the rights be given to them.But, in a view of children's physical and psychological immaturity, the necessity of emphasizing special children's rights for protection imposed and rights derived exactly from that fact. The family was and is the primary community with the task of ensuring optimal conditions for child's growth and development. Therefore derives its significance and irreplaceability form individual's point of view, but also from community's point of view. Of course, it follows from this that the family's role is the most important in shaping children's attitudes and beliefs about their rights. In order to understand human rights, and thus enable better life it is necessary to start with the human rights education from an early age. It should start with children's rights, considering that these rights are closer to children and young people. Education for human rights is a study which develops knowledge, skills and values for human rights. Only people who understand human rights will work to secure and defend their own and others' human rights.The empirical part of the work refers to the results, which were obtained in a study that dealt with adolescents' assessment of respect for their rights within the family taken on a sample of 104 respondents who are students of Economic-administrative school in Split. Overall, obtained results showed that young people are satisfied with the level of respect for their rights in the family.
Obilježavajući 250-tu obljetnicu šumarstva u Hrvatskoj kroz mnogobrojna događanja i aktivnosti, naznačene u programu objavljenom u Zapisniku 4. sjednice Upravnog i Nadzornog odbora HŠD-a u Šumarskome listu 11-12/2014., svoj doprinos ovoj značajnoj obljetnici nastojali smo dati i u ovoj rubrici.U dvobroju 1-2/2015. tekstom "Lutanja u gospodarenju privatnim šumama" ukazali smo na neke probleme u gospodarenju tim šumama, koristeći se i tekstovima iz povijesti šumarstva. Naime, mogli bismo reći da se tim problemima prilazi kao da se radi o zanemarivoj površini, a zapravo je to više od 1/5 površina šuma u Hrvatskoj, za koju također vrijedi Zakon o šumama, što se nažalost zaboravlja. Posebno smo ukazali na nekontrolirane sječe i "haračenje" bez učinkovitog nadzora i mjera suzbijanja takvoga stanja, te bez jasnih zakonskih podloga za kažnjavanje odnosnih sudionika. Još jednom se ukazuje na potrebu udruživanja malih privatnih šumo-posjednika, čime bi se izbjeglo dosadašnje gospodarenje na razini čestice i osigurala mogućnost lakšeg gospodarenja u duhu ZOŠ-a, te mogućnost učinkovitijeg korištenja EU fondova.U dvobroju 3-4/2015. ukazujemo na sve očitiji odmak od načela potrajnog gospodarenja i upravljanja šumom kao obnovljivim resursom i najsloženijim ekosustavom, poistovjećujući ga sve više s "tvorničkom halom". U svrhu proizvodnje najveće kvalitete i kvantitete drvnih sortimenata, potrebno je maksimalno korištenje potencijala šumskog staništa, ali strogo se držeći načela potrajnog gospodarenja, jer bi njegova degradacija vodila u katastrofu. Stoga je neophodno da cijelim procesom upravljanja i terenskog rada rukovode i nadziru ga "teoretično i praktično naobraženo gospodarstveno osoblje". Ako je proklamirani cilj gospodarenja proizvodnja najvrjednije drvne mase, onda i njeno korištenje mora biti racionalno, usmjereno ponajprije na domaći visoko finalizirani proizvod, koji uz financijski rezultat osigurava i visoku zaposlenost.U dvobroju 5-6/2015. uz "pomoć" teksta "Državni ispiti za samostalno vođenje šumskog gospodarstva" iz Šumarskoga lista 1880. i 1881. godine, osvrnuli smo se na važnost stručnog upravljanja i gospodarenja šumama, zalažući se ponajprije za stručno, a ne političko kadroviranje. Ističe se, kako nije dovoljno imati samo odgovarajuću stručnu spremu, nego je potrebno postepeno stjecanje praktičnih znanja i iskustva za rukovođenje šumskog gospodarstva. Tako osposobljeni šumarski kadrovi imaju svoj limit. "Ne ima svatko sposobnosti, da ono bude, što hoće, i uz najbolju volju može se dogoditi, da komu njegove vlastite naravne sposobnosti reknu: dovde i ne dalje. Ne treba tumačenja, da uslied ovakovih pogrešaka trpi ponajprije šuma".U dvobroju 7-8/2015., također uz "pomoć" teksta iz Šumarskoga lista iz 1895. godine, povlačeći paralelu s današnjicom, skrenuli smo pozornost na već tada traženu stručnu i organizacijsku sposobnost šumarskoga kadra na najodgovornijim radnim mjestima u šumarskim institucijama, ponajprije "nadšumara, protustavnika i šumara (upravitelja šumarije)". Zaključak, kako uz postepeno stručno usavršavanje kroz praksu "poštenje je kruna vrlina čovjeka, kojemu su povjereni milijuni narodnog imetka" i danas bi trebalo biti sastavnica etičkog profila šumarskoga stručnjaka.Riječ Uredništva "Jesmo li iz povijesti nešto naučili" iz dvobroja 9-10/2015., kako čujemo "uzbudila je duhove", a mi smo samo "pušuć i na hladno" uz primjer iz povijesti upozorili na ono što bi se moglo dogoditi osnivanjem većinske privatne tvrtke Hrvatsko drvo d.o.o., s udjelom od 25 % Hrvatskih šuma d.o.o. kao suosnivača. Razvidno je, da je tema bila pogođena.Kako "nada umire posljednja", i mi se u idućoj godini nadamo boljitku i adekvatnom vrednovanju šumarske struke na svim razinama. S tom željom svim čitateljima Šumarskoga lista želimo Čestit Božić te sretnu i uspješnu 2016. godinu. Uredništvo ; The 250th anniversary of forestry in Croatia was marked by a number of events and activities set down in the Minutes of the 4th meeting of the CFA Managing and Supervisory Board and published in Forestry Journal 11-12/2014. Our column has also tried to give a contribution to this grand anniversary.In the double issue I-2/2015, the text "Disorientation in private forest management" highlights some problems in the management of these forests. Some tests from the history of forestry were also used to reinforce the problem matter. It could almost be said that the problems are treated as if the area in question was almost negligible, while in fact private forests account for one fifth of the forested area in Croatia and are governed by the Law on Forests, a fact often forgotten. We particularly pointed to uncontrolled felling operations and "pillage" and to lack of efficient supervision, measures of preventing such activities and clear legal bases for the punishment of perpetrators. A renewed plea was made for small private forest owners to unify in order to avoid management at the level of a plot, make management easier in line with the Law on Forests and ensure the possibility of more efficient use of EU funds.The double issue 3-4/2015 is concerned with a growing shift away from the principle of sustainable management and planning of forests as a renewable resource and the most complex ecosystem, as well as with the treatment of this system as a "factory hall". In order to achieve the best quality and quantity of wood assortments, it is necessary to make maximum possible use of forest site potential, at the same time taking care that the principles of sustainable management are strictly adhered to, since its degradation would lead to catastrophe. It is therefore essential that the entire process of management and field work is undertaken and supervised by "highly educated management personnel who posses theoretical and practical knowledge for useful and sustainable management of forests". If the proclaimed goal of management is to produce the most valuable wood mass, then its use should also be rational and directed primarily to domestic highly finalized product, which guarantees not only financial gains but also high employment.In the double issue 5-6/2015, drawing on the text "State exams for independent management of a forest enterprise" from Forestry Journal of 1880 and 1881, we tackled the importance of expert forest planning and management and advocated professionally based rather than politically based selection of personnel. It is not sufficient to possess adequate school credentials: what is necessary it to gradually gain practical knowledge and experience for the management of a forest enterprise. Even forest personnel trained in such a way have their limits. Not everybody is capable of being what he wants to be; try as hard as one might, one's own natural abilities tell you: you can get no further than this. Needless to say, it is the forest that suffers the most in the aftermath of such errors".The double issue 7-8/2015, also using the text from Forestry Journal of 1895, draws a parallel with the present time and highlights expert and organisational abilities of the forest personnel in the most responsible work places in forestry institutions. This refers primarily to county foresters, accountants and foresters (chief forest managers). As in the past, gradual specialized education through practice, combined with "honesty as the crown virtue of a person who has been entrusted with the wealth of national property", should constitute the ethical profile of a forestry expert today as well.The Editorial "Have we learnt something from history" in the double issue 9-10/2015, as we hear, has "stirred up the ghosts"; however, what we only attempted, just to be on the safe side, was to use some historical examples to warn of what might happen if a major private company Hrvatsko Drvo Ltd is founded, with 25% share of Hrvatske Šume Ltd as a co-founder. Clearly, the topic hit the target.As we all know, "hope dies last", so we truly hope that the forestry profession will be improved and adequately evaluated at all levels in the year to come. With this in mind, we would like to wish all the readers of Forestry Journal Merry Christmas and Happy and Successful New Year 2016.Editorial Board