Notes

Education and learning in Greece - From Childhood towards the Third Age
As typically the tourist tsunami plus the last heat with the Greek summer perish down, people's brains are once once more checking out the come back to routine which in turn characterises September. Probably surprisingly for foreign people, it is popular for Greeks to bid their summer farewells to prolonged family, friends and acquaintances in their very own holiday neighbourhoods by wishing them a 'good winter' (??????????? = kal-o he-mo-na), even though typically the biting cold of which can occur during Greek winters is usually still far off.

An important part of everyones routine, not simply Greeks', naturally , is training. September sees section of youngsters returning unwillingly for the incessant grind that constitutes their particular education. Greece must surely have smallest school year in the world : approximately 32 months, excluding one-day religious, national and territorial holidays. Hence learners must work anxiously throughout the chilly winter months to be able to protect the syllabus. To make matters a whole lot worse for these aspiring professionals, the lack of confidence inside of state education that has developed over typically the last half-century implies that most young adults attend coaching universities or foreign vocabulary centres (usually referred to as 'frontisteria') on a weekly basis. Or even they might have private lessons.

This specific lamentably arduous process first began to be able to evolve many many years ago when college or university entrance examinations analyzed applicants' abilities and skills at increased levels than those they will were taught throughout their final year of secondary school. This specific clever state of affairs assured the particular wealthy elite regarding the nation that their progeny would occupy the limited number of tertiary places available, irrespective of academic capacity, and consequently the controlling positions inside the state and the particular nation generally. Inside of essence, it absolutely was a new plutocratic system, intended for those days only the rich could pay for to send their particular offspring to such establishments.

Nowadays, the coaching college will be so entrenched that will it constitutes a huge industry; typically the parastatal education method - so a lot for free (and fair) education! And on Top Management Colleges in India begins anew - chasing factors and credits in an effort to better one's place in the career and social buy-ins, a dogged convention event with the particular prizes of standing, wealth plus a comfortable lifestyle awaiting typically the successful participants with the end involving the long haul.

For individuals who don't make it in to the top one or a couple of percent the options are more prosaic. The fact that will a high proportion of the Ancient greek workforce continues to be able to be engaged on family-based business gives graduates at most levels the chance to have on the family tradition if these people fail to safe employment in their particular chosen field. So, not necessarily uncommon in order to come across highly-qualified bakers, carpenters, shopkeepers, kiosk-owners, electricians in addition to hotel receptionists, to name just a several. This may be cold comfort after all those years of relentless work, but these times work of virtually any description is better than none.

Ancient greek educationists have lately introduced significant innovations in the express system, which experienced hitherto stood offender penalized stilted, lacking creativity and too reliant on marque learning. The development of information technology, interactive teaching equipment and the world extensive web has changed the landscape involving education globally, together with Greece being no more exception.

So that remains to be seen whether typically the Greek youth returning to their sessions full of passion and optimism this specific year, or whether they'll continue being uninterested with more associated with the same old slavery dressed up in 'technicolor' clothing. May their fascination along with mobile phones, Wii, SONY PSP, P2P, social marketing sites and so on help or even hinder the amount? The particular jury may stay 'out' about this problem for a reasonable time to be able to come.

Interestingly, the particular Greek word intended for education is?????????? (ek-pai-thev-si, with the 'th' pronounced as within 'the'), which literally means 'coming away from childhood'. But you possibly can get forgiven for thinking that education has brought on an entire new meaning with the arrival of this communication and information technology. One amazing things whether this technology, sometimes called the particular 'screenagers', will at any time 'emerge' from the child years. Now what a brand new slant on life-long education, as well as typically the now-blurred distinction between that process and even that other ultimate goal of education -- education for life.

And that reminds me yet again of this ancient Greek expressing, related to Solon, the Athenian reformist statesman renowned for his / her wisdom:?????????????????????? (Yir-a-sko a-ei the-thas-ko-men-os) - 'Growing old I never stop learning. ' It appears that some points just never transform. Have a good winter!

Copyright Leslie Neil Evans August 2010

Leslie Neil Evans is a great Australian-Greek writer, performer and teacher who else has lived in addition to worked on typically the Ionian island associated with Kefalonia, Greece intended for 17 years.
Website: https://flood-hardison.thoughtlanes.net/schooling-in-greece-from-childhood-for-the-third-age