How consciousness are the greek children of their history and their past?

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dofaegean

Dear Leonarda,
All these you refer is true about children's consciousness on our history.
The fault is first of all of the educational system.
When my son went to school for first time, we were in Cyprus and in the middle of the year he came at home and told me.."Do you you know who is my hero and I will be like him when I grow up?"
To be honest, I was expecting to hear a football player's name, like Rivaldo or Ronaldo or sth like that...but for my surprise he said.." Euagoras Palikaridis". I have never said anything to him about that hero, It was his teacher job!
Now, he is in Greece and he still remember that hero...
As for the flag, i would like to highlight to the above user that it is a holy symbol of the Greek nation and whoever elevate and keep it, must have Greek conscience!! Under that flag have given their life's thousands of Greek people. We owe to them respect, honour and the promise that we will do the same if it needs.
Will your son lady (from albania) give his life for Greece? If yes, then keep our flag.

Dellarovere

Very concious:
Haven't you ever heard of the "naval battle" of Marathon and Kolokotronis's partecipation at the battle of Thermopylae?

My kids' mom

A worker is as good as his preceptor
A teacher is as good as his mentor
A follower is as good as his leader
A student is as good as his teacher

Dear, your students must be a little confused, is OK, history will eventually sink in and they will learn from you and will always remember the time you took and the nice way you had to teach them history.
It happens globally, kids take less time to learn important things and more time to chat,text,IM or whatever...
Hopefully with good teachers around them who never give up and always remind them of our proud history, they will learn the correct facts.
Please, don't despair and keep up the great work, a lot of work ahead for you but is worth it, our next generation is worth every effort!!

Oh, and the flag of a country (any country), should be carried only by a citizen of that country.
Sorry if some find the comment too patriotic, I guess patriotism is a forbidden word lately,but some honors are to be reserved for the Hellenes, as some privileges are reserved for the citizens in any other country in the world

Frank B

I am wondering whether Kolokotronis actually knew when the battle of Thermopylae took place... Then again, I am pretty much sure Bruce Elgin knew everything about it...!!!

We should be conscious of our history. But history as such does not always bring any consciousness to people.

As for the flag:
The Greek flag awards excellence. Not nationality. Its an honor. Not a birth right. The Greek flag should only be kept by the best, the excellent and the brightest who honor it. Not the self-acclaimed patriots.

How many of you have done your civil service...? The ministry says 43% among Greek men do their best not to go to the army, reduce their service time or use any means to have a good time while being there. That goes for the flag... Some other "heroes" burn it every November... That goes for the flag too. Some others honor their flag by waving it while supporting their favorite political party during elections...That goes for the flag too... You wanna be patriots? Move your tender "bottoms" and prove yourself abroad. Far away from the safety of your nation, national symbols and flags that only cover your own inferiority complexes. There, it will be only you and your surname. I wanna see you "heroes" being immigrants yourselves and honoring Greece there. Lets do that for a change...

Borders change. People change. And history changes too. Greece is an idea. You put it in your mind and travel with it.
Let's keep the flags in our minds and waving them over our actions.

Michelangelo

dear it happens also in Italy.I asked about Tiziano, they said which is his new song?

Renata

no consciousness..i think it is the new generation who doesnt care of anything else, but mobile, internet and cafeteria...How sad for the memory of all those who gave their life for us

zigzag

unfortunately it is like that.They have confused the 25th of march with the 28th of october.
It comes from the family i am sure.When the mother is watching tv series how do you want her to educate the children?Is it enough the 6 hours of school with the government employeeds the teachers who go there just for a salary?

emiliosailez

Please do not despair. The great masses of the populace in any given country, at any given time, is pretty well ignorant basically because of apathy and disinterest and boredom.
There are literate and educated individuals, very aware of history who are the ones that in fact retain, maintain, support and inspire the crowds when the moment of need arises.
Most of what we learn is outside the schools.

alexlascari

Tottally agreed with Dellarovere. Ignorance of our history is a fact among younger people, and the blame stands on both teachers and parents.
As for our flag, I will never accept it's been touched but by Greeks who are proud of being Greeks.

dude4âˆž

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

On Greek Independence Day, we celebrate the proud heritage of Greek Americans, recognize the longstanding friendship between the United States and Greece, and reaffirm our shared desire to spread freedom to people around the world.

Greece is the birthplace of democratic principles, and the story of modern Greek independence demonstrates the power of liberty. On March 25, 1821, Greek revolutionaries declared their independence from the Ottoman Empire after centuries of imperial rule. This bold action began an 11-year war to secure their freedom and gain recognition as a sovereign country. Americans at the time identified with the Greek struggle and provided support to aid the effort. Leaders such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison encouraged the Greek cause and supported the desire for a representative government that would ensure liberty and justice for all its citizens, and they offered our Constitution as a model for consideration.

A strong cooperation and friendship has developed between Greece and America, and our Nation has benefited from the contributions of Greek immigrants. The hard work of Greek Americans has made our country stronger and influenced our literature, arts, businesses, politics, education, and entertainment. The faith, traditions, and patriotism of Greek Americans have enriched our society.

The United States and Greece are bound together by common values and a deep desire to protect and extend freedom and peace. On this special occasion, we celebrate our friendship and our commitment to advancing democracy, prosperity, and security.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2006, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

To your question, though, yes education is strongly lacking in history. Part of it is generational, but it's hard to make kids care. Plus, in general there seems to be more focus on other events that happened in history on Oct 28th. The Volstead Act seems to get a lot of attention. I don't think many Greek families in America spend a lot of time talking history. Food, sure! But, history not so much.

cpinatsi

Regarding the question, I have to say that some are and some aren't. It is a matter of education, like everything else. The same way they learn nothing about art they learn also nothing about history.
As for the flag carrying issue, I have to point out 2 things:
1. The official approach of the state is that the best student will carry the flag, Albanian or not.
2. I am certain that your children, even totally English children, would never face any reaction in this matter. This is because the reactions are towards the Albanians specifically, because, as Dellarovere said, Albanians still raise claims on Greek territories, oppress the Greek minority in Northern Epirus, and cause a multitude of problems and insults to the country that has given them the opportunity to live like the rest of Europe, while they lived in the Middle Ages and didn't even have electric ovens or TVs. I am not being a racist, these are facts. Now, if a child is raised as Greek and shares the Greek culture and mostly WANTS to be Greek, he/she can raise the Greek flag, I have no problem. "Greeks are those sharing our culture". But if the child wants to carry the flag to show how he/she personnally succeeded for the sake of Albania, carrying the flag would not be proper. I am sure there are cases of both categories. The case you remember, I think Odysseas, was among those who should carry the flag with pride. But it takes more than just to be good at school, you have to take sides and be on the greek side if you want to carry the Greek flag. Simple as that. I am not nationalist or racist, but this type of celebration (flag etc. on the national day) has a priori this symbolism. I don't care if the person carrying the flag is black, Albanian, or whatever, as long as he/she is deeply Greek. You know, many of teh Greek revolution heroes were Arvanites (had an origin of former Albanian immigration), including Bouboulina, Botsaris, etc. But they chose sides and no one could say they were not Greek.

ele

I think it's mainly a matter of the educational system...it is organised in a way that history is not taught properly and a fw teachers that go out of the program won't make the difference bc 99% of the teachers will stick to the scheule and 99% of the students won't care...

Ms.M

I am not a Greek citizen, but all over the world children who are schooled are given history lessons. The lessons are boring and therfore not easily remembered. I am partially Greek and I would be fascinated to learn about Greek history. The story is a long one. It encompasses the story of the Roman empire, how it took over the Greeks and its final fall as well. Telling a story about history from the point of view of a family or individual could make it more interesting.
Look at the website below.

biohazard

You should take a walk to my classroom Leonarda. Students think that everything we eat is ok, as long as it is clean and well packaged! They consider water as a substanceâ€¦ If you try to tell them about Asopos River, or diseasesâ€¦ cancer for example, you realize that they are ready to accuseâ€¦Good! Ainâ€™t that sad for citizens of the E.U.?

asimenia

Yes they do - however history taught in Greek schools is often onesided - sometimes breeding hatred and fear like with March 25th and the 'Turks'. I just asked my 8yr old daughter who is in 3rd Dimotiko and she said 'Greeks said NO to the Italians ...... and that was it .... nothing was said about the 2nd World War nor the other countries fighting the same War. Personally I hate the racism that surrounds these 'celebrations' in Greece. I dislike my children (even the youngest - 4yrs) learning to fear and hate other nationalities for something that happened years and years ago! Yes we should know how history but not ram out-dated war poems down their throats. I also can't stand the attitude that goes with the cleverest student carrying the flag - God forbid an Albanian to take the position ... remember the outcry a few years ago - even his classmates were throwing insults at him - I was disgusted! Which led me to discuss with my husband and his friends about who they think should be allowed to carry the flag ....
My kids? Greek/English ... seems that's ok because the father's Greek
Greek/English with Brit father .... hmmm ok if the kids look more Greek
Greek/Black English ..... NO! they will look black
Greek/Italian (my friends kids) on the 28th Oct? Yes ...Me: Why isn't the celebration against Italians????
Greek/Turkish (my other friend's kid) NO way!
Albanian born in Greece? NO!
I gave up this stupid 'debate; before we ended up divorcing!
Narrow mindedness and ....... well racism.
Greece should do away with these racist building 'celebrations' of history!

Edit: to the people who commented on the flag holding - most of you live outside Greece. If, for example your child born in USA (or anywhere else) to Greek parents worked hard to become the A student and top of their class - then the honour of carrying the flag was taken away - would there be an outcry??? Can you imagine this happening in UK??? - NEVER!
Greece has many excellent things going for it - but if you live here you'd understand there IS a fear of foreigners and blatant racism - no matter what young Greeks say on this site - but this is Greece ...... I heard a 4 yr old say 'Only a good Turk is a dead Turk' this they were taught by an adult ..... !!!! Jeez!

Microbeast

have them watch the movie 300.

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