Bulletin # 153
Bulletin 153 December 2017
Conversation with our Readers
Educational Diversity is the Way Forward
12/12/17
Dear Editor:
It was wonderftul reading in the November Bulletin about the Miami Charter School. What a phenomenal accomplishment in the heart of “little Havana.” However, the article points out that where there is heart, there are deeds to be accomplished. We are forever grateful to those inspirational individuals — like Yianni Xaralambidis, the founder of the Miami Charter School: The Archimedean Academy. It takes vision but also open-mindedness, and an understanding of what is more valuable in the cultural milieu one exists to venture forward with new ideas. I do believe that the reason why so many charter schools flourished outside New York City is exactly that: the large immigrant community of NY City germinated into the natural flow of the parochial school growth that we saw in the last 50 years. but the decline of this model we are currently experiencing also highlights the changing forces around these immigrant church-based communities. That is why it has been equally difficult to convince the parish councils and other organizations surrounding the church and parochial schools that the evolution of teaching Greek and Greek Paideia in NYC is an evolving entity.
I do believe, however, the time has come and the parishes are now ready to welcome the charter school model as a viable system of teaching Greek, and maintaining our wonderful cultural and religious heritage. So, I was delighted to read that the Miami Charter School has received recognition by SACS, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, enabling the charter school to open up sister schools elsewhere. I encourage them to do so with the same excitement and entrepreneurial spirit that their founder showed in 1994. By no means am I proposing that we should accept the dilution of our parochial school system which has been a beacon of educational success for nearly 100 years in NYC; but parents should be offered educational choice and opportunity. It should not be only the wealthy who have access to these wonderful programs. There is room for both school systems to flourish in NYC and surrounding areas.
I must also say that the recent announcements of the Niarchos Foundation funding to the St. Demetrios School System of Astoria and the entire parochial school system of the NYC gives me great hope of resurgence of the successful and effective parochial school teaching and learning model. The Greek American communities of Queens and Manhattan are most grateful for this generous commitment to secure the future prosperity of The Archdiocesan Day School System. Mr. Dracopoulos, and the Board Members of the Foundation, are men and women of exceptional vision, and understand that paideia in the 21st century requires the entire village participation to flourish. They have truly become the “wind beneath the wings” of the system.
Teaching our cultural heritage and religious traditions, while raising future advocates for Orthodoxy and Christianity in America, are cherished assets for me and others who are staunch supporters of the system. This is why I am a fervent supporter of diversity, educational opportunity, and parent choice in our educational systems.
Thank you for the opportunity to learn about this accomplished school, and perhaps in the future an entire Bulletin can be created and published with all these exceptional schools. We must boast about what we have accomplished, for our accomplishments deserve recognition by the omogeneia as well.
A blessed Christmas to all with Love, Joy, and Peace in the New Year!
With sincere regards,
Frederica Sagiani
frederica.sagiani@gmail.com
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News from Athens
In this section, we wish to inform our readers and Hellenic Link friends of three extraordinary messages we received from our Association Branch in Athens.
- Publication by the University of Athens of its Directory in Ten Languages
Our colleague and fellow-member Professor Panagiotis Siskos has written:
Dear Colleagues, for your update, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA, in Greek ΕΚΠΑ) has mounted on the internet its 44-page color- illustrated digital Directory of administrative structure and of educational programs and services: in ten links, one in the Greek language and nine in foreign languages: Arabic, Turkish, English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Norwegian. .
The Greek version link is:http://www.uoa.gr/to-panepistimio/apostoli-politikes-kai-dhmosieymata/dhmosieymata/enhmerwtiko-fylladio.html
The English version link is:
http://en.uoa.gr/about-us/mission-policies-and-publications/university-of-athens-a-self-portrait.html
Panayotis A. Siskos, Professor of Environmental Chemistry
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Department of Chemistry
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Zografos
Athens, GR-157 71, Greece
Tel: +30 210 7704309
Professor Siskos has also contributed the following Conference Program. We thank him deeply for both items.
- Conference: “The Education of Educators: Contemporary Approaches and Questions
There is no doubt that Hellenes everywhere including the domain of Hellas herself are in the midst of an educational crisis under the multiple pressures faced in our intensely competing, if not antagonistic, world.
This is time for strenuous soul searching and examination of where we have come from educationally and to where we are heading. In a world which largely has sold out humanistic values and studies, we are vitally preoccupied with ascertaining the answer to the question: how can we preserve a smooth course begun thousands of years ago and now ominously threatened from many directions. Every Hellene deep inside feels this agonizing need to reorient himself/herself towards the inherited, patently humane, ethnic and cultural identity and be able to contribute to a real human civilization, now and for the generations to come.
It is, therefore, highly timely and appropriate that on the 180eth anniversary from its establishment in the free kingdom of Greece in 1837, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA or EKPA in Greek) decided to observe the occasion with a Conference (ημερίδα), substantially focused on the theme outlined above. The event was scheduled to be held in Athens a few days ago, on November 30, 2017. Our colleague Dr. Panagiotis Siskos, Professor at EKPA kindly cared to send us the Program , which we are pleased to bring to the attention of our members and friends below:
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| Σχολή Επιστημών της Αγωγής
Κοσμητεία Ιστοσελίδα: http://www.ecd.uoa.gr Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών Σχολή Επιστημών της Αγωγής |
Ιστοσελίδα: http://www.ecd.uoa.gr
Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Σχολή Επιστημών της Αγωγής
ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΟ
στο πλαίσιο του εορτασμού της 180ης επετείου από την ίδρυση του Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
“Εκπαίδευση Εκπαιδευτικών: Σύγχρονες προσεγγίσεις και ερωτήματα”
30 Νοεμβρίου 2017
Κεντρικό κτίριο Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών, Πανεπιστημίου 30
Αμφιθέατρο Άλκης Αργυριάδης
Πρόγραμμα
Πρωινή συνεδρία
09:30 – 9:50 Έναρξη – Χαιρετισμοί
Συντονίζει: Θωμάς Μπαμπάλης, Πρόεδρος Π.Τ.Δ.Ε.(Τομέας Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης)
09:50 – 10:10 Χάρης Αθανασιάδης, Καθηγητής, Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων.
«Από τα Διδασκαλεία του 19ου στα Παιδαγωγικά Τμήματα του 21ου: Από τον λειτουργό του έθνους στον κριτικό παιδαγωγό;»
10:10 – 10:30 Αλεξάνδρα Ανδρούσου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ε.Κ.Π.Α. «Αρχική εκπαίδευση και επιμόρφωση των εκπαιδευτικών στην Ελλάδα»
10:30 – 10:50 Ιωάννης Βρεττός, Καθηγητής, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
«Η Πρακτική Άσκηση των υποψηφίων εκπαιδευτικών: πραγματικότητα και πρόταση»
10:50 – 11:10 Δόμνα Κακανά, Καθηγήτρια , Α.Π.Θ.
«10 χρόνια Δίκτυο Πρακτικών Ασκήσεων Παιδαγωγικών Τμημάτων Προσχολικής Εκπαίδευσης και Αγωγής: δράσεις και προοπτικές»
11:10 – 11:20 Συζήτηση
11:20 – 11:45 Διάλειμμα
Συντονίζει: Εύη Ζαμπέτα, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Τ.Ε.Α.Π.Η.
11:45 – 12:30 Ivor Goodson, Καθηγητής, Πανεπιστήμιο του Brighton
“Education, control and policy”
12:30 – 12:40 Συζήτηση
Συντονίζει: Ηρώ Μυλωνάκου Κεκέ, Καθηγήτρια Π.Τ.Δ.Ε.
12:40 – 13:00 Βασίλειος Μπάρος, Καθηγητής, Πανεπιστήμιο του Salzburg
«Εκπαίδευση Εκπαιδευτικών με ποιους προσανατολισμούς; H έννοια της πολιτικής παιδείας στην επιστήμη της αγωγής»
13:00 – 13:20 Σοφία Αυγητίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Πανεπιστήμιο Δυτικής Μακεδονίας
«Διεθνείς τάσεις στην εκπαίδευση των εκπαιδευτικών και συνδέσεις με το ελληνικό πλαίσιο».
13.20 – 13:40 Αριστοτέλης Ζμας, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Α.Π.Θ.
«Διεθνής λόγος περί επαγγελματισμού εκπαιδευτικών: μεταξύ εκσυγχρονιστικών προταγμάτων και αντιφατικών προοπτικών»
13:40 – 14:00 Συζήτηση
Απογευματινή συνεδρία
Στρογγυλό Τραπέζι με θέμα: «Παιδαγωγική επάρκεια των εκπαιδευτικών: Μια συζήτηση που εκκρεμεί»
Συντονίζει η Θάλεια Δραγώνα, Κοσμήτωρ Σχολής Επιστημών της Αγωγής
Συμμετέχουν:
16.00 – 17:00 Κώστας Γαβρόγλου, Υπουργός Παιδείας Έρευνας και Θρησκευμάτων
Γιώργος Αγγελόπουλος, Γενικός Γραμματέας Υπουργείου Παιδείας Έρευνας και Θρησκευμάτων
Γεράσιμος Κουζέλης, Πρόεδρος Ινστιτούτου Εκπαιδευτικής Πολιτικής
Λοΐζος Σοφός, Πρόεδρος της Συνόδου Προέδρων και Κοσμητόρων Παιδαγωγικών Τμημάτων
Εκπρόσωπος της Ο.Λ.Μ.Ε. /ΚΕ.ΜΕ.ΤΕ. (Ομοσπονδία Λειτουργών Μέσης Εκπαίδευσης/Κέντρον Μελετών και Τεκμηρίωσης)
Εκπρόσωπος της Δ.Ο.Ε. / Ι.Π.Ε.Μ. (Διδασκαλική Ομοσπονδία Ελλάδος/Ινστιτούτο Παιδαγωγικών Ερευνών και Μελετών)
17:00 – 18:00 Μαρίζα Φουντοπούλου, Πρόεδρος Τμήματος Φιλοσοφίας Παιδαγωγικής και Ψυχολογίας Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Κώστας Βαρώτσος, Κοσμήτωρ Σχολής Θετικών Επιστημών Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Ιωάννης Σαριδάκης, Πρόεδρος Α.Σ.ΠΑΙ.Τ.Ε.
Κώστας Σκορδούλης, Καθηγητής Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Βασίλης Τσάφος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Τμήματος Εκπαίδευσης και Αγωγής στην Προσχολική Ηλικία, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
18:00 – 18:30 Συζήτηση
When the text of the presentations at this Conference will become available, we derwill make every effort to bring them to the webpages of the Bulletin for an update and futher discussion on the views expressed and positions taken.
CJE
- A Warm and Melodic Message of Doxology on Savior’s Nativity , for Everyone,
From Alexander and Katerina Economides, message of Love, Joy and Peace to celebrate Christmas and to welcome the Year 2018!
