The Children's Politics, Education and Costs Thread

[Ephilant]

Emmanouil Hatzisimeonidis, the major of Kastoria has now officially closed 53 schools until further notice.
The town of 36,000 souls has not received any funding for its schools, leave alone funding to heat the buildings. At this time of the year the temperature in Kastoria can easily drop to -10C, the lake freezes over quite regularly to the point that people take a shortcut to the villages on the other side by walking across the frozen water...
His action follows the action taken by Ptolemaida municipality, also in Macedonia

[birdy]

Just to give you a perspective from the other side of Europe. School started here 3 weeks ago. The weather has changed and it feels a bit like Ireland in the summer. Water everywhere and a cool 16C only.
No heating in the school. Heating oil is simply unavailable, not just to the school, to everybody. Schoolbooks have not arrived, no money. Copies, pencils, anything else the kids need, not arrived. No money. Parents have no money either. Teacher has not been paid for over 18 months now. There is not even chalk for teacher to write on the blackboard. No funding...
So, what does teacher do? Shelves the non existent books and copies, and re-invents herself as a full time (unpaid) child minder for the kids while the parents try to earn a living. Around 11 am, when the rains have passed, the kids swarm onto the beach and do a daily clean-up. Single line, they walk the beach and pick up all rubbish, drift wood, you name it. Cleanest beach in the world! They play games involving basic maths (we are talking 5 -8 year old children), word games, anything teacher can dream up. She does make a point of doing this outside of the school building, so kids don't perceive it as "school". They do 1 hour a day "laughter yoga". Proud to say I introduced that to them. They just love it.
Kids are taken to the food kitchens (which have now moved into the 4 churches around the place) and are shown how this works and why. They help out for a while, doing simple things. Lots of conversations between them, including admissions that they get food from the kitchen because the parents have no money. Sometimes they get homework, as in, they are asked, if they can, to make a drawing about what they did/experienced during the day, or if they have the gear, write a story about their day, experiences etc. Best education, happiest kids ever. And free! As teacher said to me the other day, to hell with the system.

Hats of to Filia, she has the right attitude. And indeed, to hell with the system.

Thanks for post. It amazed me and I've spent an hour reading articles on Greece crisis. It seems to be getting worse all the time. It is a case of out of sight out of mind I think that most people felt that all was improving in Greece. Let's hope we can all pull out of this , austerity is spent, we need a new direction.

[Ephilant]

Thanks for post. It amazed me and I've spent an hour reading articles on Greece crisis. It seems to be getting worse all the time. It is a case of out of sight out of mind I think that most people felt that all was improving in Greece. Let's hope we can all pull out of this , austerity is spent, we need a new direction.

We all do indeed need a new direction. But that will not happen until we get rid of the old ring masters and puppeteers. They are unwilling, even if they had the insight to do so, to change their tricks because they still works FOR THEM. Paradoxically enough, the work because WE allow them to work.
The main problem here is that for too long people have been brainwashed into believing that that change comes from the top down. Change is not negotiated, it is not even negotiable. Remember all the election slogans? "So and so for Change!" "This party for Change!"
And what has changed....? Nothing, it got worse, as we over here know only too well.
Change has to come from the bottom up. People like Filia are the ones who will initiate the change. We have to achieve it.
As I said elsewhere. No point in waiting for Pericles. We ARE Pericles, just need to realize it...

To get a good idea of how things are changing here, read the posts here. The change in attitude from the owner of the blog over the last few months is very telling of the change in the people of this country. We are not too far away from what Patriarch Ieronymus, a few months ago, said would happen:

A justified social explosion

I hope you don't let it get this far in your country.