11 minutes

For the battery to finish and as I start writing it drops to 9.

A visit in my University today was just overwhelming. Along the entrance several refugees selling their illegal products and a lot of others…I wonder what they are waiting for.

From outside it looks like a deserted building, with lots of half-torn posters for the next strikes and protests and a slogan written with a spray at the stairs “Do not conform with the system” it says.

Posters of all the youth political unions on the walls, the corridors, with the catchy words HOPE, INNOVATION, CHANGE, words that have been so much misused by a lot of people just to attract people that need them, all of us.

A spark of hope is the people in the University who joked, were helpful, but were just administrating, were just passing their time until the weekend comes. No spark in the eyes, no inspiring looks, no understanding of their role to the future generations’ lives.

6 minutes…

Piles of old books and study guides in the office, who needs printed material these days? The small xmas tree, seems that it got out of the box with the lights on and no-one notices its existence. Announcements for lessons that are being postponed, for support private courses, results of some typical standardized tests…

4 minutes…

I felt so proud and ashamed at the same time. Ashamed for all the above. Proud because in all that there is some union of young hopeful, innovative 20 year olds that believe in change and try to wake up the sleeping “beauties” . Maybe I am not being objective, but I see AIESEC as the only honest, true and authentic value of the university that has remained un-touched over the past years. So, I am proud that I was part of that.

2 minutes…

whenever there is fire, there will be ash and from the ashes, life will come again. There is definitely a change coming, not with punches to politicians and fires around the city but with a clear, honest and open heart.

seconds…

What’s worth…

There are a few things worth fighting for. Some things that make me have butterflies in my stomach, stay up late in the night and transform me in a “sponge”, just to absorb anything that is out there.  That feeling, connected with talent is the key to success. Wouldn’t it be awesome if all people would do what truly makes them happy? I think the world would be much nicer…

I wish that soon each child and young person receives an education that not only passes to him/her the skills and knowledge to perform, but most important, teaches how to be a better human being, a more socially responsible, ethical leader that is a role model for people around.  That’s not that easy for sure.

For example, if I start from WHO. I think that each teacher and professor, apart from an expert on his area (practical and theoretical) should also be a role model in all aspects, ethics, responsibility and of course a stable and self-aware person. Sounds good and logical, no? The reality though is quite far from the truth. And since education is such an important point, then why do we leave the education of our kids to people of questionable credibility? It’s sad not to recognize that we are 100% responsible for what will happen in the world in the next 100 years as well…It is not easy to implement, but I am sure if we have managed to send people to the moon, we can also figure out some processes around that…

In Greece there is the ASEP competition, a national competition for teachers to be employed at our public schools. The tests include questions around the knowledge on all sorts of topics, really amazing if you manage to know everything. No attention is given though to the characteristics or personality of the candidates. Then, the successful candidates are hired…forever! The school has almost no opinion, as it is a centralized process, almost no evaluation mechanisms from colleagues and students and some teachers whose only motivation to become a teacher was the “permanent” employment, with a lot of holidays and reasonable working hours. I find that so irritating…

By no means all teachers are like that:-) I had some amazing teachers and professors, but I can count them in the fingers of my one hand in all my almost 20 years of passing through the education system. Sad…

There is a need for change in this area, but that will only come when we realize the important role that teachers and professors can play in our children’s lives…because until now we prefer to ignore it.

Have a great week ahead!

 

Once upon a time…

Alright, let’s take things from the beginning. From the first schools and universities of our history, things have changed quite a lot. An initial mentorship relationship between the “teacher” and the student on topics from philosophy, arts, sports to religion, ethics and personal vision coaching has developed to a mass production system, that in most of the times is meant to produce similar minds, which are assessed in the same way.

A person who I really admire for his ideas and communication is Sir Ken Robinson, who you may have seen in TED.com; http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

He envisions of a student-centric education system, where its mind and character are treated in a special way, where each person’s talents are being identified and developed accordingly.

Pause for a minute and imagine a world where everyone would do what their heart ticks more, where they have their talents and are great at. I think the world would be a very different place…

Now, with regards to the educational system in Greece, there are a few simple questions that have been asked, I am bringing them back to the discussion;

– What?

– When?

– By who?

– How?

…or otherwise, what should we teach our kids and young people in schools and universities? When is the right timing? Who should be a teacher/professor? Which methods and ways will be used?…

Any thoughts?

The art of blogging…

Blogging is cool, let’s just be simple and to the point. People use it as a diary, as a travel log, as a business mean even as a teaching & learning method. Following the 2010 Global education Conference the other day (http://www.globaleducationconference.com/index.html, amazing idea, amazing content, great delivery), Web 2.0 and its role in developing and improving Education was one of the main themes.

According to several teachers, researchers and studies, it has been proven that nowadays people prefer to blog to share their experience on a topic, than actually write their thoughts down to their notepad or their work book! For me, that I finished school 10 years back, this sounds so amazing! Students in Schools and Universities now want to be heard and want to reach to a bigger audience, through blogging they can reach the world and not only their classmates.

In addition, people seem to feel more comfortable to share their views and feedback through the blogs, which I assume has its advantages and disadvantages.

But, let’s imagine this;

What if our students in Schools and Universities instead of just discussing their questions on a topic during the class or with their Professors, they could discuss them at a place where much more views can be shared, more diverse people can take part? In a blog posting, everyone would have the possibility to attach videos, pictures, sound themes, paste links from other web pages etc. As a result, the reader can get different stimuli from several means and engage in an interactive way in the discussion.

What do you think?

For our food for thought, check the following:

Home

http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/tips-and-tools/top-education-blogs

http://press.princeton.edu/blog/

Hello world! … or what is the reason for this blog’s existence?

Did you come here by accident? Did someone recommend you to read us? Whatever it is, it is awesome to find you here and before clicking on the X button on the top pf the page, please spend some seconds going through the following lines;

PAEDIA GR ; What is it and what is it NOT?

It is…

A blog about education (paedia), where successful stories, thoughts and ideas from the world will be shared by you and us…and them and anyone who wants to. Its objective is to discuss/showcase issues in the Greek educational system, however there is no geographical limit for the content, the world is our contributor!

It is not…

only for teachers, professors, administrators, students and experts on Education matters or meant to advertise any private benefits, schools, universities etc…

The postings will be great ideas, stories and examples worth spreading from all over the world. These can come from schools, universities, students, professors, teachers, governmental organizations, not governmental organizations, examples from companies that educate their employees and whose methods could perhaps be applied to an Education system as well.

Greece, as many other countries that are contemplating upon their sustainable future, is currently re-discussing EDUCATION. The need for such a discussion is obvious. There are great things that are happening out there, but we just don’t know of them. That’s why I created this blog and I hope that these discussions can be a great source of challenging and learning for anyone who is involved/interested in the topic.

For any input, feedback, recommendation, topics proposals we can communicate with the following ways;

e-mail: paediagr@gmail.com

Facebook page: Paedia GR

Twitter; paediagr

Kali arhi! (Good start!)