A recent high-profile interview by former Greek Premier Antonis Samaras was interpreted by many as the prelude to the announcement of a new political party. Amidst the issues covered, one hidden gem that emerged was his critique of deficiencies regarding the Greek Diaspora education, including limited state funding and support. It was important that a politician of Mr. Samaras’ stature highlight this issue’s importance as a fundamental link between Hellenes worldwide.
Aside from the 58 fully immersive Greek schools operating in eight countries (serving a total of 3,280 students) and local Greek Language Departments, it’s worth asking what else the Greek State does to promote Greek language education; not just in terms of funding, but moral and intangible support as well. The recent crisis that came to a head with a protest at the St. Demetrios Community of Astoria is case in point. There is a lack of coordination and pooling of successful strategies among schools. This is a gap that could be filled by the Greek State.
In a world that’s becoming smaller by the day with increasingly converging trends thanks to rapid technological progress, there’s no reason for such divergence in the organizational structure of Greek Diaspora schools. Notwithstanding regional particulars, there should be continuity in the strategies with which language instruction and propagation is approached.
The current situation in the U.S. reinforces the claim that divergence between the models used by the existing Greek schools is irrational. How is it possible for some Greek schools to teach Greek for only one period a day (essentially as a foreign language) and others to follow a dual language model where students study subjects like Math and History in the target language of Greek. Shouldn’t the results of each approach be compared, with schools striving to incorporate best practices currently implemented by the educational community at large?
The Greek-American day schools operating under the auspices of the Archdiocese (or its parish communities, to be more precise) implement the outdated practice of teaching Greek as a foreign language. This was the model they adopted when they were established decades ago, and they continue to follow it until today. Alternatively, a more immersive model is employed by Greek charter schools, whose results are regularly evaluated as part of their mandated review to retain their funding. Their language approach is based on successful research-based practices.
Over the past two decades, Archdiocesan day schools have undergone an existential crisis, with nearly half in New York closing down and many of the remaining ones facing major problems, as demonstrated by the recent crisis at St. Demetrios in Astoria – the Archdiocese’s lone K-12 school. On the contrary, Greek charter schools are expanding, as exemplified by the Hellenic Classical Charter School in New York, Archimedean Charter School in Florida, and Odyssey Charter School in Delaware. The results suggest that the Archdiocese’s model is outdated, unsustainable, and does not meet the objective of fully developing bilingualism and academic abilities in the Greek language.
Demographic shifts in the area where the Archdiocese’s schools operate are frequently cited as the reason for their woes, but this doesn’t explain why the corresponding Greek charter schools are doing well with an ethnically diverse population. Hence, the problem cannot simply be attributed to a fatalistic reference to demographic changes, but rather it speaks of these schools’ (in)ability to provide an effective and appealing program of studies. If you factor in the tuition needed for private schools in an economy where costs are constantly on the rise and families are struggling to keep up, more than ever before, a school’s educational ‘product’ needs to meet parents’ expectations, be modern, effective, and implement the best strategies employed internationally. Can every Greek school operating in the U.S. honestly say it is doing this; and if so, how does it account for the divergence in operational models?
The problems observed here are likely present in Greek Communities across the globe. There needs to be better coordination and handling of Greek education for the Diaspora, which was always an invaluable resource for Hellenism. For the Diaspora to continue its historical legacy, the Greek state must invest in it – and not just financially. In today’s world of vast networks, the most important investment might be one of coordination and dialogue.
As the grandson of author Penelope Delta and an interlocutor of Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis, Mr. Samaras seems to understand that Greek schools of the Diaspora don’t only lend themselves to visits by itinerant politicians and prelates. They are an essential nucleus of Hellenism and the community-at-large must take collective responsibility for them if they are to continue educating future Hellenes and Philhellenes and teach them to love, honor, and support Greece.
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