bloggie

A Shocking Concept

There are three neighbouring villages in Greece that share a grade school and kindergarten. They don't have a kindergarten teacher yet this year because the previous teacher retired and a new teacher hasn't been appointed yet. As a goverment official explained, that's because Greece recently had elections and the country is in an upheaval as political appointees come and go.

The kindergarten school is new and fully equipped, it's just waiting for the teacher to come unlock the door and start the school year (which started three weeks ago). This year's kindergarten class has only ten students, children from all three villages. Upset that their kids are missing school, the parents in the area called a television station to air their complaints and a tv crew went to assess the situation. One mother complained that the State is not looking after them and what are they supposed to do with their kids while they work? The village baker had taken her daughter to work with her, a delicious-looking little girl sitting on the bench next to some equally delicious-looking loaves of bread; another little boy hangs out with his grandma, helping her weed her garden. A morose-looking mom was rocking her son in the schoolyard's swings while she complained that he's lonely and he cries all day until his sister comes home from grade school but if the State had sent a teacher he could be in kindergarten and have fun with other kids and not be lonely anymore.

The tv crew then interviewed the county's administrator, who played with his glasses and pensively announced that "the State should bend with kindness to embrace and fix this situation."

As I watched this very tragic story of kindergarteners without a kindergarten teacher, a radical thought came to my mind: Why don't the grandmas, moms, dads open the school and teach the kids themselves? I've never taught kindergarten so I don't know how difficult it can be but having shocked myself at the novelty of such a concept as parents taking charge of their kids, I came to an even more radical conclusion: Teaching kindergarten cannot possibly be that difficult. You have the kids paint for an hour, play in the yard for another hour, give them a snack, read them a story, have them dance a little and maybe sing a song and send them home. Parents could get organized and take turns playing teacher one-two days a week for a couple of months. It's not like it's going to permanently damage kindergarteners to have Mom as teacher one day and Aunt Sophie the next.

So why are the parents not doing just that? I'm sure it hasn't even entered their minds. Greeks expect the State to take care of things while they complain that the State never takes care of things. This mental rut and attitude leave no room for volunteerism and self-initiative.