[19.12.2006] Education and ouzo
No doubt that schoolbooks should be changed now and then to catch up with evolution. Especially when the books haven’t undergone any change for the last decades. Therefore in Greece the new schoolbooks were warmly welcomed by teachers, pupils and parents, but….
The new content doesn’t seem to contribute to real knowledge. Not that this was expected really in view of the conservative political-ideological tendency. A few months ago, Diamanto Manolakou, MP to the European Parliament of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece), had submitted a question to the European Commission as regards a publication of the latter, in which history was falsified, according to Mrs. Manolakou. In that publication no word is said about the October Revolution of 1917, about the Second World War and the role communists played against fascism, while the French Revolution is described as a crime against kings and aristocrats! The publication has already been withdrawn from a school in Rhodes and the European MP asked the Commission to completely withdraw it, because it “promotes division, deformes the history of Europe, slanders Enlightment and communism and insults people, workers, political parties and streams.”
The doctrine of relativity.
In the new schoolbooks an unscientific approach of history, social evolution and society formation has been adopted. Furthermore, national liberation movements, class struggle and of course communist ideology are falsified and slandered, underestimation and even hostility as regards the working class is prevailing, “Euronationalism” being encouraged. In the history book of the 6th class an exaggerated emphasis has been put on what they call “European consciousness.” But this is not the only problem.
As to history, the prevailing concept is that “history is being determined and examined starting from the question, which the historian puts.” This far reaching example of relativity doesn’t recognize any objectivity. So everything is as you see it!
Dictatorships are more or less caused by the people’s demonstrations! Just an example from the historybook of the 6th class Elementary School (talking about Italy and Germany before WW2): “The international economic crisis influences society. A large number of workers and employees loose their jobs. Most of the citizens protest with marches, demonstrations and strikes. Under this pressure many democratic regimes collapse and are succeeded by dictatorships.”
Language is seen as a pure means of communication and not as a means to orden the mind and to formulate thought. Therefore literature has disappeared from language education. Speaking about Salamina (a small island near the coast of Attica with important archeological remnants) in the book of modern Greek of the 1st class of secondary schools quotations are made from a magazine, in which the temptations of this little island invite you to have an ouzo in one of the lovely little taverns….Of course, not so bad, but then……the important archeological tomb of the homeric hero Aiax just as a place to drink ouzo?
. More than enough examples of this new wave of brains control into the direction of more and more ignorance and confusion in the minds of the young generation. Clearly in favor of prevailing ideology, which after all is the ideology of those who prevail.
A.I.
The new content doesn’t seem to contribute to real knowledge. Not that this was expected really in view of the conservative political-ideological tendency. A few months ago, Diamanto Manolakou, MP to the European Parliament of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece), had submitted a question to the European Commission as regards a publication of the latter, in which history was falsified, according to Mrs. Manolakou. In that publication no word is said about the October Revolution of 1917, about the Second World War and the role communists played against fascism, while the French Revolution is described as a crime against kings and aristocrats! The publication has already been withdrawn from a school in Rhodes and the European MP asked the Commission to completely withdraw it, because it “promotes division, deformes the history of Europe, slanders Enlightment and communism and insults people, workers, political parties and streams.”
The doctrine of relativity.
In the new schoolbooks an unscientific approach of history, social evolution and society formation has been adopted. Furthermore, national liberation movements, class struggle and of course communist ideology are falsified and slandered, underestimation and even hostility as regards the working class is prevailing, “Euronationalism” being encouraged. In the history book of the 6th class an exaggerated emphasis has been put on what they call “European consciousness.” But this is not the only problem.
As to history, the prevailing concept is that “history is being determined and examined starting from the question, which the historian puts.” This far reaching example of relativity doesn’t recognize any objectivity. So everything is as you see it!
Dictatorships are more or less caused by the people’s demonstrations! Just an example from the historybook of the 6th class Elementary School (talking about Italy and Germany before WW2): “The international economic crisis influences society. A large number of workers and employees loose their jobs. Most of the citizens protest with marches, demonstrations and strikes. Under this pressure many democratic regimes collapse and are succeeded by dictatorships.”
Language is seen as a pure means of communication and not as a means to orden the mind and to formulate thought. Therefore literature has disappeared from language education. Speaking about Salamina (a small island near the coast of Attica with important archeological remnants) in the book of modern Greek of the 1st class of secondary schools quotations are made from a magazine, in which the temptations of this little island invite you to have an ouzo in one of the lovely little taverns….Of course, not so bad, but then……the important archeological tomb of the homeric hero Aiax just as a place to drink ouzo?
. More than enough examples of this new wave of brains control into the direction of more and more ignorance and confusion in the minds of the young generation. Clearly in favor of prevailing ideology, which after all is the ideology of those who prevail.
A.I.
e-mail:cpg@int.kke.gr