Feature: Greek teacher addresses refugee children's education on World Teachers' Day

    Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-05 20:06:43|Editor: xuxin
    Video PlayerClose

    by Alexia Vlachou, Valentini Anagnostopoulou

    ATHENS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion of World Teachers' Day held annually on Oct. 5 since 1994, Greek teacher Eleni Karagianni offered insight into how education can be the key to the societal integration of refugee children, and what challenges children and teachers have to overcome.

    Karagianni, an art educator and refugee education coordinator, met with Xinhua on Thursday at the refugee camp of Schisto, a suburb near Piraeus port.

    "Education is important because, as studies have shown, with two or three years of school attendance the standard of living, health conditions and many other factors can be improved," Karagianni explained.

    Thousands of refugee children who are stranded in Greece after the closure of the borders along the Western Balkan route in February 2016 attend educational programs, as part of the Greek government's aim to integrate them in the country's education system and in wider society.

    During the 2017-2018 school year, the number of children estimated to have attended formal education was 8,017, about 40 percent of the total 20,000 asylum-seeking and refugee children currently in Greece, according to figures from the education ministry.

    A total of 5,291 attended morning classes alongside Greek children, while 2,026 refugee children joined afternoon classes in the reception facilities for refugee education.

    No official data have yet been released for the 2018-2019 school year as the population in the camps changes constantly and reception classes and facilities open gradually.

    With years of experience in intercultural education, Karagianni began helping with refugees from the day they first began arriving in Piraeus port from the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea in 2015, starting as a volunteer before being appointed coordinator of Schisto in 2016.

    She is responsible for the education of 170 refugee children from Afghanistan, Syria and Iran who live in the camp with their families while waiting for a better future.

    Education can help them see their future perspectives and dream of a new life with hope.

    As part of her daily routine, Karagianni acts as a bridge between refugees and the authorities. "We are close to the family, we listen to their problems, we can intervene when it is necessary, or we can guide them to other facilities to get help," she said.

    Even though most of them have never attended school or have been out of education for many years, they seem to adapt to the new conditions from the first weeks and months.

    "Since 1998, I have been teaching children of different nationalities. You can see that childhood has a common denominator, a common nature. Children are flexible, they adapt, and they are willing to integrate into something new," she said.

    This year's World Teachers' Day coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes the fundamental right to education.

    Expanding on this, Karagianni said: "The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher,"

    "To teach and to be near to populations who have experienced war you should adjust the education, the behavior, and the methodology," she said.

    There have been some challenges and difficulties. One such difficulty arose from the refugee community regarding refugee parents' consent. Educational authorities had to explain in many cases how school works, that there are boundaries, and why their children should attend class on a daily basis.

    "Education is the community for children, where they belong," she stressed.

    For 11-year-old Sam from Afghanistan, who wants to become a teacher when he grows up, school is everything.

    "Sam, which is your favorite subject?" Karagianni asked him. "English, Greek, computers and math," he said.

    Karagianni has many happy and touching memories from her career teaching Greek children, but she will never forget what happened when the school bell rang in the camp for the first time.

    "We saw children jumping from trees, running from houses, from everywhere, to make a line in the yard. They really needed the bell. And we saw also children involved in juvenile delinquency coming. That is the miracle of education and school," she said.

    TOP STORIES
    EDITOR’S CHOICE
    MOST VIEWED
    EXPLORE XINHUANET
    010020070750000000000000011100001375133591
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 538在线精品| 久久国产乱子伦精品免费看| 美女扒开尿口给男人桶视频免费 | 亚洲欧美日韩精品久久亚洲区| 蜜桃久久久久久久久久久| 国产精品第44页| 中文乱码人妻系列一区二区| 榴莲视频在线观看污| 人间**电影8858| 色噜噜狠狠色综合日日| 国产男女免费完整视频| av区无码字幕中文色| 把美女日出白浆| 亚洲AV永久精品爱情岛论坛| 爆乳熟妇一区二区三区霸乳| 国产一级小视频| 日本最新免费网站| 国内精品视频一区二区三区| 丝瓜草莓www在线观看| 日韩在线第一区| 亚洲国产欧美视频| 男人j进女人p免费视频 | 欧美在线黄色片| 伊人成影院九九| 色妞色视频一区二区三区四区| 国产精品乳摇在线播放| a级国产乱理伦片在线观看| 成人羞羞视频网站| 久久人人爽爽人人爽人人片AV| 欧美一区欧美二区| 亚洲精品国产高清嫩草影院| 精品无码国产自产拍在线观看蜜| 国产在线精品国自产拍影院午夜| 2022国内精品免费福利视频| 天堂在线www| 三年片韩国在线观看| 日本卡三卡四卡免费| 亚洲AV无码久久久久网站蜜桃| 欧美黑人巨大xxxxx| 免费一级毛片在线视频观看| 美女张开腿让男人桶的动态图|