I’ve grown to admire Elif Shafak’s opinions, especially nowadays as they give us a solid preview of what life can be like for a progressive Turkish contemporary writer/intellectual living and working in a post Hrant Dink world.
Listen to this recent interview on NPR’s Fresh Air radio program and please share your thoughts:
In this particular […]
Mkhitarist Seminary, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / CNEWA One Magazine 2006
I’ve been a little quiet of late because of work and in particular an article and photos that I had to produce for One Magazine, a publication of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). After viewing my Lightstalkers portfolio, the magazine’s […]
Via Google’s News Alerts an excerpt from a news item just arrived in my mailbox. Seeing the mention of the surname, Sanjian, I knew the main focus of the article had to be an old friend from London, and it was. Ara Sanjian, a Lebanese-Armenian, has been appointed Director of the Armenian Research Center at […]
As I travel through out rural Armenia, I am realizing that there is too much educational capacity. In the typical town, there are over 15 schools. Each school has a large half used building, a director, two vice directors, a director of grounds and a full compliment of teachers. In Europe or […]
Yezidis, Alagyaz, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1998
UNICEF in Armenia have an interesting press release on their web page highlighting new moves to tackle the problem of minority education in the Republic. For sure, school drop out rates are higher among rural minority communities than for Armenian ones with […]
Don’t you just love the local Armenian media? No sense of how to work properly at all, and once again my images have been taken off the Internet and used without permission or even a credit. Worse than that, the news item by ArmenPress is something that doesn’t reflect the reality behind the story.
YEZIDI […]
As Zarchka over at Life Around Me prepares for tomorrow’s dreaded stylistics exam, a quick post to wish her well. I know that she’s been revising very hard for this exam in order to get full marks. She won’t fail, for sure, but she is aiming for another top mark in this one too. Good […]
Two weeks ago, fellow blogger Zarchka over at Life Around Me posted what will probably be her last main entry for the next month or so now she is well into exam period. Not the nicest of times, perhaps, but at least something worth blogging about.
This is the period that I like less of all. My quiz and examination session will begin from the next week and will last till the end of June. That means that day in day out I will be doing nothing but swotting up my spot questions hoping to get an excellent mark. Now we are having seminars on every subject and I have 2 quizzes and 6 exams.
Anyway, from speaking to Zarchka today I know that she’s already passed the two quizzes — with top marks, as I recall — and I’d guess that she’s going to achieve the same with the remainder of her exams. Regardless, it goes without saying that I wish you well with everything Zara, although you seem to have almost everything under control.
The only subject I’m awfully afraid is Stylistics, because till now I don’t have a fair understanding of what I’m going to answer. But I hope to find it out by that time.
Despite your hectic revision schedule, thanks for your help today. As I’ve said to you a few times recently, it amazes me where you get your energy from. Anyone who knows you, and how much you involve yourself with, will understand what I mean by that. For those of you that don’t, just take my word for it. Zara, miss ya already.
Zarchka’s blog is at http://lifearoundme.wordpress.com.
Yezidi school, Barozh, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
Yezidi school, Barozh, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
Educating Minority Children in Armenia
Alagyaz, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
As I said in my last post, I wrote an article on minority education for UNICEF last year, and although the situation in Alagyaz isn’t so bad in so much as a new school is under construction. Unfortunately, it’s been under construction for many years now and pupils are still studying in a run-down building which is pretty much the same in many villages here.
And while adverse socio-economic conditions faced by rural settlements, as well as the poor upkeep of village schools, are detrimental to education, the main problem is cultural. This is especially true for females. “There are those who even consider education dangerous for a girl,” says the report. “They reason that an educated woman may have ideas and not be as obedient to men.”
However, despite these obstacles, there are children in minority communities that would like to enter higher education. In the Yezidi village of Zovuni, for example, one girl cries as she tells of her inability to study French when she finishes school. Another Yezidi girl says that if given the opportunity, she would like to study, and later teach, Armenian language and literature.
There’s a problem with textbooks, of course, but there’ll soon be a pre-school class as part of reform of the education system in Armenia. However, there’s still no kindergarten and my understanding is that most Yezidi would welcome the construction of one given that what they did have was apparently destroyed in the 1988 Earthquake.
“When children aren’t in possession of the basics for entering school, it is more difficult for them to adjust to this new environment and they are less communicative with their teachers and peers,” she says. “They have already been deprived of the opportunity to open their minds to explore, compare and learn. That is one reason why there are only two to five good pupils on average in every class in schools in Armenia and why many children are unable to fully grasp the curriculum presented.”
Hasmik will have an article on the school in Alagyaz published by Hetq Online in the near future.
Alagyaz, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
