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EDUCATIONAL ACTIONS
"If gods are conversing, they use the Greek language."
Cicero, 106-43 BC., Roman orator and politician
I worked at the school of the Three Hierarchs in Brooklyn, where a father and son officiated, Father Evangelos and Father Haralambos Tzavalas. The Greek community of Brooklyn, in those years, flourished. Indeed, a new annex of the school, "Great Greece," housed in an American public school, had just started operating. There I undertook to teach the language, history, geography, religion, culture, customs and traditions of the country, following a program which in great part was prepared by the then Directorate of Education of the Archdiocese. However, the textbooks that were sent to us from Greece were not suitable for teaching the Greek children of America. Mostly, the curriculum was taken from the book series, I Learn Greek, written by Emmanuel Hadjiemmanouel with his wife, Athena. Fortunately, through my excitement and my knowledge I was able to enrich my teaching, with the sole purpose of bringing children close to their parents’ homeland, which most of them had not known until then. I feel immense pleasure even today when I meet some of my students from the various schools where I taught, and I see that they remember me with much love. My students are distinguished in various fields of American life, and when I meet them, I feel really proud of them! My teaching fulfilled me wholeheartedly, and I never felt tired, despite the long distances I had travel from my house to any of the schools I served. Simultaneously, in the mornings I continued my studies in Urban Education and School Management at Columbia University, from where I successfully graduated with a second MA in Education. My work at schools with Greek programs had already attracted the attention of principals, and school officials were thrilled with my teaching. This led to my transfer to the day school of St. Demetrius, where I taught in the morning and afternoon for an entire decade from September 1, 1970 until 30 June 30, 1980. Meanwhile, in 1973 I received my license from the Department of Education in the State New Jersey to teach the Greek language in the public schools. The teaching of Greek in U.S. public schools was unusual. There were not many teachers who had both Greek and American diplomas and they were sought after for this reason. Spyros Liakos from the Civic Club of New Jersey, had read my publications in the newspaper Atlantis and asked me to participate in creating a Greek Program in the region, where many Greeks lived. I accepted gladly, as it was my desire to found Greek language programs about which, later on, many articles were written in the historic newspaper Atlantis.
I immediately visited the U.S. Office of Education of Fort Lee, where they told me that they had a high school where we could create a Department of Greek Language. The very next day, I went to the Archdiocese, where Mr. Hadjiemmanuel enthusiastically agreed to help build this program.
When the Archbishop was informed, he immediately sent a letter to the Education Office of Fort Lee, in which he expressed his willingness to support the new Greek program. I went immediately to Dr. Alan Sugarman, the then Superintendent of the School District of Fort Lee, who told me that I needed to collect at least 120 signatures. For two weeks, every night when I finished the afternoon session at St. Demetrios in Astoria, I went to Fort Lee, where together with Mr. Liakos and some other members of the Greek Diaspora, including members of the Civic Club, we were able to gather, finally, 300 signatures!
Thus, in September 1973, the Greek language was officially included in the program of that American public school. Our joy was indescribable and not for a moment did we ever think of our labors for such a great, for those years, venture. Personally, I was “flying” with joy.
I remember that I went and bought sweets from a Greek pastry shop in Astoria to treat everyone at this school that incorporated the Greek language into its program with such hospitality, expressing to them a big thank you for having accepted me into their 'family'.
The school already taught several languages: Italian, Hebrew, German, etc. The director of Department of Foreign Languages was Mrs. Ursula Kohlmen, with whom I worked closely. She embraced me with trust and she approved all of my programs. I shall always remember her with love and gratitude.
My students were from areas of Fort Lee, and Tenafly, from where members of the Greek community gathered in the church of St. John. However I also had many foreign students, mainly Germans and Asians, who wanted to learn Greek. I began working feverishly, and I taught Greek at three levels simultaneously. My teaching in Fort Lee was based on my personal method, which turned the classromm into an "Open Court.” I divided the class into four corners. One corner revolved around the history and geography of Greece, with various books, paintings, documents, excerpts from Greek newspapers etc. Another corner was for beginners, who I started with simple questions so that step-by-step they could learn the language that they never had been taught. I always started with simple words relating to their personal environment: family, friends, etc. The results were excellent, as the students did not remain mere spectators. I used enough visual material and I tried to always keep the interests of the students alive. I tried to engage them, indirectly, in the learning process, giving them the opportunity to correct what was wrong, something that enhanced the healthy competitive spirit that developed among my students.
The third corner was dialectical, for the advanced students. There I had many literary texts, poetry, excerpts from our ancient philosophers, Homer, etc. The fourth corner was configured for watching movies and documentaries about, for example, the campaign of Alexander the Great, the 300 Spartans of Leonidas or whatever else I could find. Then I asked the students to write texts and reports on the story they just had seen. We also created a theater group, with which we would annually mount a tragedy. Also, we organized two annual trips to the Greek neighborhood of Astoria and to the studio of the award-winning news presenter Ernie Anastos, so that the students could meet the Greek-American star of American television.
In 1978, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior of Greece, I started a program of educational trips to Greece for students from schools in Brooklyn as well as for my own students from Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Week of
Greek letters
The celebration of the week of "Greek Letters" was established under Archbishop Michael. His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos continued this weekly celebration as an Archdiocesan institution and combined it with the celebration of Greek culture and the Greek-language press, which he characterized as a "symbol of expression of the noblest aspirations and goals."
His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos believed that this week should be a period not only of self-examination and self-criticism, but also of revision of ourselves for our role in the great and holy cause of perpetuation of the Greek Spirit and of Helleno-Christian culture. He considered that the celebration of Greek Letters was not only for the good of our community, but also for the good of America, whose ideals are deeply rooted in the eternal values of Greek philosophy.
The Archbishop has entrusted me to preside over these events since 1984. Every year, this celebration is devoted to a different period of Greek civilization and history. In this frame, in January 1992, we organized an event dedicated to Macedonia. Keynote speakers were Secretary General of E.O.T. (Greek Organization of Tourism), Konstantinos Pilarinos, and the "staunch friend of Hellenism," as the then prime minister Constantine Mitsotaki called him in his speech, David Weinberg, Professor of History at Wayne State University in Michigan.
New York City Mayor David Dinkins handed the Declaration that established “Greek Letters Week” in New York to Archbishop Iakovos. The proclamation praised the tremendous influence of the Greeks on the cultural and business activity and the quality of life in New York. In response, Archbishop Iakovos noted that the Declaration on the contribution of the Greeks “came very late", and with smart diplomacy, he expressed "a legitimate complaint."
"The Greeks of New York," he said, "with the twenty-odd community schools and two high schools, with more than three dozen Greeks who teach at the various universities in the city and two Greek Presidents of major higher education institutions in the region, Dr. Brademas of New York University and Dr. Diamantopoulos of Adelphi University, do not, nevertheless, enjoy equal rights."
He pointed out that the Greek community, one of the most progressive communities in New York, is not involved in the Education Committees of the Municipality. Iakovos emphasized the need for a union of the community in times of difficulty back in Greece, as we had many big problems and dangers arise such as Cyprus conflict, the Macedonian issue, the problems in Thrace, and the Greeks in Albania. He invited all the local clubs and associations to cooperate and join the Hellenic American National Council.
He noted --clairvoyant as he was-- that the Turks and the Slavo-Macedonians were spending millions of dollars on propaganda in America, and thus recommended the establishment of a Common Fund of Greeks Abroad in which each party would contribute one thousand dollars to become the "yeast," as he said, for the promotion of our national rights in Washington.
In the frame of this event, the warm philhellene and manager of city finances, Elizabeth Holzman honored me with a special proclamation, which also announced the preparation of a "Greek Cultural Month" in 1992. The program also included the recitation of Palamas’s verses by actor and director Lukas Skipitaris and dancing by the youth group Panmacedonian.
The program was presented by the then-popular FOX meteorologist Nick Gregory. At the official banquet of the Archdiocese for Greek Letters, we honored the physician Stavroula Aggelakou-Gabriel, the teachers Dimitrios Kostaras and Eustathios Bourodimos and the entrepreneurs Theodore Bouzalas and Nicholas Trataros for their contributions to the improvement of education.
The speeches Iakovos gave at these events were always fiery. During the event held in January 1992, he said, among other things:
"Greek letters as digits compose syllables and words, words that express meanings and concepts that unite those who speak the same language in a single ethnic and cultural community. The Greek letters as the articulation and structure of the written and spoken language are necessary to distinguish people who have the ability to distinguish the intellectual, spiritual and scientific vigilance and stewardship of a people with a history that respects itself and its tradition. Today, we live in a time that is not very distinguished for its spiritual and moral values. We have an obligation to pay more attention to the cultivation of Greek Literature and language and literacy in the children of the second and third generations that will follow."
His Eminence Archbishop Iacovos recognized the contributions of people with whom he worked. I was touched when in 1995 during the celebration of the Letters, he recognized my work, as he was praising the honorees. He said among other things: "The select people of letters and art, selected by the Chief of Educational Relations of the Archdiocesan Education Council, presided by the dynamic teacher Stella Kokolis, for rewarding their work and their intellectual personality, are exactly the craftsmen and innovators of our ancestral culture."
When His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos retired on July 29, 1996, at the age of 85, he left behind an important legacy. During his days, the Orthodox Church of America was acknowledged as a major religion by the American state. Greek Education for the blessed Archbishop of North and South America was 'Divine Love'. He reorganized the educational system of the Greek community, and he founded Hellenic College, which is essentially connected with the School of Theology of the Holy Cross. He even successfully managed for the School of Theology to be fully recognized as a university by the Association of Theological Schools of the U.S.A. and Canada, and thanks to his tireless efforts, the Greek state also recognized the School of Theology as equivalent to those of Athens, Thessaloniki and Halki.
As Meliton of Philadelphia writes: "He took care for a narrower tightening of the ties between the Greek community and the Centre, by launching a sponsorship for the covering of the publication costs of books on ecclesiastical and theological issues of the Greek community, by organizing the Ionian village in Elis, where hundreds of Greek-American children pass annually during their summer vacations."
The incumbency of His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos from 1959 to 1996 coincided with a time when America's Hellenism flourished and was extremely dynamic. During this time, thanks to the manner in which he represented the approximately three million American citizens of Greek descent, and thanks to his efforts for ecumenism, but mainly for the equality of black Americans, he gained the recognition and the respect of the American public. Furthermore, he maintained close relations with almost all American presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton. Simultaneously, he was deeply appreciated by the Greek Prime ministers, from Constantine Karamanlis to Costas Simitis.[1]
Clairvoyant as he was, already since 1995 he had foreseen the need and desire to create a common fund for the Hellenes Abroad to promote Greek Letters. Unfortunately, this wish of his was not fulfilled, as Greek-American Education, at least up to the moment that these lines are being written, did not manage to bring together our compatriots in a joint effort.
My close and active cooperation and involvement with the Archdiocese of America essentially ended in the era during which the blessed Archbishop Iakovos withdrew. I served for twelve years (1981-1992) as Chairman of the Greek Letters Committee and of the Greek Heritage Committee and as Chairman of the Cultural Month in New York. I also served for five years (1988-1993) as President of the Council of Education of the Archdiocese.
Meanwhile, in 1993, with our active and beloved friends Theodora S. Hancock and Christine Warnke, we took the initiative of establishing the Hellenic-American Women's Council (Hellenic American Women's Council- H.A.W.C.). Our goal was to create a strong network to discover and bring out the talent of Greek-American women in leadership positions in the American society. We organized regional meetings, conferences and seminars with eminent speakers and we also organized our annual national meetings. I am proud because this non-profit organization, based in Washington, is still active and energetic, led now by the youngest and most notable Greek-American women.
In July 1996, Spyridon was elected Archbishop of America. Mr. Spyridon promised that the Archdiocese would make every effort to promote Greek Letters and Arts, but two years later he stopped the great events that promoted the Greek Letters and Culture in the greater New York metropolitan area. Among the celebrities who had attended our dinners were Barbara Bush, Michael Dukakis, Bill and Hillary Clinton, senators, our own Paul Sarbanes, who regularly came to each event without interruption, and many others.
All Archbishop Iakovos’s speeches during Greek Letters Week were published in the editions of the Patriarchal Institute for Patristic Studies in 2001 under the title Education, Educational Principles and Opinions, Exhortations and Actions, edited by Professor Fr. Demetrios Konstantelos. I guard this book faithfully, and I read it often to draw inspiration and strength.
In 1994 I had to quit teaching at Fort Lee, because of a serious adventure I encountered with my health. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I did not give up. I wanted to live, and I continued to offer my services. Thus, I haven’t stopped being an active member of the Commission of the Archdiocese for Letters’ Day Luncheons. His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos comforted me by sending prayers for my sake. Furthermore, all the people of the Archdiocese with whom I was closely connected, including Roula Pantazopoulou, and the two close secretaries of His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos, Nike Kale and Paulette Poulos, stood by me strongly.
After 1996, when with God's help I managed to get through breast cancer, I did not want to stay idle at home. I continued, along with teaching, managing the cultural celebrations of the Greek Letters, with which I was commissioned in 1983 by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos.