Monday, April 8, 2013

E is for Education

A lot has changed in Romania after 1989, especially in the educational system.

Before 1989, each morning, before classes, students had to sing/listen to the Romanian Anthem. Today, such thing isn't required anymore. That is why you meet children and teens who don't know the name of the Romanian Anthem or its composer's.


not each change is good...
like Romanian Anthem,
today, soon rusty

Before 1989 there was a system rewarding great students and their accomplishments in national and international competitions and contests. Today that system is just namely there and a diploma or the little financial support is just not enough.

I was a student in today's system and then a teacher, too. I didn't feel motivated to learn in such a country, in such a town, in such a system but I was lucky to have a mother who knew how to motivate me and make me love learning. Today's democracy has impacted the educational system in a negative way. 

My parents remember their time in school with great pleasure, enormous respect for their teachers and they knew how to learn. The accent was on the quality of study.
They also had a few days a year when they had to go work in a field or an institution to get accustomed with work and learn to appreciate the value of work. Today this kind of practice is formal and it doesn't touch its goal.

I remember my time in school as a child with respect, but I was always eager to get out of the system to be on my own. As a teacher, I can tell that the quality of education has decreased even more from when I was a student and I don't think this is going to change soon. This is the very reason I left the system.

I regret the fact that Romania is going in this direction because there are a lot of great things about the country but without education, the good will soon disappear.

history and past
and Romanian Anthem -
all forgotten now

2 comments:

  1. Sadly, education and the cultural enterprise have been affected the most in Romania. The character of the country, especially in big cities, is less Eastern European and more westernized. I guess such a change is expected from the process of globalization. But, yes, I remember how good our educational system was. Teachers didn't put up with excuses or one grain of laziness.

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  2. Think it is going down hill everywhere, some more than others, but still pretty sad.

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