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Letter from a Parent
"Every weekend over the last 2 years I had the same fight with my two children. After I asked them to prepare their school bag for Greek school, we always had the same conversation.
-Me: “Do you have your bag ready for tomorrow? We’ll have to leave early and I don’t want you to be late again.”
-Jason: “Oh come on mom, why do we have to go to Greek school?”
-Me: ”And how will you talk with Pappou, Giagia and your cousins when we go to Greece next summer?”
-Maria: “But we don’t really learn a lot at Greek school. I love my teacher but we speak English most of the time.”
-Jason: "Why do I have to go to school on Saturdays too? I want to be like the other kids, stay home and play with my friends.”
Going to Greek school has been a tradition for my whole family for years, but life has become so overwhelming. Our schedule from Monday to Friday is literally full. So, as time passed, I started realizing that my son Jason was actually right.
My children have been going to Greek school for 2 years but their Greek has not really improved. I’m not blaming their teacher or the school, maybe my kids were too tired to concentrate after a long week at school. And I have to admit that driving the kids around town for 2 hours every Saturday was not much fun for me either.
Tired of the continuous fighting I searched on the Internet for a solution and came across an article about Greek Lessons OnLine. An actual Greek language school with qualified teachers who are native speakers, providing lessons with flexible hours right at your home.
I got enthusiastic and booked a trial lesson for my kids. Since they are both quite tech-affine they liked the idea and were looking forward to their upcoming lesson. Our trial lesson even overcame our expectations. Our teacher, Nancy from Crete, expected us in an actual online classroom. She is a native Greek living in Chania, Crete and she provided my kids an interactive and fun lesson. I was amazed how a lesson could be conducted completely online with many fun applications, games and videos while at the same time you feel so close to your teacher as if she is sitting next to you in the classroom.
After the lesson, my children asked me enthusiastically when they could have their next lesson. They have now been students of Greek Lessons OnLine for over a year and have learned more Greek than in 2 years of Greek school in our home town.
We still meet with our friends in the Greek community and do not miss out on our traditional dance lessons and festivals. But I admit, I really enjoy the weekends not driving around town, having more well-spent ‘family time’. The fights are over and I love to see the excitement in their eyes when they think of their upcoming Greek lessons.
Oh, and Pappou and Giagia could not believe their ears this summer.
I highly recommend Greek Lessons OnLine to all families who find it difficult to attend their local Greek school or if they are looking for something different!
