The Cairo bulletin., 1908-02-12
GREEK SCHOOL LIFE


Think OF having such name os
Demosthenes Anagnostopoulis! HOW
would any American boy like IL! 'Ihcre
really would be- no use In having H.
any way, for nobody would ever nave
time to say II in this busy land Oh
ours. Yet in the faraway little conh'
try OF Greece things are very different,
and no boy would think such a name
anything unusual or bear grudse
against his parents for bestowing u
upon him On the contrary, 40 would
be not little proud of II. for he would
be taught very early in life that De
mosthenes was the name OF a famous
orator Ia the days when Greece was
the greatest country IN the world
Epaminondas, Demetrus, Constants
nos and Gregorios are some other
ma les that the Greek boy Is very like
ly to have given to him, If he comes
over to America to seek his fortune nc
is apt TO swap these astonishing
names for something like Jim Harris
or Tom Brown. Many Greek youths
btween the ages OF IA and 20 years
leave their native land, not only 70
earn better living, but to escape mil
itary service. They often are to be
found In the night schools OF our
large cities. trying to master the Eng
lish language, One of them not long
ago wrote for his lessons little ac-
count Of his school life at home, which
is so droll that il may be read with
interest by other boys. This is IL, just
as written.
when | was little boy in Greece
was going to school with other
pupils And some time we were hap
pyed BECAUSE we had learned our les
sons very we'll And when we had
no learned our lessons our teacher
man {what do You think he did to us?)
he was taking the black ink and
makes spots on our face for shame anu
after left us and stayed on our knees
long time and last put us in dark
place for all day And we was very
hongry and thirst. Nobody wanted to
give MS something He thought this
is the best way for us to learn letters
After reading this, American boys
may appreciate their good luck In not
having been born in Greece There
are great many things the American
boy knows that the Greek boy does
not, but upon two subjects the small
est and poorest little urchin will have
a surprising amount OF knowledge
These are the Bible and Greek class
les For the Bible is not only read,
but actually studied In the schools,
and every school child is drilled in the
history and mythology Of his own
country He learns the names and
deeds Of the famous men OF Greece
and tells with pride Of Scion, So
crates. Demosthenes. Pericles or Ly-
curgus Homer's Iliad and Odyssey ne
reads in modern Greek in his school,
and all this he talks of much as our
boys and girls would Of Washington
or Franklin or the Revolution, and
apparently 1t Is just as real 70 him
Probably the American boy would
not find the diet Of the Greek very
much to his taste. for il Is usually Of
the simplest, consisting principally OF
bread, salad and fruit.
I'VE don't eat sweet things and
many different things as you do In
America" said one of the boys In New
York, and another, little fellow OF II.
from Sparta, boosted that he could 90
for several days without food and
tina he had often slept out alone all
night on Mount Taygetus. 1t was ON
this same Mount Taygetus. history
tells US, that the ancient Spartans
used to expose their weakly children
that they might perish rather than
live without robust health. This old
Spartan admiration for strength and
courage still holds good in modern
Greece. and running. jumping and car
rying heavy weights are much prac-
ticed by boys and men living In the
country.