Armenia (Republic) -- Social life and customs -- Juvenile literature
They go on to tell us of the school system, which is voluntary
and without Government aid. There is--or perhaps since the War,
one should say was--a National Committee for Education which sat at
Constantinople; the teachers were paid by the Committee, and there
were School inspectors for each district, in Turkish Armenia. Pupils
who could afford it paid for their schooling, but those who were poor
were not kept out by their poverty. Does not this sound very modern,
and American, and democratic? Surely, these are people who will make
good Americans.
And going to school in Armenia was an exciting adventure, before the
War. Listen to the story which the Buxtons tell of a Secondary Boys'
School founded more than fifty years ago at Varag, by an Armenian
Bishop, a pioneer in modern education in Armenia:
"At the time of the massacres (1909) masters and boys had to fly
to the mountains, and while they were absent, the buildings were
completely destroyed by fire. Nevertheless, an entire reconstruction
was undertaken. The Church, which happily was not destroyed,
occupies one side of the courtyard and the new buildings occupy the
other three; a second courtyard is now nearing completion (1914). A
second attempt was made less than three years ago to despoil this
institution. The attacking party, about a hundred strong, was
repelled by five Armenian revolutionaries, aided no doubt by the
'young blood' of the college. Now (1914) there are seventy boys and
seven teachers, all laymen. The system is pre-eminently practical. The
pupils are destined for teaching, and since it is considered part
of a village schoolmaster's duty in Armenia to be able to assist
peasants in agricultural matters, thorough instruction is given
in fruit, vegetable, and poultry culture, dairy work, and general
gardening. The school grounds form a delightful oasis of irrigated
lands in the midst of surrounding desert. The school printing press
was stolen by the Government and the compositor abducted; but a more
modern machine has taken its place. Every boy takes his share, out
of school hours, in carpentry and house-work. The court-yard forms
a fine play-ground, and here, having mentioned Boy Scouts, I found
myself surrounded by an ardent crowd, thirsting for scout lore,
and begging to be enrolled at once as 'tenderfeet.'"
What may have been the fate of this boys' school at Varag, since 1914,
I dread to imagine. As it was a native school, there is no mention
of it, so far as I know, in the reports of American Missionary
Schools. We can only hope that some of those seventy boys and their
seven masters still live, and will one day take heart to build up
the old school again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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