Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Armenia

[Haykakan]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

LOL that still makes you a liberal! A classical liberal but a liberal non the less. I love irony!

[levon]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

LOL that still makes you a liberal! A classical liberal but a liberal non the less. I love irony!

Well, I guess you just proved that you cannot read. You really are an idiot.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

That "elite" school is a business venture, meant to attract the children of the rich who will pay $10,000 per year in tuition fees.

Are this your arguments? Everything is a business venture then, the supermarkets, the clothing stores, car dealers, factories, the bakery next door, the university I attend, but it doesn't mean it could'nt be beneficial for the progress of our country.

An elite school does not provide funding for science. You'll need to show how exactly that would happen before you continue your argument in that direction. The school was to be built in Armenia merely because Armenia has a large number of very smart scientists out of a job, and the "smart business man" simply saw it as an opportunity to hire teachers for $100 per month here it would cost $6000 in the US for a teacher offering the same services.

Thank you for showing you know nothing about this project but still feel the need to criticize it. This respectable, genius, non-corrupt, succesful businessman and pioneer in a lot of new things, wanted to invite international renowned teachers (actually, the most ''expensive'' ones) to come and teach in Armenia, which includes a lot of succesful Diaspora Armenians scientists and entrepreneurs.

No single argument have I read from you why this would not have been benificial for Armenia, or why it isn't a big loss. Then the discussion will be, what do you define as a loss? For me, even if one single tourist decides to cancel his trip to Armenia, I find it a loss because he choose not to spend his thousands of dollars in Armenia and lost the chance to see/witness and experience Armenia and our culture. Let alone a multimillion dollar project where thousands of people would have been evolved.

Even though, I would also prefer a teacher in Armenia who is no unemployed to work at this school for 200-400 dollars than to be sitting workless at home.

This is a loss for Armenia, and I hope someway or another the project will move on.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

Note please that Armenian educational system is one of the sound and recognized ones worldwide; given our scientific achievements and potential. Today it is a little bit weakened, but still it is better than the educational system of the country you are located. I’m absolutely sure.

Totally wrong. Note that the Armenian people have the potential for achieving great things in scientific field, but today the Armenian educational system can not be compared to what it used to be during the communism. Not even mentioning the non-existing pan-Armenian national ideology at schools, which is probably the most important, new Armenian physicists and mathematician decline and most students prefer to chose low-grade ''economical'' courses at the universities. I can find some interviews for you from leading Armenian physicists who say they lack money (they get like 1000 dollars for a whole year, including for equipment) and new students. This is a major problem the government must tackle and should be addressed to the government, but unfortunately, not a lot of people are demonstrating about this.

The people you are talking about I consider good Armenians, but unfortunately they can’t neither translate things from English into Armenian or visa versa nor comprehend Armenian books perfectly. This is why I suggest, no offence, our Diaspora Armenians to send their children to Armenian language schools (if possible) and only then they can study the other “International”(as you put it down) languages to be able to become useful/wanted to take part in Armenia’s development.

I totally agree that it would be preferable for Diaspora Armenians to send their children to Armenian schools, but this must be their own choice. Let a rich Armenian open a new high-class ''International Armenian School'' or the government, but that doesn't mean we must object to others who would send their children to English-language Armenian schools (do you understand, it would have been an Armenian school? In Armenia, surrounded by Armenians, the Armenian highlands, Armenian people and Armenian culture?). There are thousands of Armenians who can not speak Armenian, only English, and who would come and study in Armenia in a school where the main language is English, would you say they can't because they MUST study in a school where Armenian is the main language? Incredible.

Note please that we are talking about school: if children take the full course of Armenian language at school and then they take English language university courses: Otherwise they can be very useful only for the country, whose language they learned at school and know it perfectly: therefore they wouldn’t be very useful for Armenia/Armenians with their poor Armenian language skills.

I can't believe you just wrote that a person can't be helpful to Armenia or Armenians if they don't speak the language well. Heck, I can even tell you about non-Armenians who were very useful to Armenia and Armenians now and in the past. I am not even going to discuss this silly remark.

This is the reason that you can’t be very useful for Armenia in terms of educational, cultural and other kinds of development, but you can contribute in other areas; which are not related with interacting with Armenian native language population and Armenian books. But your son after taking Armenian language at High School and only then learning other thing he/she would like at Universities, will become very influential and useful person in Armenia.

This is something else, I too can acknowledge that the chance is not high for them to write Armenian books or become an Armenian writer, but they definitely can be very useful for the progress of our educational system, our culture and almost every other kind of development. Wake up, non-Armenian speaking Armenians ARE part of Armenian culture, there are MILLIONS of them.

Please don’t consider this as a counter attack: this is what I and most of my friends, who live in Yerevan, Armenia, think.

Friends tend to have the same ideas, this is also what I and most of my friends, who live in Yerevan, Abovian, Byurakan, Stepanakert and Gyumri, Armenia and Artsakh, think.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

You are an Armenian from iran who emmigrated to the Netherlands (correct?) yet you find that you know more about life in Armenia, Armenian culture, and what Armenia needs than people who live there, or people who currently live there.

This is correct, but totally irrelevant. This could have been correct if I have never visited Armenia, or went there one time as a tourist, but this is not the case. You don't know who I am, what I do for living, how many times a year I visit Armenia and a lot more. I could easily say some Armenians who frequently visit Armenia, know more what is happening in Armenia and are culturally more Armenian, than some Armenians who live in Armenia. Maybe you want to divide people on this forum by their IQ also, because some are smarter than others, that sure should count too?

I'm sure you and KaroTheGreat do not understand my argument. I haven't yet claimed that he should give his money away, I only asserted that one cannot call the "lost 60 million" a real loss unless it was to be invested into the creation and maintenance of 8 specialized schools. Read carefully what you respond to because you're starting to sound like your good friend haykakan, who loves to make arguments on imaginary points pulled from his opponents.

I must laugh. How did you get the number ''8'' and not, say, 7 or 6? As I said, you have another definition of loss, as I find even a tourist who decides to cancel his trip to Armenia a loss, let alone such a huge projects of significance.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm


Collateral Damage from War of Words: Fallout from language law leaves international school plans up in the air


Dilijan international school project discussed with great enthusiasm by President Sargsyan and the initiator Vardanian may never come to life.

A school planned to open in Dilijian and promising to make Armenia a respected center of regional and international study may not ever see a stone laid, due to public reaction over Armenia’s controversial “law on language”, allowing for curriculum to be taught in a foreign language.

The Dilijan International School, the brainchild of Moscow tycoon philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, broke ground in April with President Serzh Sargsyan planting a “tree of knowledge” to herald the project. Expected to open in 2013, the project now is indefinite, owing to “an atmosphere that rejects” the idea.

At present, we are regrettably seriously considering the suspension of work on the project,” says a July 15 letter addressed to Armenia’s Public Council. “. . . It is our belief that even without these additional obstacles to the successful realization of such a complex initiative, and even provided the full support of government and society, it will require an incredible amount of effort to convince parents to send their children to a country about which they know very little and which they do not conceive of as a place to live and receive an education. In the current situation we do not view it as feasible to develop the project, as it is fundamentally incorrect to create a school in an atmosphere that rejects it.”

Among other aspects of the school designed for 600 students age 13-18, the primary language is to be English – one of three languages (along with French and Spanish) which are the tutorial tongue of some 3,000 institutes of learning worldwide where students may obtain an “IB” – an International Baccalaureate. (The IB is widely seen as a respected credential signifying exceptional academic qualifications.)

Soon after the school was announced, however, the National Assembly of Armenia took up debate on whether to amend the Law “On General Education” (adopted in 2009) and the Law “On Language” (1993) that prohibited teaching curricula in any language other than Armenian at state-funded institutions. (Speculation is split over whether the timing of the Assembly debate was coincidental.)

An avalanche of protests accompanied the debate, primarily voiced by those who decried academics in a language other than Armenian, with arguments that ranged from accusations of elitism, to saying that the mere suggestion was an insult to the mother tongue.

It is this “atmosphere” to which the Dilijan Project’s letter refers.

Nonetheless, last month Parliament, following some compromised language in the original document, passed the law, thereby clearing the way for 11 of Armenia’s 1,480 schools of learning to teach in a foreign language if they choose.

Ill will stirred by the debate, however, tempered enthusiasm by principal participants in the Dilijan Project, who arguably may have taken offense at having offered free of charge to Armenia a school already expected to cost more than $60 million, only to have it rebuked by the very citizens who might have profited from the education the school would offer.

In its stern letter signed by Project Initiators of the Dilijan International School Project, the school planners, in effect, threatened to open the school “outside the territory of Armenia” unless they are satisfied upon hearing the “consolidated view” of the Public Council. The initiators appear to be seeking a referendum from the public sounding board (the Council), before going further.

“We are deeply convinced that the role of education will increase in the XXI century, which is why we consider the creation of this kind of school a vitally important task,” the letter states. “True, it's possible that today’s Armenia does not require the kind of school outlined in the concept approved by the school’s Board of Trustees. For this reason, at the next Board session in October, we will raise the question of realizing this project not on the Armenian territory. However, we do believe that Armenia will grow and prosper, and no matter what, we intend to facilitate this process by implementing projects in Armenia.” (click here to read the entire letter)

The Project Initiators’ letter points out that the school would receive no state funding, yet would offer free enrollment to 80 percent of its Armenian students through private and institutional charity scholarships. It also emphasizes that Armenian language will be taught at the school, not only to Armenians but to foreigners – who are expected to make up two-thirds of the enrollment – as well.

“The question facing the majority of the school’s potential students isn’t the loss of Armenian language, but acquiring it, since today these children go to study in Russia, England, Switzerland and America. We would like for our children, people of Armenian origin, to have the opportunity to receive an outstanding education precisely in Armenia, to study its culture and history and learn the language of their ancestors,” the letter says.

“We have never been against Vardanyan’s school; it was quite a different concept, and its creation did not need those amendments. But having the school as an excuse, the government drafted the amendments, which are unacceptable,” Karine Danielyan, member of the Public Council, and Chairwoman of the ‘For Sustainable Human Development’ NGO, told ArmeniaNow.

However, lawmakers believe whatever decision is made by the Dilijan planners will not suspend the amendments to the law adopted in the first reading.

Head of Republican Party’s parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan says that the draft law will be adopted regardless of the Dilijian Project decision.

“What is the difference whether Vardanyan will make an investment or he will not? This is a generally necessary legislative initiative, which will later give an opportunity to create a competitive educational system,” Sahakyan told ArmeniaNow.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

Since the last project has elicited the greatest amount of questions and commentaries, we will speak about it in greater detail. DILIJAN International School is a private philanthropic project involving no state funding. Planned investments in the project exceed $60 million, which does not include money from the fund to support talented children from impoverished families. The term “philanthropic” means the investors will not earn any profit, nor do they intend to return the money they have invested in the project. We succeeded in assembling an authoritative Board of Trustees consisting of famous and respected people who are ready to assist in implementing the project.

Whole letter; http://dilijanschool.org/?id=377&cat=230

What are you going to say now? Again try to convince yourself of your own ''rightness'', gegev/levon? Simplest thing to say (just like Azeris), is to say, IT IS ALL A BIG LIE, a conspiracy! He is a billionaire already, but still wants to make extra money, he doesn't care for Armenia!

The question facing the majority of the school’s potential students isn’t the loss of Armenian language, but acquiring it, since today these children go to study in Russia, England, Switzerland and America. We would like for our children, people of Armenian origin, to have the opportunity to receive an outstanding education precisely in Armenia, to study its culture and history and learn the language of their ancestors. The school’s students from the Republic of Armenia will study native language and native literature under a program confirmed by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Armenia for the country’s general education schools, which will allow them to successfully enroll in Armenian universities. We also plan to enroll students of a non-Armenian ethnic origin, who will not only have the opportunity to receive an education that will help them realize their potential, but to gain familiarity with an ancient culture and language. This is an extremely ambitious task to which we are firmly committed.

We are deeply concerned about the question of how the young generation of the six million Diaspora - our children born outside of and having never lived in Armenia - will consider themselves. Our children are assimilating, and we can’t help but be alarmed by this. It is the school’s mission to create strong, long-term ties based on the principles of inter-ethnic tolerance with an Armenian coloring and receiving an education of the highest academic caliber. We wonder how to motivate our children to study Armenian language, which as of today is neither the language they use to communicate with family, nor at school, nor with friends. For this reason, we are investing in a program for studying Armenian under the IB system. It is also the reason why we plan to teach Armenian history, its literature and arts, and we also want to train our students in ancient Armenian crafts.

Our goal is that the words ‘Armenia’ and ‘Armenian’ will not only be associated with people perishing during the Genocide and earthquakes, conjuring not pity and sympathy, but a feeling of pride for victories, achievements and the successes of our graduates in the fields of science, culture and art. We want to attract people of non-Armenian origin, who are free to choose any location on the planet, to study, live, work and raise their children. We are spending our time, resources, talents and money so that Armenia becomes an appealing and comfortable place for our children, a place where Armenians and non-Armenians will come to and live, feeling at home in our hospitable country. Precisely for this reason, we are investing in the creation of infrastructure and conditions in which teachers from different countries can live comfortably, as well as for raising the qualifications of teachers from Armenia.

[Haykakan]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

Really pisses me off when Armenia gets hurt by ignorent shmucks. This is a big hurt. Not only does it move education and investments out of the country but it also tells investors to be that we will fight you even when you are trying to do us a favor. You cant really blame this one on the government either i dont think. It is just sheer ignorence the type that is in full display on this forum.

[londontsi]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

http://www.ardarutyun.org/?p=2686&lang=en

A Linguistic Trojan Horse?


YEREVAN | A government initiative to reopen foreign-language schools in Armenia after a 17-year ban is generating a heated public outcry. Many are concerned that the move would damage the country’s Armenian-language educational system.

Draft amendments to the Law on Language and the Law on General Education, submitted by Education Minister Armen Ashotian to parliament on 4 June, would allow 15 foreign-language schools to reopen in Armenia. Such schools have been prohibited since 1993, when the government, headed by current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, closed them amid a post-Soviet wave of nationalism.

With an eye to that Soviet past, most critics assume that the proposed schools would be Russian-language institutions. The amendments, however, do no specify the language of instruction.

That omission does not reassure Aram Apatian, one of the leaders of the grassroots group “We Are Against the Re-Opening of Foreign-Language Schools in Armenia,” which has called for Ashotian’s resignation.

“I have a Russian-language education and have always experienced problems with the Armenian language and method of expression,” said the 48-year-old Apatian. “Can you imagine what will happen if foreign-language schools – meeting international standards, as they say – are opened? We will go back to Soviet times again; the image of Armenian schools and our nation will suffer.”

The bill is also generating political opposition. The main opposition Armenian National Congress, headed by the multilingual former president Ter-Petrosian, has termed the proposal “dangerous.”

During the Soviet era, fluent knowledge of Russian was considered a ticket to prestigious employment opportunities and a prosperous lifestyle. Accordingly, Armenian-language schools were deemed undesirable by most aspiring Armenians.

Ashotian, the education minister, maintains that the proposal has nothing to do with favoring Russian-language schools over Armenian-language institutions.

The foreign-language schools “will not turn into a network of Russian schools,” he insisted during a late May news conference. “This will not be a revival of the Russian- school era.” Knowledge of Russian is simply a matter of Armenians remaining “competitive” in today’s marketplace, Ashotian asserted.

A 2009 survey conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center in Yerevan reported that just 24.8 percent of 2,555 Armenian respondents identified their knowledge of Russian as “advanced.”

Despite the role Russia’s economy plays in boosting Armenian trade figures and providing jobs for labor migrants, the criticism of the foreign-language schools proposal – including from the government coalition member Prosperous Armenia Party – continues.

There is suspicion that the government proposed the measure at Moscow’s behest. Armenia has the friendliest ties of any country in the South Caucasus with the Kremlin, as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance that Moscow made available to Yerevan during the depths of the global financial crisis. Russian companies now control Armenia’s energy system and hold substantial investments in its telecommunications, as well as the mining and petrochemical sectors.

The group opposing foreign-language schools has organized several large demonstrations in downtown Yerevan that feature posters declaring “No to Colonialism!” and “Language Is Not Collateral for Debt.” More than 2,700 individuals have joined the group on Facebook.

“I’m absolutely convinced that this initiative has been dictated by the Kremlin. This is a continuation of Russia’s new imperialist policy,” said analyst Suren Surenyants, a senior member of the opposition Republic Party’s Political Council. “The opening of foreign-language schools is a great danger for Armenia’s independence. It’s dangerous for both national and societal reasons.”

A November 2009 statement by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko about a push to make Russian an official or international language throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States is helping to fuel concern in some corners of Yerevan. Yakovenko noted there would be no problems with this initiative in Armenia.

At a conference in late 2009 on Russian-language schools in Armenia, Ashotian declared Russian as “the language of our common future,” the Newsarmenia.ru website reported. As an illustration of those sympathies, in 2007 Ashotian issued a CD of Russian-language songs he had written titled Za or For.

Foreign-language schools exist in both Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the CRRC survey, fewer respondents in both countries described themselves as having an advanced knowledge of Russian.

Nonetheless, many ordinary Armenians argue that even one foreign-language school could pose a threat to the viability of their language. Architect Ruben Tarumian, creator of an Armenian computer font, predicts that opening one such school could set off a “chain reaction” of others.

“If you change the language, you change the nation as well,” Tarumian said.

Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter in Yerevan. This is a partner post from EurasiaNet.

[londontsi]

Re: Groundbreaking-New school in Dilijan to provide unique learning experience in Arm

http://www.ardarutyun.org/?p=2208&lang=en

Armenia Ends There, Where Armenian is Not Spoken

Armenia ends there, where the Armenian language is not spoken, Armenian film director Tigran Khzmalyan told Tert.am as he participated in a protest organized “We are Against the Opening of Foreign-Language Schools” near the Government Building today.

The parliament is set to discuss today a government-backed draft included already in the parliament agenda. If approved, it will pave the way for the re-opening of foreign-language schools.

“I think that the authorities are trying to deprive us of our freedoms and independence step by step, of course without a good will. [With that step] they are paying with our future, our dignity and with independence in this case, as Armenia is there, where Armenian is not spoken. The Armenians may live in other countries, due to the rise and falls of our history, and it creates a unique safety, may be that is worth speaking about, but Armenia ends there, where Armenian is not spoken,” said Khzmalyan.

“That is to say, this is an encroachment on anything that was fought for, for what our boys sacrificed their lives, for what we were dreaming of in ’88. We consider this as a betrayal in face of the nation,” said he, adding that they will not allow this to be implemented.

Tert.am