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In Search of Community Priorities
Mirror Spectator
Editorial 9-6
By Edmond Y. Azadian
"The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of the
cities, nor the crops -- no, but the kind of man the country turns
out."
The quote above is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who issued the challenge
to all leaders in charge of running countries or organizations or
guiding communities.
Almost a century after being uprooted from our homeland, have we ever
asked what kind of man or woman our community would turn out? Maybe
the question has weighed heavily on the minds of some leaders but it
does not seem that it has bothered us collectively, as we are paddling
down the stream without concern about our destination.
To say the least, our community has its priorities backwards, yet we
still hope for a positive outcome.
It was quite appropriate for the first Armenian settlers in America to
build churches; the churches have played their role in preserving our
faith and also our identity. However, ironically, the focus on church
building has accelerated, even as the number of potential parishioners
has dwindled. We continue building churches that have empty pews on
Sundays, until we find another role for our houses of worship. Most
have already become centers of civic activities, unrelated to the
faith of the worshipers.
The Armenian Church in America has mostly abandoned its traditional
responsibility of running schools, except for the Prelacy, in both
California and Massachusetts. (The Armenian Catholic Church still
follows the Catholic church's tradition of founding schools, and in
the US, it has schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and California.)
The Armenian day school movement began fairly recently in America and
it has already lost steam for a variety of reasons; some of the
factors affecting the schools are beyond the reach of the community,
whereas others can be helped. The important question is where to draw
the line -- to face the manageable factors intelligently and then claim
that we did our best to keep the Armenian schools in operation,
leaving the rest to the course of society's irreversible currents.
It will be foolhardy to believe that to run an Armenian school in a
globalized society is an easy task. But by the same token, to
surrender responsibility because the challenges are great is not a
choice, either.
The Armenian language is the fundamental ingredient of our identity.
Some highly-motivated individuals will resort to virtual books or
virtual colleges to learn the language, but the rest need to have
access to Armenian schools, where language, history and culture are
taught, but above all, provide an atmosphere that can awaken and
strengthen Armenian consciousness.
In that sense, there is no alternative to the Armenian school; the
alternative is only self-delusion.
To start an Armenian day school can only be done through vision. No
matter how much an Armenian school spends on the material aspects of
education, it will not match nor surpass private or public schools in
the same neighborhood. The Armenian community in the US is affluent
enough to meet the challenges, if it learns to set its priorities in
the right order.
One of those visionaries was Gabriel Injejikian who opened the first
Armenian school in America, to the amazement of the majority of the
Armenians. Many organizations followed suit and today an entire
network of schools is in operation from coast to coast. Most of the
graduates have come to prove that in terms of professional success,
they do not lag behind the graduates of public or private
institutions, despite the scarcity of educational resources in their
respective schools.
Most of the Armenian schools have fallen on hard times. Enrollments at
some schools are declining and in some cases, the quality of the
education is being compromised because of a lack of funds. One of
those schools is the Tekeyan Cultural Association's Arshag Dickranian
School in Hollywood, Calif., which this September began its 34th
academic year.
The Dickranian School has played a pivotal role in integrating
generations of immigrant Armenians who have become successful citizens
of the US. The school still plays an essential role in the growing
community on the West Coast.
The eponymous late benefactor and his family have generously provided
substantial funding. However, as the school's enrollment continues to
grow, more resources will be needed to meet basic needs.
Kirk Kerkorian's Dream Fund today remains the major benefactor of
Armenian schools in California. Kerkorian, a man who did not have the
benefit of attending an Armenian school, believes in the role of that
institution in preserving our heritage.
The same conviction has driven other benefactors to contribute to
Armenian schools because they know they have a stake in building and
preserving Armenian identity.
The Dickranian School is owned and operated by the Tekeyan Cultural
Association. Since its founding, dedicated cadres of educational
leaders and innovators have been running it.
As times get tough, the community has to be sensitized about the needs
and challenges of the school. In the first place, the mobilization of
Tekeyan members and friends will be required to set the pace for the
rest of the community to help the school survive.
As the demographic profile of the community undergoes changes and as
educational tools and methods become more sophisticated and expensive,
they pose new challenges for the leaders who believe in Armenian
education. Instead of giving up, they look to new alternatives. One
such alternative is to have more community involvement in the public
schools, where substantial numbers of Armenian students are enrolled.
That can keep in place the instruction of the Armenian language at the
state's expense.
The other alternative is to explore the feasibility of charter
schools. The Turks have been ahead of the Armenians by taking
advantage of the possibilities in American educational system and they
have already a network of charter schools founded by Fatullah Gulen in
many states. Although they have abused the system and many Gulenist
charter schools are under investigation in California, Illinois, and
Arizona and in other states, making it harder for other groups to
obtain licensing for new charter schools.
One exemplary school seems to be the Ararat Charter School in the
Valley and others may be on the drawing board. It is embarrassing to
admit that we need to learn from the Turks how to use the system to
our advantage.
When we soberly prioritize our community needs, we see that the school
and language remain at the top of the list, but not at the expense of
dropping other priorities, which have their essential role in
consolidating the Armenian identity.
Mirror Spectator
Editorial 9-6
By Edmond Y. Azadian
"The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of the
cities, nor the crops -- no, but the kind of man the country turns
out."
The quote above is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who issued the challenge
to all leaders in charge of running countries or organizations or
guiding communities.
Almost a century after being uprooted from our homeland, have we ever
asked what kind of man or woman our community would turn out? Maybe
the question has weighed heavily on the minds of some leaders but it
does not seem that it has bothered us collectively, as we are paddling
down the stream without concern about our destination.
To say the least, our community has its priorities backwards, yet we
still hope for a positive outcome.
It was quite appropriate for the first Armenian settlers in America to
build churches; the churches have played their role in preserving our
faith and also our identity. However, ironically, the focus on church
building has accelerated, even as the number of potential parishioners
has dwindled. We continue building churches that have empty pews on
Sundays, until we find another role for our houses of worship. Most
have already become centers of civic activities, unrelated to the
faith of the worshipers.
The Armenian Church in America has mostly abandoned its traditional
responsibility of running schools, except for the Prelacy, in both
California and Massachusetts. (The Armenian Catholic Church still
follows the Catholic church's tradition of founding schools, and in
the US, it has schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and California.)
The Armenian day school movement began fairly recently in America and
it has already lost steam for a variety of reasons; some of the
factors affecting the schools are beyond the reach of the community,
whereas others can be helped. The important question is where to draw
the line -- to face the manageable factors intelligently and then claim
that we did our best to keep the Armenian schools in operation,
leaving the rest to the course of society's irreversible currents.
It will be foolhardy to believe that to run an Armenian school in a
globalized society is an easy task. But by the same token, to
surrender responsibility because the challenges are great is not a
choice, either.
The Armenian language is the fundamental ingredient of our identity.
Some highly-motivated individuals will resort to virtual books or
virtual colleges to learn the language, but the rest need to have
access to Armenian schools, where language, history and culture are
taught, but above all, provide an atmosphere that can awaken and
strengthen Armenian consciousness.
In that sense, there is no alternative to the Armenian school; the
alternative is only self-delusion.
To start an Armenian day school can only be done through vision. No
matter how much an Armenian school spends on the material aspects of
education, it will not match nor surpass private or public schools in
the same neighborhood. The Armenian community in the US is affluent
enough to meet the challenges, if it learns to set its priorities in
the right order.
One of those visionaries was Gabriel Injejikian who opened the first
Armenian school in America, to the amazement of the majority of the
Armenians. Many organizations followed suit and today an entire
network of schools is in operation from coast to coast. Most of the
graduates have come to prove that in terms of professional success,
they do not lag behind the graduates of public or private
institutions, despite the scarcity of educational resources in their
respective schools.
Most of the Armenian schools have fallen on hard times. Enrollments at
some schools are declining and in some cases, the quality of the
education is being compromised because of a lack of funds. One of
those schools is the Tekeyan Cultural Association's Arshag Dickranian
School in Hollywood, Calif., which this September began its 34th
academic year.
The Dickranian School has played a pivotal role in integrating
generations of immigrant Armenians who have become successful citizens
of the US. The school still plays an essential role in the growing
community on the West Coast.
The eponymous late benefactor and his family have generously provided
substantial funding. However, as the school's enrollment continues to
grow, more resources will be needed to meet basic needs.
Kirk Kerkorian's Dream Fund today remains the major benefactor of
Armenian schools in California. Kerkorian, a man who did not have the
benefit of attending an Armenian school, believes in the role of that
institution in preserving our heritage.
The same conviction has driven other benefactors to contribute to
Armenian schools because they know they have a stake in building and
preserving Armenian identity.
The Dickranian School is owned and operated by the Tekeyan Cultural
Association. Since its founding, dedicated cadres of educational
leaders and innovators have been running it.
As times get tough, the community has to be sensitized about the needs
and challenges of the school. In the first place, the mobilization of
Tekeyan members and friends will be required to set the pace for the
rest of the community to help the school survive.
As the demographic profile of the community undergoes changes and as
educational tools and methods become more sophisticated and expensive,
they pose new challenges for the leaders who believe in Armenian
education. Instead of giving up, they look to new alternatives. One
such alternative is to have more community involvement in the public
schools, where substantial numbers of Armenian students are enrolled.
That can keep in place the instruction of the Armenian language at the
state's expense.
The other alternative is to explore the feasibility of charter
schools. The Turks have been ahead of the Armenians by taking
advantage of the possibilities in American educational system and they
have already a network of charter schools founded by Fatullah Gulen in
many states. Although they have abused the system and many Gulenist
charter schools are under investigation in California, Illinois, and
Arizona and in other states, making it harder for other groups to
obtain licensing for new charter schools.
One exemplary school seems to be the Ararat Charter School in the
Valley and others may be on the drawing board. It is embarrassing to
admit that we need to learn from the Turks how to use the system to
our advantage.
When we soberly prioritize our community needs, we see that the school
and language remain at the top of the list, but not at the expense of
dropping other priorities, which have their essential role in
consolidating the Armenian identity.