Thaskalos (Thaskala f.)
A teacher – usually of primary school grade as a secondary school teacher is a Kathaedis – a lecturer.
Although the differences between the two groups are sometimes trivial, it is the thascalos(a) that highlights certain changes in the educational lifestyle of the Cypriot paithee (child).
Cypriot parents in general want their children to be either doctors or teachers, presumably as these are high-paid, high status jobs. Certainly the incidence of luxury cars and second homes among primary school teachers would argue that either they all have very well paid spouses/parents or else that this assumption re wealth is possibly true.
Another reason for this assumption is that in Cyprus, teachers are paid twice for doing the same job. Lessons at school are required to be “topped up” for all pupils by “ithietera” or extra after school lessons on a private basis.
This begs the question that, since the schoolteachers are apparently incapable of educating those in their care during school hours, how is it that after hours their standards are any better?
If we assume that the “ithietera” teachers are different and better than the school teachers, who is the dolt employing the sub-standard teachers in the schools?
Once, the village “thaskalos” was a person of substance and worthy of respect who expounded in the coffe shop on topics on the day culled from the newspapers and helped the illiterate read their letters. In modern Cyprus, the 3 “M”s of society ensure that other talents than education and a solid reputation may be required to get a government job and possibly this is why a student who wrote a song on the Cyprus school system in his home town was moved to ask whether that female thaskali (pl) considered themselves to be employed by the school system or a cabaret based on their styles of dress.
This is of questionable value as a serious rather than anecdotal observation as in a cabaret everyone, foreign or local, is relieved of their cash on an equal opportunity basis. In Cyprus, foreign children are frequently less than welcome and made the victims of barbed remarks by the teachers about the role their respective countries played in the 1974 invasion of the island.
It would seem that in Cyprus schools it is assumed that in those difficult days of 1974, the whole world took a few months off from anything else they had to do in order to have more time free to mess with the Cyprus political system. Any degree of blame that Cyprus might feel is submerged in the communal cry of “they made us do it” accompanied by the desperate pointing of metaphorical fingers in all directions.
Certainly the educational system does produce a healthy supply of individuals for the universities and private colleges especially among the families of local teachers and doctors, and where money is no object a good education may be found for almost anyone.
Possibly this is a good example of the most important lesson of all in our modern world – nothing is free but everything is for sale.
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