The mission of school is to prepare, educate, inspire, instruct, give directions. All of the above towards making us humane. Through cultural events like theater, and dance you can direct children towards values like freedom, solidarity, courage, bravery, strength and humanity. No-one on the whole world can convince me that a parade can instill such values. 

This of course requires changes to our customs and institutions. Are the greek schools and society in general ready for such  changes?  My response is categorically YES. In our society of tele-consumerism, indifference, cynicism and irresponsibility, doing so is imperative

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Read an article by Fr. Romanou from the Magazine: "Ekpedeftiki Kinotita" Issue 65, February-April 2003

To  my  schoolmaster

I  would  like  to  inform  you  that  I  will  not  take  part  in  the  parade  of  October  28th  2001,  even  though  I  have  been  notified  on  time  that  it's my  school's  turn  to  march.

The  reasons  for  that  are  mainly  ideological.  There  is  a  serious  health  problem  (in  my  back)  which does  not  even allow  me  a  normal  way  of  life.  But  even  if  this  problem  didn't  exist,  I  still  would  not  take  part  in  the  parade.  I  am writing  this  in  order  to  be  totally  honest  with  you.

I  believe  that  school  parades  should  be  suppressed. There  are  many  other  ways  to  make  the  students understand  and  feel  the  importance  of  each  anniversary, and  I  know  that  from  my teaching experience all  these  years.  To  be  more  precise,  I  will  give  you  a  recent  example:  last  year  I  was  co-organizer  of  the  25th  of  March  celebration.  The  traditional  dances  that  were  danced  by  our  students  had  a  far  greater  impact  on  making  them  understand  the  meaning  and  importance  of  the  anniversary  than  the  mere  “one - two,  one - two”  regimented march  could  ever  achieve.  

Furthermore,  the students  danced  tsamiko.   I  gave  them  a  whole  lot  of  information  about  the  dance,  the  people  who  danced  it,  why  they  danced  it,   etc.  And  the  most  important  thing  is  what  the  students  felt  when  they  danced  it.  This  is  just  one example  from  the  many  I  can  give  you  from  fourteen years  of  service  in the  teaching  profession.  Theatrical  plays,  for example, allow  students  to really  "get  inside"  and  identify  with  the  role,  receiving  messages  like  freedom,  solidarity,  courage,  bravery,  strength...  and  nobody  in  this  world  can  convince  me  that  a  parade  can  inspire  those deepest of  feelings.

The  school  has  to  decide  at some  point  what  kind  of  citizens  it  wants  to  "produce"  for  this  society.  Celebrations  and  anniversaries  like  the  ones  we  have,  are indeed very  suitable  for  giving  messages  and  direction  that  our  youth  really  need  in  this  “sterile” era  we  are  living  in.  But  the  impotrant  thing  is  how  you  transmit  those  messages!

The  school  parade  is  certainly  not  the  way  to  do  it. As  far  as  the  laying  of  the  flower-hoop,  I  will most certainly  accompany  the  students.  

In truth,