Ancient Greece Part I: Ideals of Education

Posted by Susan Epstein on March 8th, 2009 at 02:26pm

by Daniel Rosenkrantz, Teen Mentor/Coach

In Ancient Greece children were not educated in order to get a job, but rather to be good  citizens of Greece. Nowadays the opposite is true. Hardly any talk of what makes a good citizen goes on in our schools. We pump our children through the system not in hope of them being a good person, but so that when they are done, they can get a job and support themselves and their future families.

Keeping this in mind, all of the responsibility of raising a good citizen has fallen on the shoulders of the parents, no matter how busy they already are with their other responsibilities and commitments. Most parents don’t have anyone else to share the burden with.

A crucial part of a privileged teenagers’ education in Ancient Greece was a mentorship with an elder. The teenager learned by watching the elder discuss politics, by helping him perform his public duties, and exercising with him in the gymnasium.

Today’s mentor-mentee relationships may look a little different, but the purpose is the same – talking and spending time with somebody who has been in your shoes and is now able to reflect on that time.

Back then this right was reserved only for the rich, but today many more resources and opportunities are available to teens of every social standing. Thousands of books have been written, clubs and groups are available, social programs are in place, and mentors and coaches are specializing in exactly this service.

Would your teen benefit from a mentor coach? I sure wish I would have had one when I was a teen.

Tags: ancient greece, coach, education, mentor, parenting, parents, teens

Under Family+ Teens/Tweens