What Is The Etymology And The Real Meaning Of The Word School In Greek?

Embark on an enlightening exploration with us as we unravel the historical tapestry of 'school,' a word steeped in the Greek pursuit of leisure and intellectual debate. Our discussion ventures into the bastions of ancient learning, where the joy of discovery reigned supreme, and memorization took a backseat to vibrant discourse. We invite you to reimagine education through the lens of bygone eras, where the Sophist philosophers set the stage for an Athens flourishing under Pericles' vision. Through my own decade-long epiphany, I'll share how this realization has profoundly reshaped my approach to learning, transforming it into a thrilling odyssey of lifelong enrichment.

Strap in for a ride through the peaks and valleys of personal growth as we offer a helping hand to fellow adventurers on the quest to master the Greek language. Step into our virtual agora where camaraderie and support await eager minds. I'll take you through my own year-long escapade with the electric guitar, laying bare the hurdles I've leaped and the strategies that turned stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Let's celebrate the art of self-improvement together, as I reveal the lessons learned and the sweet sound of progress that resonates with each new skill we acquire. Join us and discover the symphony of perseverance and communal spirit that fuels our journey toward self-betterment.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

music, music, music, music, music, music, music, music. Hello friend, today we are going to talk about a piece of information I keep as treasure and, to tell you the truth, I don't share it with someone. I have the feeling that they will not appreciate this type of information. I share it only with people. I have the feeling that they will appreciate this type of knowledge and I was thinking about it and I said ok, let's give it to the people and whoever wants to hear it, I will be very happy to help you, because I think that it's not only very helpful, it really changes everything. If you take it seriously, if you understand what you've got in your hands, you go to another level. If you work with this information, you can live many lives during your lifespan. So today we are going to talk about what is the real meaning of the word school. The word school is Greek and today we are going to talk about the etymology, how it started. We know how it ended up to be, but today we are going to see how this all started. What is school? What is school in reality? First of all, let's talk about a fact our education has nothing to do with school, the form that school has ended up to be so far in our known history. Ok, this is a fact. And then we continue.

Speaker 1: 2:21

In order to understand what a school is really about, we need to explore the origin of the word school. Understanding the meaning of a word means to see where the word first started its journey and what it meant for the people who first used it. The word school comes from the Greek word scholi, which means leisure, enjoyment, free time, fun, calmness, losing yourself in leisure time. We've got a kid's song that says and sorry for my singing, but you have to listen to the song Kira ki yorti ke scholi na taniv do mada oli ki defteran na tan mono kanna diofore stochrono, which means Sunday celebration and leisure time. If only it was all week long and Monday. I wish it was only a couple of times during the year. This is a recent song for kids, but for people who lived during the ancient Hellenic times, school used to be a place where someone would spend their time doing something that was fun and knowledgeable at the same time. The kids admired their teachers and they got excited about the time they spent together. The teachers were not exhausted like they are today. They carried the knowledge of the society and people knew that these people would lead a bright future for their community and their police. When we mean police, we mean the city. It was not considered a duty or a task that would force them to memorize with no critical thought and just repeat what the teacher said. They discussed about things and they led to conclusions. They knew how to discuss.

Speaker 1: 4:29

To understand even deeper the notion scholly, let's take another word of this family. The word is a verb that means I bother. The Greek etymology is I interrupt you from your leisure time, from something you like. I bother you. If you want to say in Greek, excuse me to interrupt you, you will say SIGNOMI, pusse, apascholo, apascholo. And now let's go back to school.

Speaker 1: 5:49

The etymology of the word school, scholio. The ending IO, epsilon, iota, omicron is an ending that shows a place like Pharmakio, musio, all the words that ending IO, epsilon, iota, omicron show it's a place Tachydromio, post Office, pharmakio, pharmacy, musio, museum, creo, polio, the place that sells meat. Scholio, the place of great focus, the place of leisure time, the place you don't want to be interrupted from. Deep knowledge and old knowledge can save our lives. Imagine how far we can go when we change the way we are programmed and start practicing knowledge and ways of life of different eras and philosophies. The Sophists philosophers who lived in Ionia around 7th century BC, were teachers with this kind of idea about school that we mentioned in this podcast. The fun part is that they were such great teachers that we don't know their names, but we know the names of their students. They lived in the region of Ionia In today Turkey. Be careful, it's not the Ionian sea in the west, it is the region of ancient Ionia. So they lived in the region of Ionia in the 7th and 6th century BC and then they moved to Athens 2 centuries later, creating the Golden Century of Pericles in the 5th century BC.

Speaker 1: 8:01

Let's go back to us. Imagine what you can create for your life with this change in the way you see the learning process and the hours you dedicate for your personal growth. As Carl Sagan said, school should be so exciting for young humans that they would feel sad when they finish it and they would try to find another source of this kind of exciting knowledge in their lives after they finish. I would add people of all ages, not only young people. It took me 10 years to realize this. I wasted 10 years of doing nothing and believing I was just stupid. Why? Because I couldn't repeat what I was taught for about 8 years of my whole life. It was only 8 years in my whole life. The question is, are 8 or 12 or 20 years too many in a lifespan? I hope you get the idea. Keep on practicing, but, most importantly, create a school with the real meaning of the word, the Hellenic meaning, and, trust me, you will enjoy more than one lives during your lifespan.

Speaker 1: 9:20

If you think you want to take up Greek or you want some help while you study by yourself, I will be very happy to be your guide. Just send me an email in my email address, learngreekatmygreekteachercom, or like our Facebook page, my Greek Teacher. I will be very happy to help you and have an online coffee and talk about what you need and how I can help you. In our next podcast, we are going to talk about an experiment I did on myself. I have been learning the electric guitar for one year and I would like to share with you some difficulties I experienced in the past year, some tips about learning, how I managed to overcome some obstacles. I will be very happy to share my experience with you. Enjoy your week. I wish you the best.