PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

October 6, 2005
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SYMPOSIUM PROVIDES NEW TOOLS, IDEAS FOR ARMENIAN LANGUAGE EDUCATORS

The numbers of Armenian speakers and readers in the United States are
declining each year. The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) is committed to keeping the Armenian language and heritage
alive through several educational programs.

Key to the effort are local parish Armenian Schools. On Saturday,
September 10, 2005, more than 70 educators from New York, Connecticut,
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island attended a symposium
designed to give them direction, advice, and resources to spread the
Armenian language in their home parishes.

“Each one of these dedicated volunteers is passionate about our history
and culture, and they are all working to see that the next generation of
Armenian Americans continues to use our mother language,” said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese. “They are
giving of their time and skills to teach our children and for that each
one of them should be commended.”

FACING THE CHALLENGE

One of the guest speakers at the symposium, Dr. Anny Bakalian, associate
director of the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center at the
Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), outlined the
numbers for the educators.

She said her research shows that assimilation and the maintenance of
ethnic identity are not contradictory — that it is not a zero sum pie.
She spoke about immigration, integration in American society, and
assimilation.

“It is impossible to find Armenianness meaningful or functional if they
are not taught to appreciate it,” Dr. Bakalian said, stressing that
culture and traditions are taught, not imbedded in our genetic make-up.
“Where is Armenianness nurtured? In the family, with grandparents,
traditions, and rites of passage.”

She told the educators that to be a “good Armenian” one must be a “good
American citizen.” The solution, she said, is to become bicultural, be
conversant fluently and comfortably in two worlds.

“The teacher is not an authority figure in the new millennium, but a
coach to encourage,” she said. “Pedagogues have discovered that
language is best taught when the child is eager to learn. It cannot be
imposed by force.”

CELEBRATING 1,600 YEARS

This year, the local educators will be in the spotlight as the worldwide
Armenian community celebrates the 1,600th anniversary of the creation of
the Armenian alphabet by Mesrob Mashdots. During the symposium, Aram
Arkun, coordinator of the Diocese’s Zohrab Information Center, outlined
the historical and geopolitical background of the invention of the
Armenian alphabet, detailing the evolution of the written word from
pictures and hieroglyphics to cuneiform and later the Armenian alphabet.

Arkun highlighted the religious and sociopolitical motives for the
invention of the alphabet, dealing in unfamiliar details and historical
information that attendees said would prove useful in their classroom
work.

HONORING SERVICE

The Symposium was also a chance for the Diocese to thank longtime
educators. Central to the list of those devoting their time to teaching
Armenian was Sylva der Stepanian, who recently stepped down as
coordinator of Armenian studies at the Diocese after several decades of
service.

Honored for 25 years of service were Sue Ayrassian and Irene Eranosian
of Providence, RI; Zabel Hatem and Lucy Martayian of Bayside, NY; Nazeli
Sanentz of Watertown, MA; and Marie Yapoujian of White Plains, NY.
Honored for 10 years of service were Chake Dereyan of Livingston, NJ;
and Susan Aprahamian Clark of Fair Lawn, NJ.

Following the opening prayer and an introduction by Mrs. Shakeh
Kadehjian, Fr. Untzag Nalbandian, director of youth and education at the
Diocese, spoke about the challenges teachers face and the importance of
the collaboration between parents and teachers.

“While it is the parents, initially, who take their children’s hands and
walk them to school, it is also the teachers who make sure the children
are happy and learning at school,” he said.

Fr. Untzag elaborated on the educational programs being planned by the
Armenian Diocese to celebrate the 1600th anniversary of the Alphabet.

Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian, coordinator of Armenian studies at the
Diocese, praised those long-time educators and stressed the role of
teachers to be “the primary and most important factor in language
learning.”

In her presentation, the new Armenian studies coordinator, underscored
the functionality of the Armenian language and suggested stylized,
practical pedagogical methods to accommodate the student profiles of
different age groups.

“We are as effective as our resources, especially our human resources,”
she said. “Not only should we be concerned with training teachers, but
we should focus on teacher preparation as well. After all, how we learn
is as important as what we learn.”

MANY EFFORTS

The local parish Armenian schools are just one of the ways the Diocese
is working to strengthen the Armenian language here in America. Through
its Khrimian Lyceum, which opened on September 24, 2005 in New York City
and is expected to open in Massachusetts, students who graduate from
parish Armenian schools attend monthly classes in Armenian language,
culture, history, and civic education.

The Diocese is also working to educate adults through its Mesrob
Mashdots Institute, weekly language classes held at the Diocesan Center
in New York City. Two classes with a total of 25 students began on
September 21.

Plans are under way to prepare new teaching resources and outreach
program to benefit all parish schools.

— 10/6/05

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian, coordinator of Armenian
studies at the Diocese, right, and Fr. Untzag Nalbandian, director of
youth and education at the Diocese, honor several local educators for
their years of service to parish Armenian schools during a symposium at
the Diocesan Center in New York City on September 10, 2005.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Dr. Anny Bakalian, associate director of the Middle
East and Middle Eastern American Center at the Graduate Center of the
City University of New York (CUNY), speaks to educators from local
parish Armenian schools during a symposium organized by the Eastern
Diocese on September 10, 2005.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Participants in the symposium organized by the
Eastern Diocese for local parish Armenian school educators share ideas
and teaching tips at the Diocesan Center in New York City on September
10, 2005.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): More than 70 people attended the Eastern Diocese’s
symposium for local Armenian school educators at the Diocesan Center in
New York City on September 10, 2005.