Life events and memories.

Article no.1 01-05-2022

Beginning of the school year.

We are all proud of the memories we have from childhood. They are memories that make us, for a few moments, relive those events and maybe, for a moment, become children.

I caught the period when, in Romania, education was very well structured. The communist period also had good parts from this point of view.

Between five and seven years old, you were the "falcon of the homeland", a name that children had during kindergarten and who were to become basic people in the party.

In the second grade, at the beginning of the school year, all the students in that age group became "pioneers."

"Pioneers", by definition, meant all children who entered another level of schooling and were about to reach the homeland's high schools. The "pioneer" period ends at the end of the eighth grade.

"Pioneer" tie

For most children, this tie was a source of pride and recognition of the political system.

The day when the tie-giving ceremony was organized was a very special day for both children, teachers and parents.

I know that I started the morning with the singing of the national anthem, which was done in an organized band in the school yard.

The teachers were a few meters away from us, in front of them was a table on which were placed the ties they hated to receive.

Somewhere, further back, were the parents, you know, with full emotions.

We were each called by name and we were walking in front of the teachers' committee. Here we had to say, at least one stanza, from a poem that would highlight the kindness and wisdom of the leader.

When we all received the needles and tied them around our necks in the uniform shirt, it remained for one of the teachers, generally the principal of the school, to give a speech to encourage and stimulate our dreams for the future.

This whole event lasted, on average, two hours, depending on how many students we had in school.

Our obligation was to wear that tie throughout school, not to be dirty or torn. In case it broke or was lost, I would go to the school principal and ask for another one, without any obligation.

There are days when I want to be a child. There are days when I want to be that then, not to know that I don't have money or that there are so many difficulties in the world.

I will continue to write the memories of my life in the following posts.

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