Scenes from classic Greek cinema came to life last September in Telendos, when the taxi boat brought to the tiny island—located just a stone’s throw from Kalymnos— the schoolteacher, who had come to teach his one and only student, little Savvas.
Just like in the movie *The Teacher with the Golden Hair*, in which Aliki Vougiouklaki, playing a teacher, steps off the legendary «Moutzouri» to the train station in the village of Kryovrysi in Pelion—which, according to the script, was in… Pieria—and is met with an enthusiastic welcome—so too did Panagiotis Kalaitzidis find himself embraced by the residents and children of Telendos, the moment he set foot on land, stepping off the taxi boat that had brought him to the island.
«The welcome was very moving. Almost all the residents were waiting for me at the port. It’s etched in my memory. They came to welcome me with great joy, and that gave me strength because I was anxious about this new experience,’ the newly appointed teacher from Drama told the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency. As a substitute teacher, he had traveled to many regions of Greece over the course of 7–8 years.
At 31 years old, Panagiotis Kalaitzidis found himself in Kalymnos this school year, and when he was told he’d be assigned to Telendos, his feelings were initially mixed. However, it took him only a few hours with the residents of this unique place to feel right at home. «At first I was a little hesitant, but I wanted to have this experience. Very quickly, though, other feelings came to the surface because the people on the island are so kind,» notes the newly appointed teacher, who has «built» a unique relationship with Savvas, the only student at the school in Telendos.
«Savvas is in first grade; in other words, he’s in a very special year of his school life. We have a great relationship and work very well together. He’s a special student who tries really hard,» says Panagiotis Kalaitzidis, enthusiastically describing the time he spends with his student, whether in the classroom or in the schoolyard, playing during recess.
«I’m lucky that he’s a child who does whatever I tell him to do, but at the same time speaks his mind and takes the initiative. Even though he’s a very young child, I learn from him, too. He has a lot to offer me,’ says the teacher, who lives on Kalymnos and commutes daily to Telendos by taxi boat— for free, as he points out, while warmly thanking their owners.
On Telendos, winter finds the island with very few residents —about fifteen in all, as the teacher told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA)—while until November the population is slightly larger, as the 3–4 shops (mainly taverns) that operate to serve tourists—primarily rock climbers—since the island’s impressive vertical cliffs attract enthusiasts of the sport from all over the world. This is also the only time of year when the school has more students; these children are enrolled in other schools but, because their parents work on the island, they attend classes there until November. «Savvas spends a little time with the other kids. The rest of the time, he’s with my group,» notes the teacher with the «heart of gold.».
In this «hidden paradise»—a small island with beautiful beaches and a unique landscape, as Panagiotis Kalaitzidis describes Telendos— the teacher from Drama has found people who, as he says, are very friendly and show him their love in every way possible.
«I'm really happy with my choice. I don’t regret it for a second! In fact, I can’t wait to come back after the holidays and have a lesson with Savvas,» he says, adding that Savvas, with whom they got in touch over the holidays to exchange greetings, is the child who will essentially keep the school in Telendos open in the years to come.
When Savvas «met» children in packed classrooms
Restless by nature, Panagiotis Kalaitzidis is constantly coming up with ideas and activities to keep little Savvas engaged, the only child—not just a student, but a child—on the entire island during the winter months. In collaboration with his fellow islander Ioanna Abatzidou, a music teacher currently working in Kos, they connected Savvas online with young students from Kos, who sang him, via their computer screens, a love song they had composed for him and the other children on the remote islands.
This was one of the activities during which Savvas felt like a member of a… class. «When he saw the children, he was delighted! He saw what classes are like elsewhere,» explains Mr. Kalaitzidis, who participated with Savvas in another activity that sparked enthusiasm in his young student. «We’re running another initiative, as part of which we were collecting cards from all over Greece. A journalist from Human Stories helped us with this (note: just as she did with the previous initiative). We received cards from all over Greece and filled them with gifts, children’s drawings, and so on. In fact, Savvas was very happy and has started drawing pictures to express his own thanks to everyone,’ emphasizes the teacher of Telendos’s only student.
The teacher from Drama’s main concern is to see the school facilities in Telendo improved and the playground—which currently has no fence—made functional so that Savvas can enjoy playing there. «The school consists of one large classroom and a small office. It has a fairly large playground, about the size of a small soccer field, but it’s neglected—it doesn’t even have a fence. We take breaks with the little sheep, the chickens, and a little rabbit that visits us every morning,» Mr. Kalaitzidis tells the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), adding that the municipality has secured funding to make improvements to the school, something he hopes to see happen soon.
Sofia Papadopoulou
