Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: This is the owlcast, the official podcast of ACS Athens.
Listen to the exciting story of the american community schools of Athens.
Check out what drives all the members of our international community of learners as we create the education of the future.
Here's John Papadakis.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Welcome to another exciting episode of Owlcast, where we try to unveil and decipher the stories and experiences that shape the vibrant community of Asias Athens today. Were happy to have two very special guests joining us, the new principal of the academy, Doctor Harry Leonardatos, and the assistant principal of our middle school, Doctor Matina Sterioplos. Both have recently made the transition from leading schools in New York to stepping into their leadership roles. Here at ACS, we'll explore their unique journeys, motivations and insights into leading a diverse, globally minded student body. Our guests bring with them a wealth of experience from both public and private school systems in New York, and we're eager to hear how their previous roles have prepared them for the challenges and opportunities here. Well be discussing what led them to make the significant move to Greece, the conversations and considerations they had with their families before embarking on this new adventure, and the cultural surprises theyve encountered so far. As international educators, their observations on the differences between us and greek schooling will undoubtedly provide fascinating insights. In addition to hearing about their experiences and reflections, well touch on their vision for our middle school and academy. Leading an international school presents unique challenges, especially with a diverse student body, and both our guests have exciting ideas on how to foster a strong sense of community and inclusion, embracing each student's background while also promoting academic and personal growth. We'll also hear about their plans for future initiatives and projects that will further enrich the learning experience.
Finally, no conversation about modern education is complete without discussing the role of technology. Well ask them about their thoughts on AI in the classroom and how it could be a change maker in the lives of students and educators alike, whether its helping streamline processes or sparking new ways of thinking. Were excited to get their perspective on the future of education in AI driven world. Stay tuned.
It's not that long ago that you both arrived to Greece to lead the academy and to be the assistant principal of the middle school. Can you both share with us your journey from schools in New York, both of you, to the leadership of the academy and the middle school in an international school in Greece. What inspired this change personally, but also, you know, your family discussions when you decided that you're coming to a whole different continent.
[00:03:35] Speaker A: Well, being a greek American, I've always had the desire in my heart, as well as my family's heart, to live in Greece and experience our motherland in a way that's very unique. That can only happen once you live here.
So prior to making the decision to come here, we definitely weighed our options. We explored the pros and the cons, and every country has its pros and its cons. And having worked in the New York state's system of education for over 20 years, you feel ingrained in certain things and used to the comfort of what you know. So going to the unknown was definitely a family decision and one that we took great heed and patience to kind of surround ourselves with if it was the right one. Now, it was without a question that coming to AECS was the school that I would apply to and, of course, enroll my own children. I have two boys, Georgios in 11th grade in the academy and Arrigheria in 7th grade in the middle school. So for me, it was a no brainer. I know ACS is an incredible international education institution, and I just feel so honored to work here and bring my experience to the table and work alongside amazing colleagues.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: Okay, that was your discussion in your mind, in your family, what about the kids? I mean, you said you have an 11th grader and a middle schooler, right?
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:08] Speaker B: What was their take when you told them that, you know what? We might go somewhere else next year?
[00:05:14] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, my older son, he loves Greece. He actually competes for the greek national team. He throws the shot put. And last year, he was the gold medalist for under 18 category. So for him, this is like he wanted nothing but to come to Greece and nothing but to experience this international environment where even if that meant that.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: He'S gonna lose his friends, even if.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: It meant that sacrifice, he was willing to put in the sacrifice, because it's his passion to be here. It's his passion to give back to his country and represent it in a way that makes his country proud. And he has a great pride in doing that. Now, my younger son, it was a little bit more of a challenge. It took a lot of coaxing and a lot of, well, you're going to love more beach time and a lot more than New York. I mean, the Hamptons can't hold a candlelight to even the beaches in Athens, but he is adjusting really well. Of course, that's all attributed to the incredible faculty here at ACS that have made him feel so welcomed, as well as the students that basically open up their arms and play basketball with him every day and make him feel like he's been here his whole life.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Well, it's definitely a journey. How about your journey, Harry?
[00:06:24] Speaker C: I think there were two factors for me. The first factor, like Matina, my family came from Greece. I was born in New York City, and I lived there my entire life. So there is a sense of, I guess, normalcy and complacency being in New York. And I love New York City. I can't imagine any other place to grow up except New York City. People would ask me, but you don't have a backyard. I would say, are you serious? I have Central park. My yard is bigger than yours. So I love New York City. Being able to go to museums, the theater, it was the best education that I received. And I did go to a greek american school. I went to the cathedral school from kindergarten to 9th grade. I learned Greek. I learned the religion, I learned the history. I resisted learning all that honestly because I tried to immerse myself in the american culture. And I would have, let's put it this way, friendly discussions, or maybe not so friendly with my mom. Why do I have to learn Greek in New York City? No one speaks Greek, really, right. So years later, I thought to myself, well, maybe it's time that I pay it forward, what I learned in school. And I remembered all my teachers who made sacrifices and going to America, from Greece to America. And I thought, maybe it's time for me to do the reverse. So that was one factor. And secondly, I've been to high schools internationally as part of my research, to South Africa, to Japan, to China. I stayed a month in China as a principal exchange program.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: So international travel was not something new to you?
[00:08:04] Speaker C: Not at all.
One of my goals before I retire and go off into the sunset was to work in an international school.
Of course, Covid got, in a way, so that didn't happen. But after Covid, I did leave my previous position, and I did work in international school in New York City, which is New York City's only boarding school. So it was great. We had students from all over. And when I saw this opportunity come up in ACS Athens, and that's the only school I considered in Greece, I thought to myself, well, maybe it's a sign now. So I applied, and here I am. And, you know, I do appreciate also that's an international environment here. I think that's very important for our students, whether they're greek, whether they're american, or whatever it is. But that was also a factor in me being here because I always lived in international environment. And that piece to me is familiar.
[00:09:03] Speaker B: So you met each other this academic year. You know, you're both new.
If you had to ask each other what was a challenge or whether your challenge was the other person's challenge, what would that challenge be?
[00:09:21] Speaker C: So I would ask Mattina what she found most challenging, adopting from the system of New York state to how things are done here at ACS Athens. Because we both worked in public school systems. I also worked in a private school system as well. But I'm wondering what Matina sees as her challenge being from a kind of very regulated public school system to being here at ACS Athens.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: Well, I think that the challenge is. It's a challenge, but also a pleasantry as well, because working in public New York state schools for the majority of my career, everything like you mentioned, is very structured. Every minute of every day is set forth for the students to, of course, maximize their educational opportunities. But what's missing there is the holistic approach. The child here, you walk the courtyards, you look in the amphitheater, you look in the studio that we're here, and you see so much opportunity for creativity and just thinking freely and kind of embracing the world around you. And I think that's encouraging me to do that as well. Take a moment and just stop, look around, see the kids enjoying themselves, see the smiling faces. And that's something that, I am sad to say, was quite absent in my professional career the past few years. Everything was maximized. And, yeah, I worked in a high school, as you know, the students, every single period, they wouldn't even take lunch. They would just take AP classes every period. And to me, that's unnatural. Students need a release. And I'm so happy to see that the students here are experiencing just that. So while it's a challenge in the sense that it's like a mind shift, it's something that I'm, quote, unquote, stopping to smell the roses and seeing how beautiful education can truly be when students have the time and space to be more creative.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: And what about your question to Harry?
[00:11:18] Speaker A: Oh, that's a tough one. I don't know what I would ask you.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: Well, you're both from New York. Don't tell me you don't have questions.
[00:11:27] Speaker A: Well, I would ask him, do you miss the hot dog stands? That's a question.
Social question. Not really a professional question.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: It's okay.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Pretzel stands.
[00:11:37] Speaker C: Hot dog stands with a pretzel stand. Yes. But I found that pretzels recently in New York City are not as good as they used to be. And I can tell you that hot dogs and burgers. I have to admit I have stopped eating. There was a period, especially as a youngster, where I consumed a lot of them. And I guess later in life I was disgusted by them because I eat so many of them.
Yeah. One experience I had getting a hot dog from a hot dog vendor and then I got very sick after that. I'm like, that's the last time I eat a hot dog from a hot dog vendor. If I go to a game and a friend says, hey, you want a hot dog? I'll buy it for you, then maybe. But otherwise I will not have a hot dog and burgers. I just have no desire for burgers. So I don't know what I'm going to do for the barbecue on Friday. Burgers and hot dogs, it depends how.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: They prepare the hot dogs because you know what they say about hot dogs in New York and in Chicago. What's the difference?
[00:12:39] Speaker C: I have no idea. What is it?
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Is it like the pizza, which ours is better than the Chicago hot dog?
[00:12:44] Speaker C: It is better.
[00:12:44] Speaker A: You wish.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: It is.
[00:12:45] Speaker C: It is deep dish pizza is not pizza. It's a meal.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: It's a meal.
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Okay, I can take whatever you call it, but Chicago hot dog has no ketchup whatsoever. So if you are a ketchup person, don't go to Chicago.
[00:13:01] Speaker C: No, I like mustard only if there you go.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: There you go. So, I mean, this is of course on a personal level, but also goes back to your experience in the schools. And how was your experience in your previous school prepared you personally and professionally for the challenges and opportunities you may expect to face at ACS Athens as you come in new?
[00:13:25] Speaker C: Well, for me, I've been in IB schools for, I forget, 23 years maybe now. And I am familiar with the IB program and what I see some of the challenges here we have experienced in my other schools as well, especially after Covid. And because as we know, during COVID there were no exams and now we have to reorient people to, hey, we're sitting for exams, they're structured and they're a few hours long. So we have to build that muscle, so to speak, the resilience of taking an exam. So we, you know, I'm familiar with that challenge and I think what I see here in ACS Athens, they've done a good job of trying to restore that resilience and build it again. And I think that's good. And also just being in an international environment before from students from different nations, speaking different languages, having different cultural backgrounds and identities and religions that has prepared me for ACS Athens because we also have an international community here with those same factors and characteristics. So I feel definitely prepared. At the same time, it's new, it's a new place, it's a new environment. So my job is to learn it and try to do my best, not for me really, but for the school and the students.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Sure. Matina.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And just to echo what Doctor Leona Adatos just mentioned about resiliency, definitely the resilience coming off of COVID in the states was a big challenge. We see a lot of our students are experiencing the mental health crisis. And in the work that I did in my capacity, I worked in a very large public school, nearly 1800 students in the high school. And we had to work together as a team, both our counselors, our mental health providers, our school psychologists, our clinical psychologists, to provide students with the support they need to really get past whatever barriers and to build that mental muscle and resiliency. So here I feel like that experience is going to help me because when a student comes here from another country or another experience or maybe just something going on in their life, they need that extra support. And I feel well equipped to be able to work with a team and help the student work through those challenges.
Likewise, I would say my own professional research that I've done in my life, you know, my dissertation focused on the impact of parent involvement and I definitely see that parent involvement is strong. Here at ACS Adams, we have an incredible PTO, and as Doctor Pelonis frequently mentions, the golden triangle. I believe it is referred to as parents are an integral part of a student's success. And, you know, my personal research and experience have taught me just that. And being a parent here myself, I feel double embedded and double tied and extra passionate about wanting the school to be successful. So, you know, I think that's a what my experience can help shape here at ACS. And again, of course, new to a new environment. But everybody has been incredible in helping me get acclimated with the systems and way of thinking. Here at ACS.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: Both of you have connection with Greece. If not direct connection, you have a connection by descent. And if I remember correctly, you also have a deep connection with an island here, some small island in the ionian Cephalonia, right?
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: So thinking about your connection and the cultural differences that are present as you move back to Greece, do you think that there is something that still surprises you being here, either on a social level or on a personal level, with your interaction with people or with every everyday life.
This is a discussion that we always have with people that are coming from abroad. But you are in a little bit different position because you've all had some kind of experience about Greece. You were here before and Harry, you just moved, but you have this connection with this island.
[00:17:45] Speaker C: Yes. As for Kefalunga, obviously the first time I went there was 1972, when I was very young. And, you know, things change and progress. So in 72, there was no electricity in some of the jorio, right? They had none. And in the eighties and afterwards they did.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: It's a quite different country since 72.
[00:18:07] Speaker C: Oh, without a doubt it's different. And, you know, obviously I think for the better. I think what surprised me the most, I should say, and I'm trying to get used to, is the vocabulary, because some of the vocabulary did not exist when I went to school, like mobile phone to Guinito, you know, that's new. For example, I try to, when looking for a car that I'm trying to get in my vocabulary when I went to school, there's no such thing as parking sensors or a reverse camera that didn't exist in the seventies or eighties. So now I'm trying to figure out, how do you say parking centers or lane assist?
[00:18:48] Speaker B: Better find out before you get. Exactly.
[00:18:50] Speaker C: And that's what I'm doing now. I'm trying to find out the vocabulary and, you know, in trying to teach myself the vocabulary so that I'm able to communicate. So that is indeed different, but it shows you how technology really, and ideas have permeated every part of the world.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: How about your interaction with people?
[00:19:09] Speaker C: I mean, my interaction with people is always friendly. Obviously they know, you know, from my spasmena liniga, as they say, that my vocabulary may not be as 100% as it should. So we have discussions in Greek, but also in English, and people are very accommodating and friendly. And, you know, everyone says to me, welcome home, you know, which I appreciate, because I always considered New York my home, not the United States necessarily, but New York is my home. But Greece is also my home, too.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: It establishes a connection right there.
[00:19:44] Speaker C: It does, yes.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: How about you, Martina?
[00:19:47] Speaker A: Well, I'm going to date myself a little bit, but in the eighties, Greece was a different monster again than it is now. It was a different type of world, a different economy, different priorities. Now, I have to say, I'm so pleasantly surprised with all the advancements. Just Gov GR is incredible to use instead of waiting on lines at the Kep. And it's not only in that capacity that the improvements have been made in Greece. I see this hunger and thirst for innovation. We talk about, you know, Greece becoming a biotech hub and the impact of all this AI that we discuss here at ACS. You see it in everyday and everyday businesses that people are trying to evolve and seek better, smarter, quicker ways to be more efficient at what they do. And I think that, you know, for many Greek Americans, we're not used to seeing this fast paced movement. As New Yorkers, we hit the ground running. That's just who we are. It's in our blood. But I'm seeing that happened here, too. I see that movement and that thirst for advancement. So it's something that I'm pleasantly happy to see. And it shows me that the future of our youth also here, that live in Greece and plan on making their future plans, whether they're in Greece or in Europe, there's so much going on around us that there's no way but for there to be success. And that's great to see.
You are listening to the owlcast, the official podcast of ACS Athens.
[00:21:33] Speaker B: Getting a little bit closer to home, talking a little bit about our school in the sense of what we're expecting to be doing this academic year. And as we move forward, many students, it is common knowledge at this point, many students face different things, different problems, different issues, different challenges. How do you think that your leadership style can be adjusted to accommodate needs of students? We are an international school. We have students from 58 latest figures, 58 nationalities, and most of the nationalities have English as a second language. But we also have students from a very diverse community with learning differences. All these kind of things. How would you, in each of your schools, middle school, high school, how would you change your leadership style or the kind of mentorship that you do to your teachers to accommodate for these students needs?
[00:22:36] Speaker C: Well, for me, I was an english language learner myself when I went to school because at home we spoke Greek. So Greek was my first language. And so I had to learn English and learn it quickly because back then we had reading groups that were divided into the slow reading group and the fast reading group. I was part of the slow reading group. And one of my goals as a kid was I didn't want to be a slow learner. I wanted to be part of the other group. So I understand when it comes to coming to an environment where you don't speak the language and you're really a foreigner. And I understand these students and what they're going through and what I do think that we do well here at ACS Athens is prepare these students to become proficient in English so then they can succeed later on, because many of them want to be in the IB program, they want to go to university or colleges. But primarily English is spoken more than anything else, so I understand what they're going through. At the same time, I think my experience in New York City dealing with international community, with, as I mentioned earlier, different identities, has prepared me to understand our students and families, but also to try to have communication with our teachers that we do have different cultural groups on our campus that may do things differently or not the same as we do as either Europeans or Americans. And we have to accept those differences and understand where they're coming from, because parenting, for example, is not the same in every part of the world, and there are different norms and mores, and we have to be understanding of that. But I do believe that based on my limited experience for a month here at ACS Athens, there is a willingness to be open and to be accommodating. And my role as a leader in the school is to make sure that that continues. And I, too, need to adapt to families and to students because the way I may treat one student, speak to one student, may be totally different the way I speak to another student, based on their. On their culture and where they come from.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: But the intention to help is common to everybody. So that is what stays.
[00:24:51] Speaker C: Yes, because we are here to help students, and I see that desire throughout.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Right?
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Yes. I couldn't agree with Harry more. I think it's, you know, leadership and adjusting one's leadership is essential given a specific situation. But the common language that we all understand across the world, no matter the highest peak mountain that you come from or the lowest valley, is kindness. And leading with kindness, grace, and patience, I think, are essential for making our students and our families feel like valued members of this community. You know, again, it's okay to say, forgive me if I'm approaching this in a way you're not familiar with, but etcetera. So I think it's also kind of putting your cards out on the table and being honest about, we may not know everything, and that's okay because that's part of who we are as a community. We're learning about one another and just kind of being there to support one another. So I would say that the importance is to kind of be empathetic and understand somebody's experience and also give them the kindness and the boost that they need to just move on and go to the next level.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: And I think one also important thing, and this is something that we are doing right now, is develop a common language, meaning that we're talking the same thing to different people, but everybody understands what we want to say.
So how about the faculty? How about the teaching personnel of the school, those that are every day in their classrooms? What quality would you like to have in their mind when they think about my new principal, my new assistant principal?
What would you want them to have it and stay when they come to talk to you or when they have an issue that they want to discuss?
[00:26:39] Speaker A: Well, you know, I recall when I was a teacher years ago, I had different types of school leaders, you know, supervisors, and some of them were extremely supportive, and some of them were very overwhelmed and didn't have the time to give me the support, support and feedback that I needed as a new teacher. So I always vowed to myself that I'd be the kind of person that people could come to, whether they need support for a lesson, support for student management, etcetera. So I strongly believe that I want teachers to know and faculty to know that anytime they come into my office, it's really a judgment free zone. Whatever problem they're sharing with me, I've probably experienced it and can offer them some advice. And, you know, I won't have criticize or think negatively about them if they are sharing an experience that they're not happy with. We all have our highs and lows when we teach. No day is perfect. So I want them to know that I'm an honest person, that I'll give them the feedback and guidance that they need and that they should never feel like I'm judging them.
[00:27:39] Speaker C: And I agree with Mattina, definitely. And to add to that, at least for me, someone who would have listen, because I think it's important to listen and to understand other people at the same time. One thing that I like people to think about me is that I'm fair. I will listen to you, and ultimately, I have to make a decision, but I would hope that they would consider my decision as a fair one based on whatever's presented to me.
[00:28:08] Speaker B: This is a provocative answer, and I have to follow up.
[00:28:12] Speaker C: Go right ahead.
[00:28:13] Speaker B: How can you judge someone as fair if you don't know both answers to a question? You have to really know what they are, the two alternatives, to see that this person is fair because he chose that instead of that.
[00:28:27] Speaker C: Right. And that's where the discussion makes sense. Yeah. And that's where the discussion comes in, because you discuss, you listen, and then you discuss alternatives, and hopefully there could be understanding as a common understanding as to what is the right thing to do. As my mom would say, do the right thing. She would tell me, and I think there is a. I do think there's a consensus out there, maybe not for everyone 100%, but for most people.
What would you do in my situation? And there will be consensus there if you put yourself in my shoes, and that will be the fair I would guess.
[00:29:03] Speaker B: Do you believe in common sense?
[00:29:05] Speaker A: Although in New York we say it's not so common, but yes, I do believe in common sense. I think teachers and faculty and every single person working in this school and schools across the world, they come to work every day wanting to do something meaningful. No matter what that task is, they're meaningfully contributing to the greater good. And I think that the common sense is that we all have to share that same mindset that, like, all right, we're all here for the kids, so let's figure out a way to make it the best experience the kids could have.
[00:29:37] Speaker C: I agree. And teachers in all over the world, too, they do one thing, and this is what people ask me, hey, what do you do? School principal? That's a tough question to answer, but I listened to this one person once, and I think she got it right. The one thing we do as educators is make a difference. And I think in this school and in many schools, that's what we want to do, make a difference with our students, because ultimately, they're the next generation. And I think what I see here in ACS Athens so far in the classrooms that I've been in, is that teachers do take their teaching seriously and accountant seriously, and they truly want to make an impact on our students.
[00:30:20] Speaker B: Okay, now you have to choose. You have stability and foundation, strong foundation. And then you have change and innovation.
What would you choose?
[00:30:32] Speaker C: That's a good question.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: Can we pick and choose?
[00:30:36] Speaker B: Well, it depends how you actually explain it, although it's a preamble to my last question, but I'm not going to tell you the last question yet.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: Well, sometimes change and innovation has to be steeped in tradition and stability. Without the foundation of a strong environment, a functioning environment that has its certain protocols in place and certain systems in place, innovation and creativity can't flourish. So, you know, it's very tough to answer your question with one answer because to me, they're so intertwined, the one is necessary to feed the other. So, as I mentioned earlier, you know, when you see schools that don't offer opportunities for creativity, then there's, there's some kind of breaking in the foundation of the school. And here I think we're so deeply seeped in tradition in many ways. But also this constant desire to grow can only happen because there are systems in place that are working so well already.
[00:31:39] Speaker C: I would have answered the question differently if you asked me probably ten years ago.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: So it has to do with the timing.
[00:31:46] Speaker C: It does have to do with the timing. So now let's say if I had to choose one or the other, it'll be change in innovation. And the reason I say that technology is moving such a rapid pace and it grows exponentially, that we're kind of forced to change and innovate. If we don't do that, we're really not providing a service to our students and to ourselves as a professionals. We need to change. What you need, however, is the foundation to allow the change, because if you don't allow for the change, then you're not going to evolve anymore. You're going to cease to exist. So we're kind of stuck. Have to embrace the change and the innovation to move forward. In any institution today, businesses do it. We need to do it. Our jobs are even my job compared to last year is different this year. That's because of AI, really. It's been different.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: So you both realize that that dilemma is a fallacy. It's not a real dilemma. You have to have all four to move forward. You know, it's a common mistake to go either for one or the other where there shouldn't be this one or the other.
[00:32:59] Speaker C: Well, it's traditional philosophical debate between parmenides and heraclitus, right? That's right. Really? But yes, in that sense it is.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: That's right. Everything has changed.
[00:33:10] Speaker C: Same river. Can't step in the same river twice.
[00:33:12] Speaker B: There you go.
[00:33:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: So you stepped into the premise of my last question, and this is Aihdenkhdev. Okay. And this is something that we're going to be working on throughout the year and the years ahead. So if you had to use an AI chatbot, those that you ask philosophical questions, but also, what do I have for dinner if I have these ingredients? Right. So if you had to use a chatbot, what question would you ask to help you plan or give you ideas about the presence of AI in education? Meaning, what would you say to those naysayers that they believe that it's a gloom and doom, that, you know, teachers are going to be losing their jobs because AI is going to take over and students are not going to be reliable in answering or writing assignments? What would you tell them, what would the chatbot think of this question? If you can project?
[00:34:10] Speaker C: Well, ultimately, chatbots and AI, it's artificial intelligence.
So that intelligence is created by human beings, okay?
Therefore, it cannot replace human thought. And part of human thought also includes human feeling and human interaction. Education still is a social enterprise. There's interaction in the classroom between teacher and student. As I said earlier, it's, what does a teacher do? Makes a difference. It's not the chatbot who's going to make the difference. It's the teacher in a classroom that's going to make a difference.
[00:34:48] Speaker B: Can you pinpoint the difference? That's what I'm trying to find out. What is the difference?
[00:34:52] Speaker C: I don't think you can pinpoint a difference, but I could say I can see the difference when students come back years later. Just earlier, I saw an ACS Athens graduate come back and visit the school. That is the difference that some teacher or teachers made in this student's life. To come back. You have graduates working here. Obviously, someone along the middle, a, made a difference. A chatbot cannot do that. And see, we can measure IB scores and everything else, but you can't measure the difference you make in a student's life overall. You just cannot. And all of us here will remember our good teachers, will remember our bad teachers, of course, as well. I can't deny that. But we are going to remember a good teacher. If you ask anyone education, why you went into education, most of the time they would say, because of this teacher. And that is the difference maker. A chatbot is not a difference maker in that sense.
[00:35:53] Speaker B: So you're looking at it mid to long term effects on the students. That's where we see, I guess, the effect of the human teacher.
[00:36:03] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:36:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And I completely agree with everything Harry is saying. And when we think about technology and innovation, many years ago, many of us may have gotten our degrees using encyclopedias and books in the library. And while that's incredible and we still do that kind of work, a lot of us use the sources available to us on the Internet to conduct our research. And encyclopedias are now no longer used. They're just collecting dust on many bookshelves across the world. But why I bring that up is that AI technology? It's here to stay. It's just like the Internet. Everybody was scared of it. What is the Internet? It's going to take over. We're not going to be able to think for ourselves anymore when it's quite the opposite. The more strategic one becomes in their thoughts, and the more flexible in their thought process, the more the Internet becomes a useful tool. Similarly, AI has been incredibly helpful in finding ways to support student differentiation. You know, when I would work with my teachers last year, they would be struggling with an ENL student, ESL student. And I would say, well, why don't we just type this into AI and see what pops up, see what kind of how we can differentiate your lesson plan to accommodate those students. And work that would have typically taken hours and hours for our teachers can be done in seconds. So now they can adequately devote the time to be that human and give those emotions and show that empathy and love that our students need that cannot be replaced by technology. So I view AI not only and also for our students. Why not help them refine their writing? Why should they struggle through a process that may not necessarily come through, you know, a longitudinal type of working? They sometimes can benefit from that shortcut. Why not use it? It's here to stay, so might as well embrace it. But again, I 100% agree with Harry that nothing can replace the humankind in the human touch. So I view it as a support system for you to be more effective of what you need to do. Just like the stove is an innovation or the dishwasher is an innovation that helps me be a better mom, because now I don't have to wash the dishes for a half an hour, I could devote more time to doing homework with my children. I view AI in the same type of way that it's helping us become more time efficient and more effective at what we do.
[00:38:33] Speaker B: This is, I think, a discussion that can take days to go through it in a more thorough manner. I mean, we're just touching the surface. And from what you're telling me, what we're trying to do is to develop students with critical thinking to understand what is the value behind what they learn and then come back and they remember their teachers, they remember what they did in classroom and that adds value to their lives. So I really want to thank you both for being here. Doctor Martinez Derioplos, the new assistant principal of middle school. Doctor Harry Leonardos from our academy, the new principal of academy. Let's all have a great year and we'll be back here during the year with the many, many, many things that I've seen that you're planning for each of your schools. Thank you so much.
[00:39:25] Speaker C: Thank you, Mister Papadakis.
[00:39:26] Speaker A: Thank you Mister Papadakis.
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