Reteos Berberian

Retheos Berberian

Reteos Berberian (1848, Constantinople, Ottoman Turkey – 1907, Üsküdar, Ottoman Turkey) was a famed Armenian educator, pedagogue, principal, writer, poet, and founder of the prestigious Armenian school Berberian Varjaran (school).[1]

Biography

Reteos Berberian was born in Hasköy, a heavily populated Armenian district of Constantinople. He attended the local Nersesian school in 1866.[1] Inspired by the educational facilities of the Armenian community of Constantinople, Berberian aspired to open an educational institution himself. He finally achieved doing this in 1876 when he built the Berberian Varjaran (School) in Üsküdar.[1] The curriculum and methodology of the school was his design and creation. The school trained and educated students so that they can achieve a level of competency high enough to enable them to enter prestigious European universities. Its attendees included Ruben Sevak, Shahan Shahnour, Hrand Nazariantz, Hovhannes Hintliyan, and many more. In 1924 the school relocated to Cairo, Egypt where it finally shut down in 1934 due to financial reasons. After publishing his last work Tbrots Yev Tbrutiun (School and Schooling) in 1907, he died the same year and was buried at the Bağlarbaşi Armenian cemetery in Üsküdar.

Writings

Reteos Berberian, having learned Grabar (classical) Armenian, began adorning it in his romantic poems. At the age of nineteen, he translated Lamartine's "Death of Socrates" and other poems into Grabar.[2] Berberian wrote his first poetry book in 1877 called Arachin Derevk (The First Leaves). A series of articles about his reflections pertaining to the natural and elemental world was published in the newspaper Yergrakunt (Globe). Tasdiaragi Khoskeri (Words of a Teacher) published in 1901 consisted of his speeches, lectures, and advice about education. The book Khosk Yev Husheri (Words and Memories) was a set of emotional poems he wrote after his wife died in 1903. His last work Tbrots Yev Tbrutiun (School and Schooling) consisted of additional articles about education and pedagogy.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hacikyan, Agop; Gabriel Basmajian; Edward S. Franchuk (2005). Nourhan Ouzounian, ed. The Heritage of Armenian Literature Volume III: From the Eighteenth Century to Modern Times. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press. pp. 428–430. ISBN 0-8143-2815-6. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  2. ↑ Kurkjian, Vahan M. (2008). A history of Armenia. Los Angeles, CA: Indo-European Publishing. ISBN 9781604440126. Retrieved 27 September 2012.