Good-willed and emotional, the child submits his movement and his play in the context given to him by the caregiver, parent, teacher, responsible adult. Adolescence invades the child's life enabling this movement and play to question, destabilize, deconstruct the data and safety of the context in which it grows.

The possibility of the specialist concerned with understanding and capitalizing on this intense and often frightening process, for the adolescent and the adult himself, fascinated me and it seems that in my clinical practice and experience I did not avoid encountering it. Each teenager has their own particularity and unique way of experiencing the process of puberty.

That is why the meeting with different teenagers gives birth to new and unique experiences of understanding and therapeutic proposal. Different were the challenges but also the revelations in working with the delinquent teenagers of English society, the teenagers of religious families who are rewarded for suspension, the teenage wildflowers of reaction and challenge in a troubled high school class, the teenagers who seem to be fascinated by the perversity that can be hidden on the internet, the teenagers who measure their coming of age against the walls and faces of institutional frameworks.

The book, however, also contains the experience of meeting adults through the suggestions and interventions in school classes, educational institutions, the communities of adults who undertake sometimes with pity and sometimes more indifferently to teach them and expose them to the world of adults, as well as the parents and single parents with whom we cooperate therapeutically.

Often we adults who relate to teenagers do not realize that the difficulty of understanding may not be about the interpretation of the behavior of the teenager, but the understanding of the adolescence that we ourselves experienced. Our own adolescence was shaped by the way we were parented and by our own choice to change, postpone or "hide" in our own teenage years.

And if we don't know each other, how will we love each other? And if we don't love each other, how will we forgive each other?

"In the archipelago of his experiences, an adult, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously, has marked which rocky islets and which islets he must or needs to avoid himself. These are experiences, experiences or knowledge of his own childhood, adolescent and early adult life, during which he was hurt, frustrated, betrayed or disgusted. Since we avoid these islets of experience, we do not know them. Avoiding them in fact, over the years we begin to believe many times that they don't even exist. But if we don't get to know them, how will we get to know us? And if we don't know each other, how will we love each other? And if we don't love each other, how will we forgive each other? And if we don't forgive us, how will we forgive those who hurt us, failed us, betrayed us, disgusted us? Because usually, those who were able to hurt and betray us are those people who at the same time were able to love us, inspire us, give birth to us, co-create us and support us. And the gift of life to man is the other, the third party, the stranger or the enemy, who shakes us out of the routine of avoiding all these experiences and forces us to meet them."

The Gift of Adolescence is a first such record of my experience. An existential approach to the paradoxical finding that the difficulty contained in the relationship with a teenager, or even in the relationship of a teenager with himself, can become an occasion for restarting and beauty in relationships between teenagers and adults. The book came about through the meeting with the friends-collaborators of En Plo publications and its way of writing has the authenticity of the communication that communication with the teenager himself requires.

Source: diastixo.gr

The gift of adolescence
Alexis Lappas

Read more

In my quest to change my inner outlook on life so that I was constantly discovering its hidden beauty, I almost always came across people who had a lot to say to me. And other times I happened to see and be inspired by things that others would not pay any attention to. While at other times my own contemplation and searching created feelings for me, which I had to somehow express. I usually chose writing. I believe that every book follows its own secret path, to finally end up in people's hearts. This route, as well as the future readers, cannot be known from the beginning by the author. Nevertheless, I believe that every author during the writing of his book, has brought them to his mind and will gradually bring them down to his heart, with the ultimate purpose through words to meet with them. Something like that happened to me too. When I wrote the lyrics, I had in mind all those everyday people who run everyday in the arena of life. All those who seek the meaning and joy of life, even through the difficulties they experience. All those who are constantly searching their lives, to finally meet themselves and their God. All those who desire their personal development. Putting the finishing touches on my book, I was sure they had captured a part of my heart!

I believe that every book follows its own secret path, to finally end up in people's hearts.

I believe that the main problem in human relations is the non-acceptance of the other. Most of the time, we look not at the person we have next to us, but at the person we wish we had. The man we have fantasized about, the man we see in our dreams changed at our own request and for our own confirmation, not of his own will, but according to our own certainties. And that's when we ask for guarantees, strong promises, from our spouse, from our child, from our father or mother, but also from any person we are sometimes related to. We ask them for a couple of "little things", but for them they are neither small nor easy. After all, if their psyche allowed them, they would have made the change themselves, they wouldn't have waited for us. Most of the time this way leads to a dead end! But there is another way, that of genuine love. Because genuine love is privileged to produce change, precisely because it aims not at change, but at unconditional acceptance. Let us therefore dream of the change of the other, but not in the company of our fantasy about him, but guided by his authenticity.

I am an educator, so I am forced to study Psychology and Pedagogy in advance. Besides, studying Psychology and Theology is my hobby. I have attended several educational seminars on human relationships, grief, marriage, parenting, love and more. All these topics are of particular concern to me for another reason: They help me understand who I am and where I want to go as a husband, father of three children, and also an educator. I could say that self-improvement, personal development and the search for God in my daily life are my passion. One of my dreams is to introduce a course in schools from the very first grade, which will offer children lessons in values, self-awareness and empathy.

A few days after the release of my book, I received a message on messenger from a reader who said: “Reading your book I cried, and in its pages I met a part of myself. I thank you. I really want to read it again!” I think this is precisely the condition for the book to justify its existence. To mentally and mentally activate the modern man, to make him think and bring him a little closer to his true self.

Source: diastixo.gr

Everything will be fine
Self-awareness and search texts, based on real experiences
Seraphim Lappas
Foreword: Fr Charalambos Papadopoulos (Libyan)

Read more

Then came the books, the travels, the adventures in places, in secret rooms, in old monasteries, in feelings, in good and difficult times. Byzantine emperors, princesses, riddles, mysteries, bad guys who aren't totally bad!

Do old towers always have ghosts, even in our time? Uncle Vassilis is everywhere and nowhere, in his huge library, in Mani, Mystra, Monemvasia, disguised and normal? Unexplainable situations, epic stories, to let go, to get lost in time, seasons, land and seas.

Castaways in Meteora , my last book. The memory of feelings sometimes wakes up and torments us. What grabbed me and reminded me of a favorite childhood adventure, "Wreck of the Pacific"? And those school afternoons when our teacher read The Little Castaway over and over again?

I turned all this upside down, I moved the sea to the land, to an exotic, divine place, to the rocks of Meteora, to a deserted monastery. Where the soul becomes hard, granite and where it can grow so tall, surpass human measures and find itself between dream and reality, closer to heaven than to earth! But how, with what recipe?

Inside the monasteries you find countless paintings. In these children of mine, my three heroes, they found the answer. To the paintings and to a guy who didn't want to see people or painters!

I will always write stories for children, because they only want to listen, laugh, play, be happy, learn. We adults unfortunately have our ears blocked!

Anyway, my heroes always get into such strange situations, maybe because they are very curious and want to know who we are, if our ancestors were great people, and if with love we can spend our every day better. In Mystra with a full moon and The Pirate of Monemvasia , two other incredible adventures starring the same children, the well-known restless and strange company.

I, again, when I write such books I get lost in the narration. I am not in the place, in the time where I live, but with my heroes in history. I am an invisible sleepwalker of fairy tales, of adventure, I am next to the children, the emperors, the old churches, I walk with them on the paths of Mystras, I climb the old castle of Monemvasia, but no one sees me. The truth is that I never speak, lest I wake up, lest the weather overtake me and turn me back from where I came.

Often, I live another agony. Are today's children the same as the children I met years ago, my students, my children? Do they have the same needs, play the same games, pull the same pranks, listen to the same music, dance the same dances at parties, laugh at the same jokes? Do they like adventures, stories of mystery and suspense? And last question: Do adults read my books before recommending them to children?

Unanswered questions...however, when I found out that some parents and teachers force their children to read my books, and even ask them for a summary of the story after they finish them, I was very upset! I wouldn't want that at all. In other words, will we turn my stories into a lesson, into memorization and compulsion? But I wrote them because I liked them that way and I want the children to read them because they like them that way, to have a good time, to be happy, to have fun, to travel, to travel together I mean.

I will always write stories for children, because they only want to listen, laugh, play, be happy, learn. We adults unfortunately have our ears blocked!

Source: diastixo.gr

Shipwrecked in Meteora
George Antonakis
illustration: Christos Gousidis

Read more

We have always had the desire to write a book that highlights the heroes of the 21st century. We are both primary and secondary educators and have successfully collaborated on the writing of other books aimed at this readership.

After discussions with "En plo" Publications we agreed to start writing our book Twice in '21 , a title that arose from our idea to include equally in its contents 21 male heroes and 21 female heroes who contributed in their own way in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our country. We believe that the promotion of women and their participation in the Greek Revolution was something that was missing from the literature aimed at children and teenagers. Most of us knew only a few names of women who actively participated in the Struggle, while throughout Greece they resisted the Turkish yoke, each in their own way, many women who had remained historically invisible.

As educators, we are aware of children's lack of good knowledge of our history, especially for this period of the Greek Revolution. A book as compact, attractive and linguistically accessible as possible would go a long way in meeting readers with our history and the ideals and values ​​of the people who gave everything so that we can live free today.

After many months of studying the sources and historical books, we came to the choice of the persons we would present, as well as the structure of our project. At the beginning of our book we attempt a connection with the end of the Byzantine Empire, the "End of an Era", as we call it, highlighting two important figures, a man and a woman, the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine Palaiologos and his mother, Helen Dragasi – Paleologina (Saint Patience). These two faces act as elements of unity with the heroes and heroines presented next. Among them is also the Filiki Etairia, as a secret organization that directed and supported the Greek Revolution, as well as the "Gelectsis", who represent the participation of children and teenagers in the struggle for the Freedom of Greece.

We believe that the promotion of women and their participation in the Greek Revolution was something that was missing from the literature aimed at children and teenagers.

Another element that we paid particular attention to is the pedagogical approach of our texts, so that they are attractive for children and teenagers and not lengthy. So we ended up with the one-page presentation of each hero and heroine, supplemented on the opposite page with the corresponding portrait. Spyros Zacharopoulos, who took over the illustrations, was enthusiastic about the texts and created the best images we could have. Keeping elements from tradition and from the already existing portraits and busts, he proceeded to creatively reconstruct new images, which take the readers on a journey through the era and the lives of the heroes.

Through the faces we present, we want children to distinguish the concepts of hero and authentic role model from the manufactured role models of our time and the superheroes of magazines and movies. We live in the age of image and rapid changes, in the digital age where with the push of a button anyone can have a desired result. Children are born and raised in such a time. So we need to give them the opportunity to get to know in an entertaining way, such as reading, at least some basic elements that work in unification with our cultural identity and our historical course. We truly wish our book to work in this way on the souls of our readers. In the last paragraph of our introduction, with the title "A hero is not born, you are made", we explain about our book that "mostly it is a book of faith, hope and love. Faith in God who stood by the struggle of the Greeks, Hope for the emergence of modern heroes and personalities and Love for Freedom which is the essence of living and being called human". May it therefore be able to inspire and nurture thinking people, with vision, values, ideals and selfless love for our country, like that of the fighters of 1821 and even greater!

Source: diastixo.gr

Twice in '21
21 heroes and 21 heroines of the Greek Revolution of 1821
Angeliki Mastromihalaki – Pantelis Zouras
Illustration: Spyros Zacharopoulos

Read more

These are the most important questions answered in my book Child and Internet , released in a 2nd revised edition by En plo Publications, on the occasion of the completion of 30 years (6/8/1991) from the launch of the World Wide Web ( World Wide Web - WWW), i.e. the Internet as we know it and use it today.

The internet is an amazing tool for the 21st century man. It became the medium that allowed the diffusion of information, information, knowledge and entertainment throughout the world, offering equal and immediate access to all people's accumulated wealth. At the same time, it changed communication into an open, direct and two-way relationship. It is essentially the biggest window on our planet, a tool that we all use every day: 5.1 billion, that is almost 2 out of 3 inhabitants of the Earth are Internet users and every day 900,000 new people are added to them.

What the Internet user discovers on his magical journey in the virtual universe, the more they make him impressed by the new horizons, which open wide before his eyes. The continuous technological development of the internet reveals more and more possibilities and perspectives to the modern man, who is even more attracted by this unique creation of his. The easy access to universal knowledge, the direct communication and acquaintance with other people, the multiple applications to satisfy every need of daily life and the possibility to connect around the clock are just some of the features of the internet that attract its users.

On the other hand, the internet, like a knife, is an extremely useful but also dangerous tool. Such a tool in the hands of an unsuspecting child can be disastrous. Within its 180 pages and in a reader-friendly format, the book presents all the useful information about the Internet, informs about the dangers that exist in it and offers the necessary advice, so that with the active intervention of parents and teachers, addiction can be avoided and its negative effects on children.

Particular weight is given to the influence of the Internet on the character, education, personal life, interpersonal relationships and sexuality of children, while the dangers of violence, crime, pornography, pedophilia and gambling are described, which can easily meet children online. Also, interesting facts about social networks, chatrooms and blogs are presented. In closing, the book focuses its attention on the growing phenomenon of Internet addiction and gives basic directions for a safe navigation of children on the Internet.

This relationship between the child and the Internet, which the book deals with, concerns all of us, especially parents, teachers and those involved in the education of children. It is our common obligation to build a correct, healthy, beneficial and enjoyable relationship of our children with the internet, to offer them the responsible education to draw from it its unique advantages, but also to safely avoid hidden and unknown dangers, that threaten them in their online journeys, as well as the dangerous addiction of its reckless use.

This is the aim of my book Child and Internet . It is not a scientific textbook on the internet, but a journalistic report on the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century. A report with basic information, instructions and advice, so that our children can have a creative and safe relationship with the Internet.

Sponsors of the publication of the book and its translations into English and French, which will be released soon, are Minetta Insurance, the Hellenic Granite Company, the industrial equipment company Mangrinox, the Christodoulou Family natural juices, the investment company Thetis Capital and the Club of History & Culture of AEK.

Child and Internet
Everything you need to know for a creative and safe use of the internet
2nd edition revised
Makis Papageorgiou

Read more