The new education system is so exciting!

What’s the matter? Are you not excited about the new education system?

Lovers of bungee jumping, paragliding and rallies - leave those pastimes behind! The real adrenaline boost is to be found elsewhere.

Start to work more on the education of your child. And if you lack a child, borrow your neighbor’s. Dedicate your life to the subject and I promise you will fly!

First of all, the excitement is much greater now than it was before, for those diligent students who decide to sit the exam.

In the past there were many exams, but now there is only one. And in that exam, the students need to answer 60 questions in 90 minutes in June.

If you do not succeed, an even greater excitement and uncertainty awaits you.

You will be placed in your nearest available high school. But how this will happen remains uncertain.

For example, what happens if you want to enroll your designated child in the local Anatolian high school but are told: “The spaces are full. How about a vocational or religious imam-hatip high school?”

If demand outstrips supply for a specific type of school, will other types of schools be turned into that type?

Let’s say you are an excellent student. You are calm and you know you will succeed in the exam.

But the list of quality “chosen” schools is not due to be released until May. Yet another excitement for you!

Decisions concerning the education system not only excite the students and parents but also the real estate markets.

Recently, I saw an advert for a flat for rent. It said: “For the future of your child, close to a science high school, flat for rent by owner.”

It was a two-bedroom flat in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, with one bathroom, for 7,000 Turkish Liras a month.

It came across as very expensive to me, but apparently Anatolian and science high schools are equivalent to a flat with a sea view.

Excitement is in the air! Let’s see what kind of adventures our children will have this year. This country is like caffeine. It keeps people alive!

The new Atatürk Culture Center

If this is the new building for Istanbul’s Atatürk Culture Center (AKM), then it deserves applause.

It is brand new. But it still gives the feeling of the old AKM, embraces its beautiful aspects and does not erase its memory.

It looks beautiful and suits Istanbul’s Taksim Square. On the other hand, it is a modern, developed and luminous project.

In short, I can say we are happy and hopeful. I want to congratulate the architect and dream about the performances that will be staged there. I simply can’t contain my thank yous.

Yes, thank you. But actually why should we be so thankful? We are the ones paying taxes.

This is what the government is supposed to do. It is the municipality’s job to build a decent opera house-theatre in the city’s central square.

If one already exists, but has fallen into disrepair, they should renovate it. They should gauge society’s reaction and act accordingly.

Anyway, let us not dampen this happy moment. The proposed project will become a beautiful monument, if completed. Finish it as soon as possible, so we can all sit in the spectators’ seats and enjoy a good show.