Educația copiilor emigranților români în America la începutul secolului al XX-lea. Studiu de caz – orașul Cleveland, Ohio
The Education of the Romanian Emigrants’ Children in America at the Beginning of the 20th Century. Case Study- Cleveland, Ohio

Summary/Abstract: This study presents some aspects regarding the education of Romanian emigrants’ children at the beginning of the 20th century in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. At that time, the city of Cleveland represented a point of attraction for emigrants from south eastern Europe due to its strong industrialization, and, implicitly, due to the large job opportunities. Ranked 7th among American cities in terms of the number of emigrants, the city of Cleveland became a favourite destination for Romanians, too. The strongest Romanian community in America was established in this city. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first Romanian church, newspaper, fraternal society, and bank were founded here. Most Romanians who emigrated to Cleveland were men who came alone, but there was also a small number who brought their families with them. Their purpose was to return home after they gained a significant amount of money. The wives and children helped the family financially so that the departure from home would happen as quickly as possible. Enrolling children in schools was not a priority at all, but due to the establishment of the compulsory education law, all emigrants had to comply. The exact number of Romanian children enrolled in Cleveland public schools at the beginning of the 20th century is not known, but there were records that point out that in 1908, approximately 1,265 Romanian children attended public schools in 37 American cities, including Cleveland. Also, different records present that in 1915, Cleveland had a population of 10,000 Romanians, where 151 Romanian children attended elementary schools and 8 children attended high schools. In time, the number of school enrolments increased because the Romanians believed that education is the main way to ascend to the middle class and above. In addition to studying the concepts of writing, reading, arithmetic, geography, and history, public schools proposed that the emigrants’ children study American civic and political values in order to become good American citizens. The purpose of American schools was to implant the Anglo-Saxon conception of righteousness, law, and order into the emigrants’ children. As any other ethnic group that emigrated to America, Romanians understood that assimilation through the public schools meant that their children would lose their mother tongue and their national identity. The Romanians’ solution to this problem was to try to establish their own schools. The only Romanian school that ever existed in Cleveland was Prince Carol School, founded in 1923 by teacher Letitia Cucui. This school lasted until 1928. After that year, in order to keep preserving the Romanian language and culture, only Romanian churches organized Sunday schools where children studied and learned about Romania.

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