“Roma urbs aeterna; Latina lingua aeterna" - We Weren't in Rome, Per Se, But What a Great Conversation About Language

Last week, on Friday, I visited Hope Club at Bassick High School and watched Mr. King do incredible after-school work with 20 immigrant and refugee students (English as an Additional Language, EALs). It was superb and beyond the call of duty.

Last night, readings for my graduate course included Readicide by Kelly Gallagher, but also a chapter on working with EALs in a book on teaching adolescent literacy. The one makes the case for relevant, student-centered and world-minded readings that offers choice and the other highlights how the Common Core State Standards have mandated new rigor for language classrooms, which is even harder for EALs. They seemed in total contrast of one another - one naming the problem, and another adding an additional problem.

So what does Crandall do in class? He draws on his teachers-teaching-teachers philosophy and shares work from Louisville, Syracuse and Connecticut. In other words, I modeled what these teachers might do in their own classrooms.

I shared several of the posters created while in graduate school and we read as writers, pulling out themes from what we read. We then asked questions of the students, which lucky for us, we could ask Edem, as he was a classmate of the kids. So, we had him to field questions and tell his story.

Of course, I drew connections to the course readings, but with one Latin teacher in the room, I decided to pair the conversation with an OpEd, A Vote for Latin. The author makes the case for teaching Latin and he does a good job with it.

It was interesting, however, although I didn't interrogate with the students, to note the colonial, imperialist argument to make for teaching Latin in a world where, well, it is no longer spoken. Still, the case is made that in high-powered, suburban schools, families demand the language to help students to get into elite colleges and programs. I see this. The author makes this case, as well.

But then I'm thinking about what I witnessed in William King's room and in my own work. I suppose I make the case for all languages, as they are just interesting.

For example, I asked Edem what his last name means and he said, hope. Well, that was a coincidence. He then explains that it means Coconut in the hole. Hope? I then here the story of ancestors and their farming history, and how planting coconut trees provided coconut milk during dry times, hence bringing hope to others during periods of suffering. His family provided hope.

I'm empowered for knowing this, although it will not necessary do much for me other than with storytelling.

My case is simple. Should we be learning the stories and words and cultures of everyone, so that we are wiser in our own worlds? It was a great class, with many objectives met, but I drove home wondering about ranking languages for their worth in the world. I surmise that the language wars follow the military ones. I personally am a champion of multilingualism. It simply makes sense.