I am very humbled to have been given the opportunity to listen to the wisdom Selina, David, and Linda so graciously imparted to us today. I’m struggling to find words that truly encompass the value in the amount of meaningful advice we received today. In spite of all the pain and intense heartache my people have caused, I have been showered with blessings in the most powerful form available, their native language. Their blessings to teach the most precious thing anyone has to offer the world–their children, their future. How humbled I am. How I hope I can inspire our youth to believe in themselves, to appreciate the beauty that lives within us all, to put their hearts into everything they do.
Category: Student posts
Sharing their wisdom
It was a real honor to have Selina Everson, Linda Belardi, and David Katzeek open their chest of knowledge in front of our class today. I truly believe that what makes each culture unique are the stories, advices, and wisdom that are transmitted from generation to generation through elders.
We have an interesting saying in Romanian : “ Cine nu are bătrâni să-şi cumpere“, which basically is translated: “ Who doesn’t have elders should buy some.” Where do we buy our elders? What this really means is that the richness of people is not measured by material things, but by the elders who are our connection to the past and our bridge to the future.
Listening to “ Grandma Selina” speaking about her experience as a child, being forbidden to speak her native language stroke a sensible cord in me. I remembered my grandmother talking about her childhood and annexation of Bessarabia, Romanian territory to Russia. That had a huge impact on her family because all use of Romanian language was phased out, and substituted with Russian. People were not allowed to speak their language, which is such an important element that defines the identity of a culture. I admire Selina Everson because she is a survivor, she fought for her values and beliefs.
There are a few things I’m taking with me from today’s experience that I want to use in my classroom.
Firstly, David Katzeek’s advice to give students the confidence that they can do whatever they put their mind into. A great teacher knows how to build confidence in another human being.
Secondly, Selina Everson’s lesson about not giving up in front of hardness, and respecting every culture. It is really important to me as a person to preserve my culture for my kids and I would try to infuse that feeling of preserving the cultural identity in my classroom.
Finally, Linda Belarde’s words to love your students, to get to know them, and their stories.
The Elders: Language and Loss
I think that of the three Elders who spoke to us today, Selina was the one whose talk affected me the most. I can’t even express my sense of what a horrific act it is to try to destroy a language, and how great a tragedy it is when language is lost. And the personal cost, as Selina showed us, is almost unimaginable.
I have spent enough time studying foreign languages to know that when you shift into another language, something in your personality shifts. You can’t convey the same thoughts in another language that you would in your own – the words are different, the metaphors and the idioms and the emphasis are all different – and so your thoughts change to fit the new language. It’s disorienting enough when you’re an adult and still have access to your own language and culture; what must it be like for a child, to be suddenly and thoroughly cut off from the language that expresses who you are?
I was struck, on the first day of the program, by something David said in his talk. He said that his father raised him to be bilingual – “because he believed I was brilliant.” And he went on to talk about how he was called all kinds of things for being bilingual, one of which was “stupid.” It seems so obvious that, as David’s father believed, and as David said, being fluent in more than one language is brilliant, it’s an accomplishment, it’s worthy of respect. And yet there are so many children who speak two languages and yet are told again and again that they are less intelligent, more limited, than their peers who only speak one.
The other day, I was at a family dinner with my cousin Hannah and her little daughter Marigold, who is in a Tlingit immersion program at her elementary school. My aunt Kate wanted me to hear how good Mary’s pronunciation was, so she was asking her to say difficult words. “Mary, what’s the word for ‘felt?’” And Mary would instantly come out with the word, very clearly and distinctly, and with a huge smile on her face that said that she was note-perfect and knew it. Listening to Selina, and thinking about David’s talk on the first day, I thought: Mary has never learned to associate shame with speaking Tlingit, and I truly hope and believe she never will.
Speaking from the heart
I was thrilled for the opportunity to listen to the lived experiences of three Tlingit Elders today. As a product of the Anchorage School District, this had not been an opportunity I had ever had growing up. In fact, I have no recollection of ever learning anything about Alaska– or Alaskans– during my educational experiences in Anchorage (besides a unit in elementary school.) It is something I have longed for since that time and am so happy to know that all students (and teachers) in Alaska are now learning about Alaska and the people that have lived here for thousands of years. It is about time.
Hearing from Selina, Linda and David today was both moving for myself, as well as a great inspiration in some directions I hope to push my role as an educator in the future. I enjoyed the whole talk and at times I had tears in my eyes. Something that stood out to me and that I will carry with me into this next year was the passion and love that I could feel exuding from each of them as they spoke of their culture and language. After years of being forced to not speak their language or live in the way that was their tradition, I could sense the pain that had been caused to each of them. But through that pain has come a strength in moving forward. As David said, his people have survived for 10,000 years and will continue to do so. As an educator and as an Alaskan, I have joined their cause. I am excited to push my students in promoting and nurturing and being proud of their traditions, languages and cultures. And I look forward to learning about Alaska from each of their unique perspectives.
The Restoration of a Language
Language is an important aspect of any oral cultures. Linda had an emotional fluctuation in her tone while disclosing her struggles with speaking her language. My grandfather and his two brothers turned their backs on the language because of the same struggle in boarding schools. Her story played my heartstrings like a harp as I realize how close her story is to mine. Her children have been learning the language and how to speak it over time.
From her story, I am more inspired to continue learning my native language so I can pass it on to my children. I do not hold any ill will for those that attended schools and had their native language quarantined. I only strengthen my resolve to continue pressing forward to learn my own culture and to eventually teach it inside of a classroom.
On a side note, I enjoyed how each speaker took time to speak in Tlingit before translating to English. I would like to do that inside of a classroom one day as well as willing to hear any that can speak “their” language. I just feel that there is a natural beauty in languages that I can’t completely comprehend. I realized that when I don’t know the language that is being spoken, I tend to pay closer attention and listen to the words that are going into my ears. I am beyond thankful that these three elders were willing to share their stories and their time. They each provided different ideas for me to think over.
Wisdom of our Elders
Eye of the Needle
What advice did you hear that resonated with you?
What implications might this have for you as a teacher?
David speaks with such passion, conviction and love. He made three very powerful statements on Monday- “You have it in you,” “You are a precious child,” and “you are a human being.” Peter talks about essential questions, well I think that these are the essential statements; things that students need to hear over and over until they truly believe it- not just about themselves but about each other-and begin to act accordingly. What a beautiful, empowering way to create a feeling of community in the classroom.
When David spoke today about his achievements I was taken by his humility and his desire to serve his people. I was reminded of a passage in the Oleksa book where he speaks about the Yup’ik story, Eye of the Needle. He says, “Children become members of society by realizing that the purpose of their existence goes beyond satisfaction of their own selfish desires, whims, or passions. Each must become the servant of something other than, and more important than, his or herself.” (p53)
What a great perspective. I feel like as a teacher I need to be humble to be able to recognize, acknowledge and build upon the cultural collateral each student brings to the classroom. I will definitely be using these traditional native stories this fall as we read Touching Spirit Bear and The Outsiders.
Reflecting on Today’s Elders
The advice that resonated with me was how important is was for Mrs. Everson (and the others) to keep their language (and how painful it was to lose it for a time).
I would like to incorporate aspects of whichever Native language I am immersed into my teaching. However, I’m sure (because of practical considerations, time, focus, etc) the amount of any non English language that my class will be exposed to will have to be relegated to key terms that have particular resonance or meaning in the local Native tongue. Additionally, as a Language Arts teacher I definitely plan on exploring the Oral (and written) stories of Native cultures and authors.
