The Latvian community I grew up in here in Winnipeg was always quite small. We did however have a school on Saturday’s, and from what I recall, my brothers and I had one thing in common when we awoke Saturday mornings - none of us felt well. Naturally - my parents saw through this and we did indeed attend class. No one questioned the qualifications of the teachers, in that the importance was that we would be able to learn more about the language anf the culture. These schools were like anything else - parents could by themselves steer their kids in the right direction - but could not possibly have covered all the ground that a collective effort of the community could.

The other aspect was simply that in order to learn the language - you also should have been able to function in it outside the home. This is what the school and Latvian Society in general accomodated. Naturally, we all spoke and learned at our own level, but we were able to participate in a Latvian only society. It could certainly have been more interesting, but at the same time, the kids that were in attendance mostly did not want to be there. We wanted to be doing what other kids our ages were, and not having to go to school an extra day - it simply wasn’t fair - at least that was the overall belief among the youth in my day.

The Latvian school unfortunately ceased to exist here, some time ago. Part of it was due to the fact that many of the older Latvians passed away - and also that many Latvian born individuals that were essential to our community moved away. The net result was that there were few social events organized, and the collapse began,

Personally, I am of the opinion that many of the older Latvians were simply hoping that their ways as well as their language would continue in a foreign land, with the youth being their hope for that future. In order to insure this, they ended up making mistakes that would hasten the departure of the youth. As we aged, we obviously sought out partners, and here - all partners were from outside the Latvian community itself. This was partially because we did not see our own often enough to know them on anything but a cordial basis - and partly because aside from Latvian school tegether, we had very little in common. we were friends, and that was all.

The Latvian Church continued - and as these outside relationships grew - the locally born Latvian youth naturally wished to bring their new partners into the society they had grown up in. Unfortunately - the congregation advised them that they were unwilling to introduce any English into the services. These new partners should learn the Latvian language if they wanted to attend. By the time they did an about face and introduce some English - three quarters of the youth were gone - and had no wish to return.

I consider my Latvian Language skills to be decent - but only at a basic conversational level. In a recent trip to Latvija - relations and people there were amazed that I spoke the language as well as I did. That praise was more than any of us had ever had in our own Latvian community. My post sounds more critical than it was intended to be - but my point is simple - each foreign Latvian community did whatever it could to survive as a culture. Mistakes were made - and many times they were costly errors in judgement. I personally am glad that we were raised within the culture we were. I am at the same time saddened by the fact that as time has gone by, the opportunity to use the language has disappeared on a local basis. I guess it is only natural that that the language we work in has to be our first langauge - and that depending on the resources available - we continue our other education in whatever manner we are able. On a local level for myself - conversation oportunity is almost zero. Thankfully there are forums where we can visit and learn.

Mikels

Chau visi lasitaji/skolotaji/vecaki!

Man ienaca jautajums kapec neaicinat skolotajus no Latvijas macit trimda dzivojosus latviesu bernus.

Paskaidrosu macisanas apstaklus, pieminot ari Garezeru.

Latviesu skolas darbojas lielakajos Latviesu centros, ASV un Kanada, pat Vilimantika, Conn ( ASV) ir atkal uzsakusi darbu ar apm 10 skolniekiem, visos vecumos. Macibas notiek TIKAI vienu reizi nedela, apm. 3 stundas diena, vai nu piektdienas vakaros, sestdienas ritos vai svetdienas pirms vai pec baznicas.

Alga tad butu par tam 3 stundam--nedomaju, ka kada skola maksa par sagatavosanas darbu, kas panem vismaz 2 stundas, atkariba no bernu vecuma un latviskam spejam. Stradaju vieteja Latviesu skola daudzus gadus, pelniju $20 stundai ( kas skaitas daudz) kad aizgaju--tas ir $60 nedela, kadas 28 nedelas gada, jo skolas brivlaiki ir tapat ka vietejam skolam.

Par nozelosanau, skolotajs nevar sagaidit dzivot no sada ienakuma--ir jabut kadam papildus darbam vai partnerim, kas atbalstis sadu daleja laika darbu.

Kur Latvijas skolotajs dzivos? Ja ir radi, draugi vai pazinas, tos var uz laiku izmantot. Dzivokli Toronto ir minimuma $900 menesi, ne vislabakaja rajona--tad vel jamaksa elektriba, telefons, Internets, utt. Amerika nav labak, vienigi iznak letak, ja sametas ar kadu.

Par Garezeru ( Miciganas stata) vai Kursu ( Vasingtonas stata)--tur vasaras skolas un nometne ilgst 6 nedelas, 24/7. Alga ir tikai mazliet augstaka---jo gulesana un edinasa ir par brivu.

Vienalga, ja strada vietaja skolina 3 stundas nedela vai Garezera 6 nedelas,darbam ir jabut latviskas parliecibas un milestibas pamatotam--ne financiali motivetam. Liels plus ir sabiedriska iepazisanas un iespeja ieklauties vietaja latviesu sabiedriba, jo, ja ir skola, tad ir draudze(s), tad ir Daugavas Vanagi, tad ir vasaras nometnes, tad ir jaunatnes pulcini, tad ir deju kopas dazadiem vecumiem, tad ir kori, tad ir biblioteka, tad ir bridzu kopa , tad ir filmu vakari, tad ir lasisanas kopa......utt.

Ludzu, turpinasim so sarunu!

I’d like to respond to a number of points raised in this discussion thread with what will probably be a couple of posts.

The Toronto Latvian School Valodina has for a number of years tried to square the circle.  Rather than traditional grades based on age (e.g. Kindergarten through Grade 8), we’ve grouped our students by Latvian language proficiency into 2 to 3 year age groupings. Our A level students are able to speak Latvian and for the most part can be taught in Latvian. Our B level students understand Latvian reasonably well but have difficulty speaking Latvian. Our C level students have minimal Latvian language skills. Last year for example we had an intermediate A class with students from ages 8 through 10. We had a parallel intermediate B class. Other classes included a junior A class, a junior BC class (we didn’t have the numbers to set up two separate classes), a senior AB class with our oldest students and a senior C class as well as Kindergarten which included all levels. We did this so that classes would be more homogeneous and easier to teach. In theory, each level has different entry and exit points. For example, building a rudimentary vocabulary, being able to read Latvian phonetically and understanding some basic grammatical constructs might be perfectly fine for a C level student who graduates at age 13. However an A level student needs to be positioned so he or she can move to the Toronto Latvian High School or Garezers if they so choose. We also encourage but do not insist (and that’s a key point) on vertical movement. Some of our C level students have made the jump to the B level or similarly from B to A.

The biggest problem we’ve had implementing this multi-tier approach is numbers. We don’t have enough students to set up all the classes we’d like and in some cases we need to have students from multiple levels in one class. Currently we’re running with 44 students including my son which is down from 70 to 80 students almost 20 years ago when my daughter started as a toddler. Another problem is curriculum. How does the curriculum for multiple levels across multiple age groups hang together but more about that later?

Like most Latvian schools abroad, we have difficulty sourcing teachers. We tap into three groups. Parents, local university age Latvian students and recent immigrants from Latvia. Of the three groups, parents are the only ones with a natural motive to teach. Unfortunately the Latvian language skills of many parents are also diminishing. Then there’s the challenge of juggling jobs and often long commutes with household duties as well as local schooling and children’s activities and sports leaving many parents with little time and energy to prepare and teach at Valodina. We can afford to pay our teachers a reasonable salary for the 3 hours they teach Friday evenings but if we factor in preparation time, even at a 1:1 ratio, the effective hourly rate drops considerably.

I’ve long felt that what we need is a curriculum that goes beyond guidelines and lists of available resources. What we need is a turn-key package or cookbook for at least two proficiency levels from Kindergarten through grade 8 and beyond. The package needs to include ready to use lesson plans and scripts complete with exercises and other activities. This would set a standard baseline for inexperienced and time pressed teachers. For those teachers willing to go above and beyond the cookbook, there is certainly an opportunity to add value. A package of this sort would solve a lot of problems. For those who would argue that it’s already there, I beg to differ. Some schools still use the old curriculum from ALA dating back to the 1970s. A massive amount of work by folks associated with ALA was done in the past 10 years to roll out a new curriculum including detail along the lines of what I’ve suggested but it is targeted only at students with very strong Latvian language skills. The LNAK curriculum published in Latvians Online is really only a set of guidelines that can be used as a framework to build detailed course material. Surely there are enough under-employed academics in Latvia that with proper management and funding from the Latvian Government as well as the émigré community could pull something like this together. Having our central émigré organizations focus on efforts like this would deliver much more value than pretending to play an exaggerated role in Latvian politics.

And we shouldn’t constrain ourselves to a classroom delivery mechanisms. With today’s technologies, interactive text, audio and video, Latvian language training could be delivered anytime and anywhere through the Internet. Picture a computer lab in one of our Latvian schools with students working through their lessons with microphones and earphones each at their own pace with a couple of tutors circulating nearby. Picture a 10 year old in Winnipeg, Canada where the nearest Latvian school is a good 7 hours away in Minneapolis not to mention a border crossing, now able to learn Latvian at the home computer. Picture an adult who by choice or circumstance never learnt Latvian now having options of this sort. Yes, an immersion program like the Western Michigan State “Valodas kursi” of the 1970s and 1980s or living in Latvia for 6 months would be imminently better, but currently the only real options for anyone abroad wanting to learn Latvian are traditional classrooms in Latvian schools for children and youths as well as various text based attempts to teach rudimentary Latvian. Their reach and ultimately success is limited. We need to bring out or rather build the heavy artillery.

To be continued …

Continued…

I fully agree with Kristine about catering to only half of the families in our community. Actually the number is much worse. I did the math a couple of years ago. Let’s assume that there are 100,000 Americans or 25,000 Canadians of Latvian descent. It’s easy enough to dig through census summary data and get age distribution profiles for both these countries. If we multiply the percentage of children and youths between 5 and 18 in the general population and apply to our totals and then compare with enrolment in Latvian schools and high schools abroad, we probably have at best 10% of the potential student population.

That’s a continuing malaise with our community abroad. We continue to cater to the exception at the expense of the majority. Our mindset is stuck in the days of the exile community when Latvia was occupied and we are unable to recast our community in the mold of one of the many émigré communities in the western countries be it the Scandinavians, Italians, Tamils or Somalis. We seem to think that as long as one Latvian youth eventually moves to Latvia then all is well. Never mind the 9 that have fallen by the way-side disillusioned and disconnected. For those who follow wedding announcements in our émigré newspapers and church bulletins, it will come as no surprise that at least 2 out of 3 marriages are with Latvian and non-Latvian partners. And this includes Latvians brought up by families who have put a lot of effort in developing Latvian language skills, by those who have gone through Latvian schools, summer camps, folk dance troupes and youth congresses. The return on investment is not good. That doesn’t mean we shift attention to only those not actively engaged in our community or those who don’t speak Latvian. It does mean we open up parallel tracks for both. There are just too few Latvians worldwide to do otherwise and there are too few Latvian abroad to sustain our community.

Finally, a note about bringing teachers over from Latvia. It’s great that the Latvian Government through IUMSIL is now providing limited funding for cultural and educational projects in the Latvian Diaspora. It would be great if we could use Latvia as a source of qualified teachers sent by the Government to tend to the flocks abroad. It’s been done for some of the Latvian colonies in Russia but things get problematic if we’re talking about countries like Canada, Australia and the United States. Kristine correctly points out that any teacher (and really what we need is a head teacher, someone who could work with other teachers to prepare and deliver content) coming here needs a decent salary to be able to live even if room and board is provided. But it goes beyond that. Western countries have immigration and labour laws. If the Latvian Government is going to send teachers abroad, the groundwork needs to be laid out government to government. It can’t be done under the table with ALA or Valodina. Several years ago, I brought over a sprint canoe kayak coach from Latvia for a summer position at my local race club. We needed a positive Labour Opinion from Human Resources Skills Development Canada, we needed an employment contract between the club and coach spelling out responsibilities, compensation and both minimum and maximum hours of work, salary and goods-in-kind like room and board needed to be spelt out, and so on. It can be done but it’s not easy.

More than 10 years back during my tenure as President of the Latvian National Federation in Canada (LNAK), I raised the question of cultural and social workers from Latvia for our community with several Members of Parliament. Interesting idea they said but … Again, if our central organizations wanted to focus on the needs of our community today, this would be a great lobbying challenge to take on. But oops, it’s not a sexy political cause like NATO, the referendum on changes to the security apparatus in Latvia or the teaching of Latvian history as a separate subject in Latvia’s schools. Too bad, so sad.

I missed getting engaged earlier in this discussion thread so apologies for a couple of lengthy posts. But the bottom line is that the challenges faced by Latvian schools abroad is closely tied to the paradigm that we construct for our community going forward. Unfortunately we’re still unable to escape our post War past. We need to build a multi-tier inclusive community. Schools, teachers, curricula, teaching materials and delivery mechanisms can be a big part in helping those of Latvian descent connect with their heritage and Latvia.

Viesturs Zarins
Chair of the Toronto Latvian School Valodina
1998-2003 and 2006-2008

Oh dear, so much to read and so little time!

I do want to pick up on some points in Kristine’s last post to this thread.

In London we pay £40 per child per year and this covers the costs of materials, room hire and additional costs for izlaidums and eglite.  All the teachers give their time freely and the head teacher does a good job recruiting teachers as well as supporting established teachers. It actually costs me a further £20 in travelling costs each time I take my son to the school.

To opt for the ‘professional teacher’ route could possibly jeopardise the continued existence of a school that has operated for over 40 years.  The costs per child would become several hundred pounds a year, thus putting the school out of reach for those families with 3 or 4 children (some of whom are recently from Latvia and are on low incomes).  The lower numbers would then reduce the school to 2 small classes and there would be less ability to contribute presentations to the very full Latvian events calendar.

There is a beautiful marriage of trimda and ‘new’ Latvians in the school working together, both teachers and parents, that is not mirrored in many other Latvian activities in London.

Now, if there are problems recruiting teachers in Latvians communities further away from Europe and parental finances are less stretched, I can see that engaging a teacher from Latvia would be an option.  However, I’m not sure how the children would react.  Teachers in Latvia are certainly stricter than teachers in England and there is the excellent retention of standards and respect that seems to have een lost in most English schools for ever.

The question of finances for Latvian schools is a good one. Valodina charges approx. $350 CAD (approx. 165 GBP) annually for the first student from each family and then it’s a sliding scale for the next two with the fourth student free of charge. The bulk of our expenses does go towards teachers salaries. Our “payroll” last year included 7 teachers, a librarian, an assistant teacher and part-time singing and folk dancing teachers. Money is not the primary motivator but still plays a role particularly for teachers who do not have children at Valodina (e.g. university students and immigrants from Latvia). Parents represented 5 of our salaried full-time or part-time teaching positions.

We’re in somewhat of a unique position at least in the Toronto area in that Valodina is completely independent and does not have another organization behind it (e.g. the Toronto Latvian Saturday School is part of the Toronto Latvian Society [Toronto Latviesu Biedriba]). We’re able to make all decisions on our own but are completely dependent on funding from our families and benefactors which include various Toronto organizations who donate to schools typically around Draudzigais Aicinajums. Toronto area schools including Valodina have also benefitted from a number of testamentary donations.

Valodina also has periodic fundraising activities and a separate account which we use to fund “extras” for our students (e.g outings) above and beyond operational expenses. Other expenses include hall rental at the Toronto Latvian Centre (both primary schools get classrooms free of charge but need to pay rent for special functions), supplies, texts and workbooks, administration, etc.

All in all we’re in good shape and while financing is something we constantly need to pay attention to, it’s not one of our biggest issues.

A point that I failed to make in the earlier posts.

The Latvian community abroad is heterogeneous particularly with respect to Latvian language skills even though there are gatekeepers behind the raised drawbridge who pretend otherwise although they haven’t looked behind their shoulders and noticed that there are few left in castle they are “guarding”.

By instituting a multi-tier inclusive approach, Valodina has provided a place for students with weaker or non-existant Latvian language skills. Other Latvian schools would reject them. At the same time, Valodina has provided our A level students with enough formal language skills that those who wanted have been abe to successfully move on to the Toronto Latvian High School and Garezers. Another great example of multi-tier and inclusiveness in action are separate 3x3 seminars in Britain run in both English and Latvian.

Great observations re the language issues. One should consider the language issue as the primary means of re-introducing interest in Latvia among the children of the trimda. Economic success requires immersion in the dominant culture and the “old” culture is often set aside.  Now , with successful second and third generations exploring their “roots” , the language barrier appears insurmountable for the busy youngsters.  Availability of internet language classes could help revive the lost interest and lead to the use of Latvian schools by the “lost generations”.

There may be some internet courses available,however, they appear to be a difficult find.

Sveicināti, mīļie diskusijas dalībnieki!

Diskusijas tēma ir “Kāpēc sūtīt bērnu latviešu skolā?” Tak jau tāpēc, lai vairāk vai mazāk šis bērns apgūtu latviešu valodu, un te nu laikam vajadzētu aizdomāties par to, ka pat šīs diskusijas lielākā daļa tekstu ir rakstīti angliski! Par ko tas liecina…., varbūt par to, ka pienācis laiks veidot arī pieaugušo latviešu skolas? Bērns latviešu skolā, latviešu draugu pulkā un savā ğimenē runās latviski tikai tad, ja to, pirmkārt, darīs viņa vecāki, brāļi un māsas mājās. Kāda jēga skolai bez pielietojuma? Un atkal, kā piemērs ir šī diskusija un arī viss portāls kopumā. Arī šī ir viena no latviešu valodas pielietojuma iespējām, tikai žēl, ka tā netiek izmantota pilnībā. Neuztveriet to kā pārmetumu, tomēr pati tēma it kā prasīt prasa, lai diskusija raisītos latviešu valodā. Manas replikas mērķis ir pievērst uzmanību kā reiz tam, lai skolās, ğimenēs un pēc iespējas ārpus tām demonstrētu bērniem (arī pieaugušiem), ka latviešu valoda nav tikai skolotāju kaprīze klasē, bet arī nepieciešamība latviskai saziņai.

While on this subject it is worth noting what Latvian historian Uldis Ģērmanis had to say about the trials, tribulations and priorities of Latvians living in Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s. He draws some interesting parallels with those he observed in trimda during his time. The following section is an extract from his book “Tālu tālumā, lielā plašumā,” Graamatu Draugs, 1977.

~*~

Tāpat ka mums šodien, tā latviešu aktīvistiem toreiz Padomju Savienībā, trimdai ieilgstot, rūpes sagādāja jaunās maiņas jautājums. Lai gan latviešu skolu skaits bija samērā liels, daudzas bija visai mazas un slikti apgādātas ar mācību līdzekļiem. Dažas latviešu skolas bez tam mācības pa lielākai daļai notika krieviski. Tāpat kā tagadējā trimdā daudzi vecāki nerūpējas par savu bērnu latvisko audzināšanu, tā arī tai laika Padomju Savienībā bija daudz vienaldzīgo, kas sūtīja savus bērnus krievu skolās. Lielas grūtības bija noturēt uz kājām periodiskos izdevumus jaunatnei, un vairāki žurnāli beidza iznākt pēc paris gadiem.

Latviešu padomju kultstrādnieki, tāpat ka mēs šodien, žēlojās, ka jaunatne vāji pārzina latviešu tautas vēsturi (tai maz sajēgas par latviešu revolucionārajām cīņām) un slikti orientējas latviešu literatūrā. Tāpat ka mēs organizējam jaunatnes apvienības un pulciņus (piem., jaunos Daugavas Vanagus; kādreiz plānoja arī — “jaunos kalpakiešus”), tā rīkojās arī latvieši Padomju Savienībā komjaunatnes un pionieru organizāciju ietvaros. Kādu laiku divdesmitajos gados tur pastāvēja kaut kas līdzīgs “jaunajiem strēlniekiem” (“nākošie komunāri”), kurus tērpa apmēram ka sarkanarmiešus.

Atskaitot dažas specifiskas iezīmes, var teikt, ka neapzinīgo vecāku un jaunatnes latviskas audzināšanas problēmas abām trimdām bija līdzīgas. Ļoti daudzi latvieši iedomājas, ka vispirms jānodrošina materiālā labklājība, bet visu pārējo varēs pagūt pēc tam. Taču to, kas pamests novārta, parasti vairs nav iespējams atgūt (īpatnēja parādība mūsu trimdā ir tie “praktiskās dzīves cēlāji”, kurus nacionālā atmoda skar pēc aiziešanas pensijā).

Tāpat ka tagadēja trimda, tā arī toreiz Padomju Savienība sabiedriska un kultūras darba smagumu uz saviem pleciem iznesa samēra neliels entuziastu kodols (tajā ietilpa, piem., Latviešu strēlnieku vēstures komisijas atbildīgais sekretārs Vilhelms Strauss, “Celtnes” redaktors Pauls Vīksne u.c.). Vēstures materiālu vācējiem Krievzemes klaidā bija jācīnās ar daudzu biedru un bijušo cīnītāju kūtrumu un vienaldzību. Tā laika latviešu padomju presē atkārtojas aicinājumi un mudinājumi piedalīties šajā darbā, lai iecerētie rakstu krājumi varētu iznākt un lai tos arī varētu plaši izplatīt. Cīņa ar šīm grūtībām lieku reizi apstiprina kādu visai triviālu konstatējumu: ir vieglāk parādīt īslaicīgu varonību briesmu brīžos, neka veikt apzinīgu, mērķtiecīgu un neatlaidīgu darbu kopīgu mērķu laba pelēcīgajos ikdienas apstākļos.

Tāpat ka mēs pūlamies, lai cittautu publikācijās būtu pareiza informācija par mums, par mūsu kultūru, vēsturi un centieniem, tā arī latvieši Padomju Savienībā centās, lai viņu revolucionārās Cīņas un darbi tiktu pienācīgi atspoguļoti attiecīgajos krievu izdevumos un padomju muzeju eksponātos.

Tāpat kā mūsu trimdas materiālā bāze ar laiku nostiprinājās, tā arī latviešu kultūras darba saimnieciskie pamati Padomju Savienībā trīsdesmito gadu vidū bija solīdi izveidoti. “Prometeja” sekmīgā saimnieciska darbība deva lielus ienākumus, kas lāva ķerties pie vērienīgas plānošanas kultūras lauka (izglītības darba, vēstures pētīšana un liela apjoma publikāciju sagatavošanā). Par lielām iecerēm turpmākajos gados liecina, piemēram, “Prometeja” apgāda darbības plāni 1936., 1937. un 1938. gadam.

Tātad, par spīti visām iepriekš minētajam grūtībām, latviešu kultūras dzīve Padomju Savienībā trīsdesmito gadu pirmajā pusē uzrādīja ievērojamu aktivitāti, un tās darbiniekiem bija lieli nodomi nākotnē. Bet tieši tad par latviešu galvām savilkās pavisam neiedomājami negaisa mākoņi.

~*~

Simplistically, there is a lot of effort put forth by a few to address the preservation of Latvian culture and language on a microsopic level. There is no paradigm shift, no revolution, no rebellion as Latvians continue to tread water.

Cheers, Ivars

Mīļie diskusijas dalībnieki, LOL lasītāji un atturīgie dalībnieki! {:~) The nice thing here is that new participants are willing to jump into the ever-important fray of recognizing things Latvian. Welcome aboard Viestur, Sandra … err yes … Amanda. Mēs pieaugam! I am all for Latvian language, but the title of this thread “Kāpēc sūtīt bērnu latviešu skolā?” has a psychological bend of its own as it plays with our minds. It’s mindset that a school creates an enclosure of four walls and the Latvian language, like some religious dogma, is a do or die when an estimated 90% (a reasonable observation by Viesturs) of expatriate Latvians lose contact with and in being Latvian. These are artificially contrived barriers. It does not need to be that way. We are not alone in this world. Let me explain:

Latvians as a whole are suffering from ‘shellshock,’ both wartime and even peacetime, coming off years of occupation and centuries of historical subjugation. It is fait accompli, but it lingers as a cultural stress disorder that is reflected in the introverted cautious nature of many Latvians towards others and even amongst ourselves. As a counter balance, the individual but quiet ambition is there, as shown by the large numbers of Latvian students clamouring to get the higher education under their belts. Albeit, often it’s education for sheepskin sake, as the degree is attained by less than honest means – cheating, plagiarism, buying the degree outright. In other words it is educational corruption not quality in education that prevails in Latvia. There is a drift towards the gut (easy) courses when Latvia’s success story could best be achieved in the professional fields of engineering and applied sciences. After all, that is what e-age nanotechnology is all about? Think about being competitive as a nation.

It would not surprise me that much of what we are trying to overcome is embedded in our genes. Our evolutionary inheritance from life without political and economic power deprived of self-determination. Despite all that, accepting subordination is not a characteristic of Latvians. Consider that a strength for survival and also a problem that keeps us apart without a united leadership.

So, what does all that have to do with the topic, “Kāpēc sūtīt bērnu latviešu skolā?” as it pertains to the demands of expatriate Latvian parents? It’s about the cultural and educational environments with which we interface. We are dealing with the effects while ignoring the critical causes for problems. It’s like pumping the same old aspirin to deal with the symptoms without fully understanding where they came from and addressing the cause of the disorder.

Viesturs Z. presents an excellent summary of some creative tactical solutions within the limited current real options in Latvian education in posts # 18 and 19. Where resources and support are lagging there is a need to improvise. While not everything can be strategically formulated there are serious concerns and gapping holes. We need an educational objective for expatriates, without which there are no supporting strategies (long-term action plans), no central coordination from the Latvian government or substantive resources to move the education along. Latvians are quick to embrace the micro basis of education with some fine-tuning to improve the methods and learning styles with dwindling enrollment. However, we lack the internal symbiosis necessary for teamwork and mutual benefit. What are we doing differently, better and more efficiently about improving the Latvian culture and education since, say 1948?

The bigger picture escapes us. We are now in the mist of global dynamics where knowledge economy dominates and work force flows towards geographic areas of opportunity for better pay and higher standard of living. Already Latvia has a 12% depletion of its home population. There was a small groan heard from the Latvian government … “we’re losing ‘em!” Within next ten years I can see emigration increasing to 33%. It’s not far fetched when one considers the 1980s cycle from bust to boom in Ireland and now many of them are back home with the Celtic Tiger plus taking on folks from other countries in droves. I expect and I pray that the Latvian government will be wide-awake before the 33% projection has reached its term. At the same time there’s something to be learned from this Celtic Tiger. The population in Ireland is 5.1 million with majority speaking English (about 40% claim to know some Gaelic) and the rest of the world claims 47.8 million who recognized themselves as having Irish roots. Unlike for Latvians it is less of a problem for the Irish to sustain English away from home, but the rest of their culture is challenged away from home.

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What significance is there in knowing Latvian? Since the Latvian Language does not have the value of a business language and at this stage it is not a competitive language, its usefulness is sentimental, something like that of a home sport’s team and its supporting fans. But not so fast, that sentimentality goes skin deep, as how otherwise would Latvians and their languages (note plural) have survived all these centuries without political and economic power?

Language changes overtime. How far back do we want to go, from Latvian to Latvian tribal languages, to the Baltic language group, to Indo European … back to the click languages in Africa? Those were once the languages of our forefathers. Should the current language be frozen in time with no natural flexibility to absorb and adopt words, names and phrases from the more dominant languages? Languages need to breath and be free with their expressions and that calls for change over time. The Latvian language is dictated by an inefficient Latvian government whereby foreign names, places, phrases and unique words literally get butchered so that it is difficult for the rest of the world to understand what Latvians are relating to.

In the post # 25 above Uldis Ģērmanis observed that, “… it is easier to demonstrate short term heroics during dire crises than to accomplish conscientious, purposeful and persevering work towards a mutual benefit during routine times.”

We’ve lost or spun off a lot of Latvians over the years by being callous and ambivalent towards one another. If one does not speak Latvian he is not good enough to be Latvian and a member of the club. It’s like throwing away a treasure chest full of dzintars. To bring the Diaspora Latvians together do we emphasize teaching the Latvian language or do we work to build a team? It does not mean we drop one or another as they can be accomplished in parallel. There is a need for setting priorities. The bottom up approach is junk, as it’s merely piecemealing our efforts. Now that the Latvian nation has its own government we should expect Latvian leadership on a global scale.

Not everything is cut and dry by using the internet; as for young children there is still the dependency on having a teacher. As for adults, “…pieaugušo latviešu skolas” can be improvised by taking the dependency out of pedagogy and we have the andragogical approach towards learning by doing and by experiencing as in an exchange of ideas on LOL.

Latvians need to primarily reinstitute pride in their culture and secondly place emphasis on the language where no Latvian is left behind. We also need to become more competitive globally and larger numbers and excellence in education will help. Consider that Latvian history, culture, geography, etc. can be taught in English via the web. How far do we want to reach?

I would be interested in hearing the reasons why learning Latvian is important and what will it do for Latvians? Be creative! It would be great to get beyond motherhood and apple pie. There are 1.5 million Latvian speakers in a world of 6.6 billion competitive people all of whose ancestors once spoke the same language.

Cheers, Ivars

I would be interested in hearing the reasons why learning Latvian is important and what will it do for Latvians? Be creative! It would be great to get beyond motherhood and apple pie. There are 1.5 million Latvian speakers in a world of 6.6 billion competitive people all of whose ancestors once spoke the same language.

Cheers, Ivars

I would just like to talk to my kids in latvian to
keep strangers unawares..........
I’m not getting any cooperation ....yet.

Chi hohchifo yut nanta? Sa hohchifo yut Pedro Briedis! My guess is that you’re someplace between mother and hood but still reaching for the apple pie. Nevertheless it is a good Yankee try – clap, clap, clap! I do recall instances where the Latvian language was used to make sure that there were none within ear shot that knew what you were talking about. It can back fire if you are not careful. There were four of us on the Boston subway in the 1950s and mācītāja dēls (skipping his name deliberately), dievs pasargā viņu no nedarbiem, cut loose with some four letter Latvian words that would even make dedicated folklorists of section XII, “Latviešu Tautas dziesmas” blush. Behold, the elderly stranger sitting directly in front of him looked him directly in the eye and said “Labi kad es neesmu sieviete!” We got off at the next station.

This also reminds me of my military science history courses. Surely you and others on this form have heard of the Indian code talkers. During WWI the US military used Choctaw with names like Albert Billy, Mitchell Bobb, Victor Brown, Ben Carterby, James Edwards, Solomon Lewis, etc., you get the idea, perfectly integrated Native Americans who could still speak fluent Choctaw to baffle the German military. During WWII the US Marines had Navajo and other Indian tribe code talkers to baffle the Japanese military. Read all about it: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talkers

Cheers, Ivars

This was for use in tramvajs.......................Ivarius.