Community Adhesive

Having earned his engineering degree, Kenneth MacKenzie was faced with a question that a lot of us have to make after finishing-up four years of university: what now? Or, if you're like me, and you have a degree in English and History, the question might be more like: what have I done? In either case, it's your move, and the "real world" is waiting. Kenneth's move? Return to Mabou.

"Basically my whole graduating class went to Alberta and I decided to move to CB with no job prospects and make a go at it."

I think I've said this before, but if I haven't please let me state clearly that up until recently I have not been engaged with the Gaelic community in Nova Scotia. I took some elective courses in Celtic Studies at StFX,  but my parents never made any kind of fuss about our own heritage. My next move after graduation was to get as far away from my home-town of Antigonish as I could get. If I had to tell people "what I am", I would say that I was "Canadian". It was only after I had been away for over a year that I started to miss Nova Scotia--not Canada, but Nova Scotia. That was when I started identifying more as "Nova Scotian'. But never has my feeling of group belonging gone any deeper than a very surface interpretation of what constitutes a "Nova Scotian." Kenneth's upbringing was quite different. He grew up with a sense of belonging to a group of people whose sustained culture is unique in the Canadian context.

"My parents raised us speaking Gaelic. They were heavily involved with teaching, promotion, culture, and getting things organized. Most of their friends were running in the same circles too."

Kenneth talked about how involvement in the Gaelic culture has been a sticking point for him and other young people who have decided to stay in the province.

"I think our economy in the rural areas are stronger for it [Gaelic culture]. A lot of the younger people who haven't gone away are heavily invested in it. That's interesting from a rural development vantage point. "

It seems to me that what we have here is a kind of community adhesive. What tends to get overlooked in a globalized mainstream culture is respected, valued, and preserved in Gaelic culture--things like: respecting elders, seanchas, and visiting your neighbor instead of watching Netflix. During the past 11 weeks I have been hearing first-hand accounts of how powerful this attraction can be, and Kenneth says that the number of people who want to be apart of it is growing. His explanation is two-fold:

"I think a lot of it relates to the teaching method. In the old days, if you wanted to learn Gaelic you would go to a class. But now there is greater emphasis on immersion learning. You get involved in a group of people who are really supportive and who are going to dances and parties and are learning about old skills, like gardening, or whatever you want to do."  

I just took my first Gaelic language class, and can attest to the fact that this method of immersion learning is much more enjoyable than the kind that I had for Elementary School French Immersion.

"I also think that there's a lot of interest in society in general right now in those old skills and in 
building community. Being more sustainable and independent. Gaelic interests goes straight along with that. Things like the Back to the Land movement, supporting local food, music and businesses, and trying to fix our own economies. I think the interest in Gaelic has been an extension of that."

As the methodology of teaching Gaelic continues to improve in the classroom, and society's growing (and perhaps necessary) interest in the things which Gaelic society has always valued continues to grow, I think it's possible that we will also start to see more and more young people saying, " ’S e Gàidheal a th’unnam", both at home and abroad. 

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!

Kenneth's favorite word in Gaelic is : Àrainn  / neighborhood

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History in Higher Definition

Whenever we learn and read about history it becomes easy to forget that the historian we are engaging with has his or her own personal opinions about what is, and what is not, important to learn and read about. Learners should be aware of this, and teachers should account for the parts of history which might have been overlooked. You wouldn’t paint a mural of a Nova Scotian shore-line and leave out all the different shades of blue. Nor would you want to teach history and leave out a whole cultural group. The picture is incomplete, and perspective gets lost.

This week I had the pleasure of talking with Bernard Cameron. As a fan of history, I was excited to talk to someone who is a history teacher, and to ask him about how his deep knowledge of Gaelic culture and history has influenced the way he teaches youngsters about the past.

The story behind how Bernard became a teacher in Cape Breton is beyond the scope of this blog post. Sufficed to say it involved working in Alberta, four years studying at StFX, traversing the ocean and the hillsides of Skye, crossing paths with a billionaire merchant-knight of the realm and founder of Sol Mòr Ostaig, and teaching in the North West Territories before finally returning to his birthplace of Mabou, Cape Breton. Today Bernard teaches Gaelic core classes and social studies to students between grades 4 and 8. I had to ask him: how does his Gaelic perspective influence how he teaches history?

 “It spills over into it. Partially on purpose and partially not. Your points of reference change when you learn something like a new language.”

It’s hard to make students empathise with history. The countless men and women behind historical events are often relegated to statistics. The Gaelic perspective that Bernard brings to his classes adds fresh color to these historical events and brings the picture into sharper focus. For example, Bernard and I talked about how in he teaches students about World War 2 and the D-Day landings.   

“Gaelic language people left here as soldiers and wound up being in France, Holland and Normandy. And unfortunately a lot of those people were unable come home and pass the Gaelic onto their children.”

And Bernard doesn’t just bring that perspective to the classroom. He brought it to Normandy as well.

“A few years ago I got a chance to go on a trip to Normandy with some different teachers. We had a dinner with the local people who had been children when Canadian forces landed on Juno beach. At dinner I remember everyone was sitting at the table and they were all being really quiet. I said, ‘I think they want us to say grace,’ so our trip leader asked me if I would say it. I said ‘I’d be glad to, but I have one favor and it would be to say grace in Gaelic as well.’ So you have to seize your opportunities. It’s not just about pushing Gaelic onto people, it’s about reminding people that a lot of Gaelic soldiers came ashore and into these communities.”

Bernard seizes those opportunities with his students at Bayview Community School every day. That’s high definition history.

 Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!

Bernard’s favorite word in Gaelic is: teine sionnachain / will-o'-the-wisp

Eureka at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

If you are in Antigonish during Gaelic Awareness Month in May, then be sure to catch the Guest Lecture program at the Antigonish museum where Peter and Carol Anne MacKenzie will be sharing their experience in learning Gaelic here in Nova Scotia and beyond. I sat down with Peter earlier this week. In our conversation Peter expressed the kind of enthusiasm for Gaelic culture which I have heard echoed in everyone who is a part of it—an enthusiasm that comes from a connection with a part of ourselves that is fundamental to our history and identity, but which, for whatever reason, we have been unable to fully engage with.

“I always had a feeling, somewhere deep in me, that there was something about my family that I should know more about.”

Peter’s first opportunity for an in-depth exploration into that feeling came with a community Gaelic class in Antigonish. “My wife was on a cruise with her girlfriends at the time, and I saw an ad in town that asked to ‘come out and learn to speak Gaelic.’ When Carol Anne got home I was so excited to talk to her about it.  My exact words were: ‘I went to the community Gaelic class when you were gone, and I can’t remember ever feeling so immediately positive in knowing that what that guy in front of the class has is something that I want.’” Carol Anne signed up for the classes after that, and the two have been involved ever since.

“Since we became involved with learning the Gaelic we have never met such a group of people who are so approachable. Mairi Parr, Brian MacDonald, Patrick Yancey, Jeffery (Gioridh) MacDonald, and Louis MacKinnon have all gone out of their way to let us know where the opportunities are. They told us about classes in Pictou and Mabou and hooked us up with the Gaelic College where I spent 3 or 4 long weekends. It you show the interest, they circle around you. It’s just a phone call away.

Through a combination of their hard work and dedication to learning Gaelic, and the support of the Gaelic community Peter and Carol Anne spent the month of August studying at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye in 2015.

“That’s where my second eureka moment came,” says Peter. “Sitting over the sound of Sleat, looking toward the Highlands, listening to Gaelic songs playing somewhere in the background and being able to pick out enough of the songs to get the gist—realizing that 3 generations ago my people…that was their language.”

Since their return, both Peter and Carol Anne have continued to study Gaelic, and they hope to be in a position to teach Gaelic classes.

“It is my fervent hope that 3 years from now Carol Anne and I will be in a position to volunteer our time, at no cost, to teach people Gaelic.”

In this blog I have mentioned how Gaelic has never been a huge part of my life. My interest is primarily in the role that culture plays in our development. The more that I speak to people like Peter, the more I realize how little of the culture of my fore-fathers has influenced my life. I am an Ahern, a MacLeod and a Campbell, but my only association with those names comes from the Highland Games and St. Patrick’s Day. For the rest of the time, I am…what? I guess I’m Brendan from Nova Scotia, but what does it mean to be an “Ahern” or a “Campbell”?  

As I spoke with Peter I got to see what it looks like when we discover our deep roots and how sustaining that can be. As Peter said, “Family is important, and I want to get to know all of it. The extended family of all the Gaels.”

Updates on when and where to catch Peter and Carol Anne MacKenzie’s lecture will be posted on our calendar and on Facebook.

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!

Peter’s favorite Gaelic phrase is: Mo chù boidheach / My beautiful dog

Gaelic Sessions Going Strong

Starting on March 11^th and running to March 14^th the Gaelic College will be hosting its March-Break youth session. Colin MacDonald, director of Gaelic language classes at the college spoke to me about his history with the 78 year-old institution. He attended sessions like the up-coming March session when he was ten years old, and he played in the college pipe-band throughout his teens. He has also worked as tour guide for the Gaelic College museum during the summers. He has a long history with the college, and now Colin is positioned to welcome perhaps more than 100 young students, between the ages of 5 and 18, to Gaelic college where they will be immersed in Gaelic culture for three full days.

 The Gaelic College is an institution that provides expert knowledge and teaching on all these different aspects of Gaelic Culture and the students who go there are eager to soak up as much of that culture as they possibly can. Emma Boutilier was one of those students, and this week I spoke with her about her experience at the Gaelic College. 

 “I remember that I was too excited to be nervous. I had done sleep-away camps before. There were 

some people who had never had that experience before and were feeling a little bit nervous, but the Gaelic College is such a comfortable and friendly atmosphere that they didn’t feel that way for long.”

Now a student of English literature at the University of New Brunswick, Emma Boutilier first attended the Gaelic College summer session when she was fifteen. After that she went back twice more, once for the winter session and once again in the summer of 2010.

 “I really loved it. All my classes were either bag-piping or Gaelic language, and I would get to take one other course every time I went. Having the opportunity to learn new tunes and styles was fantastic. We had really great instructors like Mike Campbell. I learned a lot of new tunes, and styles like piobaireachd and stathspey.”

The students are all given the chance to perform what they have learned in a variety show at the end of the session.

The Gaelic College has not usually been open-year round. It opens its doors to students for weeks at a time, like for the up-coming March Session, and for groups that wish to rent out the facilities. However, as Colin MacDonald explained to me, the Gaelic College will soon be living up to its name. Students at Cape Breton University are now able to enroll in a four-week immersion program. 

This program earns the students six credits toward their CBU degrees, but are also transferrable to any university in Nova Scotia. It may not be long before the Gaelic College starts to offer year-round programming to anyone who wishes to take part in the on-going efforts to preserve and perpetuate Gaelic culture in Nova Scotia. 

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!

Colin's favorite word in Gaelic is: Cànan / Language

School and Seanchas

Beth Anne MacEachen grew up in Howie Centre and her grandfather and great grand aunt lived together in North Sydney. Her weekly Sunday visits to their home exposed her to a language that she would hear mixed seamlessly with her native English—“tut tut  mo nàir’”.

Roy and Catherine MacEachen shared photo albums with Beth Anne and they told her the stories behind the old pictures. So much history and language preserved in the memory banks of two people who grew up during a time that is really not so distant, but may still feel like a world away. A visit with our elders may open a window to that world, and often we part the curtains completely unaware that the world which we look upon is also looking back at us.

Beth Anne went on to study Gaelic under Hector MacNeil at Cape Breton University.

"He took me under his wing in a pretty significant way" says Beth Anne, who explained how Hector helped her get into an exchange program to further her studies at Sabhal Mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, as well as driving her to the Gaelic College every day where he had helped Beth Anne get a job.

“He’s one of the main reasons, beside my grandfather and great-grand aunt, that I’m doing what I’m doing right now."

Today, Beth Anne teaches Gaelic Language classes at Citadel High School in down-town Halifax. She has 30 students in her Gaelic language class and there are 100 students currently taking Gaelic Studies. Citadel High School opened in 2007. The school has had a Gaelic grant from the Department of Educaiton (DoE) since it's opening, and in 2007 it was used to help fund a Gaelic club that met every day at lunch time. Melissa Shaw, a teacher at Citadel High School, ran the club with a few students. They would bring in educators and other community members to do language and music work-shops. In 2008 Beth had been working in Halifax for less than a year when she received a phone call asking her if she would want to teach Gaelic Language courses at Citadel High School.

“Of course I was definitely up for that!”

It’s fascinating to consider the ways in which culture influences our development. Formal education is one of many environmental pressures that shape who we are and where we are going. It teaches us how to write, how to add and subtract, and how to drive. More difficult to measure are those variables which we are exposed to in more causal settings. The music that our parents played around the house, or the family trips we would take to our grand parents' houses, or to the beach in the summer-time. How are they shaping us, and how will they inform our decisions further down the road? 

What is happening in schools across Nova Scotia is a synthesis of these two models of education. For Beth Anne MacEachen it was her great grand aunt Catherine and her grandfather Roy who opened the window. Now there are over 100 students at Citadel High School who are looking through the window for the first time.  

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish

Beth Anne's favorite word in Gaelic is Seanchas.

The Past Inside our Present

The lessons of history strike such a resonant chord when the figures of the past are our own family members. Once we learn those lessons our lives may take some unexpected turns.

For example: Kate Howley.

Kate Howley—whose maiden name was Beaton—was from Mabou. She did not learn to speak English until she went to school, where her mother-tongue of Gaelic was banned. For Anne Williams, this fact about her great-grandmother, Kate, was enough to start her on the path to learning more about the world that Kate belonged to.

“When I was a teenager, I remember asking my mother a lot of questions about her side of the family. She told me that her grandmother, was a native Gaelic Speaker, but she wasn’t allowed to speak it on school property. So, that really got me interested. I just wondered why Gaelic became this thing that was frowned upon, and I wanted to find out more about Gaelic being spoken today.”

Anne graduated from Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional high school in Antigonish back in 2008. It was there at school where she first took a class in Gaelic studies. The school did not offer Gaelic Language classes, but her class did teach students a great deal of Gaelic history, and the teacher, Brian MacNeil, would often sprinkle his lessons with Gaelic phrases and words.

“I really enjoyed [the class], and then I discovered that I could study Celtic Studies in university, and it just kind of went on from there.”

It certainly has. During her four years studying Scottish and Irish Gaelic at St.FX Anne received a scholarship to study in Ireland, and after completing her undergrad she hopped across the pond once again to earn her master’s degree in Irish Gaelic from the University of Cambridge.

If Kate Howley could take a stroll through the hallways of today’s high-schools and hear the language of her household being spoken, what would she think? She would probably have a lot of questions about what has changed over the years. After-all, one year after her Great-grand daughter graduated high school, Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional high school became one of many schools in Nova Scotia to offer Gaelic Language classes. And as for Anne’s achievements, I think it’s safe to say that Kate would be immensely proud. 

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish

Anne's favorite word in Gaelic is, gealach / moon.

Learning to Teach

I can’t say for sure whether or not I would have taken Gaelic language courses instead of French in public school. With so much of my family tree filled up with leaves named Ahern, Campbell and MacLeod, it would have been appropriate for me to learn a word or song from the culture that those leaves draw their light from.  Don’t get me wrong! I have certainly benefited from my French bilingual education. I just think it would have been nice to have had at least some choice in the language that I would end up learning.

Ten years after graduating from high school that choice is now widely available! With the popularity of Gaelic-core-classes rising among students and parents, the demand for Gaelic teachers is rising. To meet that demand, St. Francis Xavier Education and Celtic Studies Departments have partnered to provide public schools in Nova Scotia and beyond with qualified Gaelic teachers. Two of those soon-to-be teachers sat down with me earlier this week.   

Chelsea Cameron and Melissa Nicholson took very different paths toward studying, and eventually wanting to teach Gaelic. Melissa talked to me about how Gaelic language, songs, and stories were imprinted on her at a very young age by her grandparents. But, it wouldn’t be until high school when she would take firm steps toward learning the language.

“In 2006 I started in an after-school program with Angus MacLeod in Baddeck called Gàidhlig aig Baile.”

Melissa’s interest in Gaelic culture remained with her during her undergraduate degree at Cape Breton University. She enrolled in a science program, and went to Gaelic classes in the evening. It didn’t take long before she dropped science and earned her BA in Celtic Culture and Gaelic.

Chelsea’s path toward Gaelic culture was sort of indirect as well. It was during the first year of her undergraduate degree at St.FX when she chose Celtic Studies as an elective. That elective course soon became her major.  “Once I took it, I found an identity. I knew it was in my family, but I didn’t realize that people still spoke it today and that there was this whole community behind it. I could connect with the culture and the history…and learn about what my people would have been like.”

The best teachers or professors are those who have a love for the subject that they teach, as well as a love for sharing that subject with others. It’s one thing to love golf, it’s quite another to enjoy spending hours of the day teaching a beginner. During my conversation with Chelsea and Melissa it was plain that they couldn’t wait to share their love of Gaelic language and culture with young students.

“When we finish it won’t really be a matter of replacing teachers in existing programs, but how we can start new Gaelic programs. Creating more interest in schools and have more people exposed to it.”

There are now ten schools in Nova Scotia that are offering Gaelic language classes. That’s a big leap forward from when I graduated in 2006. I don’t know what it’ll look like in 2026, but there is plenty of reason for optimism. 
  

Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish

…..

Chelsea’s favorite word in Gaelic is, langasaid / couch—“It’s always stuck with me”

Melissa’s favorite word in Gaelic is cnap / small pile—“I like finding words that the English Language stole from Gaelic”