Program for
Global Learn Day VIII:
South Pacific

English, Latin, Geek and Seuss - What works for you?

In the '60's and 70's the Catholic Church was roiled by the question whether Mass should be celebrated in Latin or in the vernacular. Ultimately that question was decided so conclusively that it is rare to find a Mass that is now heard exclusively in Latin.

What is not so rare is to hear chilling comments from elderly priests who have doubts about the results caused by the change. What I've heard are questions like these: "When we gave up Latin, what else did we give up?" "Do those who celebrate Mass in English, or Spanish or Portuguese, have the same sense of reverence as those who heard it, decades ago, in Latin?" "Did we gain in audience attendance -- and paid for that gain by losing souls?"

Those are hard questions to which I don't have a clue.

But they lead me to the Roundtable Topic to be conducted during our Global Learn Day stop in the Southern Pacific.

Southern Pacific Roundtable

Here is what that Roundtable is all about --

Let me start with some preparatory remarks which will be very close to that which I shall make when I introduce our South Pacific Panel.

ENGLISH * LATIN * GEEK * SEUSS - Some definitions

In the context of this Roundtable, here are some helpers about the nomenclature of the words "English", "Latin", "Geek" and "Seuss".

"ENGLISH" shall NOT refer to the vernacular language inside the classroom. For the Panelists, "English" shall not mean language - French,Russian, Arabic, Mandarin. Instead, the term "English" shall refer to contemporary events which which affect their lives - and how they filter that which comes to them inside the classroom. How does the "instant stuff" affect their filter? Last night's movie? concert? hot news of the day? sporting event? parental problem? Within the four walls of the classroom, or within the chat space of the virtual, how does "English" affect how they filter that which is under discussion? Are we allowing too much "in"? Not enough?

""LATIN" shall refer to time honored methods used in traditional classrooms which date back to Bologna - or to Cairo. Old fashioned stuff like Sage on the Stage; headmasters and punishment; grueling test and heavy reading; timely appearance and neat dress code; respect for your elders and silence except when asked to answer The Question. What ever happened to: Mind Your Manners, the Master is telling you something you should know! Should there be more - or less? - of this?

GEEK is - almost - self explanatory. We have entered a New Age where technology is as much a part of the classroom as the light bulb. Wiki's and WiFi. Blogs and List servs. Instant Message and Podcasting. Streaming media and MP3. Text chat and email. Powerpoint and open sourceware. Avitars and meta data. Broadband and connectivity. The toolbox has become the size of a circus tent. How does even the most highly motivated teacher know what to pick? And how does she guage the results?

SEUSS - Yes, this is the hot "new" topic of Edutainment. This component will be lead by a very bright, very innovative Kiwi, Annette Stock from Rotorua on the North Island. In her work as a speech therapist Annette is experimenting with the use of Rap music. Having found that "Latin" isn't working, Annette will tell us why the use of Rap will change the outcome. Also, within the Seuss component, there will talk about comics and video clips, doodling and drawing, foul language and fun and games. Gee - what's next - body piercing? tattoo?

Return to the Southern Pacific Panel.

To learn about the format for Global Learn Day, visit our how to page.

If you are interested in Global Learn Day, please write to John Hibbs, hibbs@bfranklin.edu.

Last update:
November 2004

Copyright © 2004 Benjamin Franklin Institute
of Global Education and individual authors. All rights reserved.