Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

"Each language is a unique expression of human creativity."

-- K. David Harrison

A few years ago I was fortunate to meet Mr. K. David Harrison while I was working for the IB Asia Pacific office. David is a linguist, author and activist for the documentation and preservation of endangered languages and affiliated with the National Geographic Society. He co-starred in Ironbound Films' Emmy-nominated 2008 documentary film The Linguists and served as director of research for the non-profit Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. I have followed David's movements throughout the world as he traces endangered languages. My hope is that he reaches the last speakers in time to record and keep some of these languages alive.  The loss of local languages means the loss of cultural systems and diverse intellectual wealth (Hale 1992).  Thus, I have learned from David's work the importance of keeping our mother tongue languages, our local languages alive for future generations.

As an IB school, all teachers at Chatsworth are language teachers.  We either teach a language or teach through a language, all the while demonstrating the need to communicate through language. We appreciate the diversity of language and the importance of using and developing mother tongue languages.  The hallways and classrooms at Chatsworth are filled with the sounds of English, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Spanish, Mandarin and many other languages that allow students to make sense of concepts they are learning.  This week we are celebrating the Chatsworth Language Festival where languages are celebrated in one form or another.  Thank you to all who have organized and participated in these activities, modeling to our students the incredible diversity of language.

Enjoy this week's photos:

Mario Gauci

Head of Primary