Language = Mind + Heart

I’m often asked by students and adults about how to best learn a foreign language. Frankly, at the beginning, there are as many ways as there are individuals. One of my favorite sayings in Spanish is “cada persona es un mundo” (each person is their own world).  It’s easy to find plenty of books, computer programs, etc. that tempt us to invest our money in a guaranteed, speedy approach to learning a language. “Chinese in thirty days!” or “How an Iowa farm boy learned Italian to impress an Italian model” were the titles of advertisements I saw in a recent in-flight magazine. Well, alright…but, huh?! I’m sure after thirty days you’ll know more Chinese or Italian than when you started, but what happens next? In fact, most language learning materials are dedicated to helping people just get their feet wet in the language. It’s the idyllic honeymoon period, when the learning curve is steep and you have everyone convinced that you’ll be fluent in no time.

                                                                                                        
Then hits the reality of the intermediate stage, a challenging period that appears to be interminable. Doubt about whether you will ever improve begins to gnaw at you, tempting you to rationalize your incapacity to learn a foreign language.  It’s during this broad, amorphous phase where the path to language learning takes a two-fold approach: the mind and the heart. No longer children, we tend to find explanations for patterns in a language helpful while learning, hence the mind. The mature mind craves a logical recipe, vocabulary lists, word-order rules, making sense of stuff and figuring things out in general. Left-brains thrive on this aspect of language, devouring grammar and verb conjugations at every opportunity. But is this really sufficient to prevent boredom/exhaustion and to sustain language learning over the long haul? And what keeps us from forgetting everything after a few months? Learning a foreign language is a long, winding road, a jigsaw puzzle that takes considerable dedication and effort to assemble before we start making the associations and begin to see the beautiful whole develop.

                                                                                                                                                                      
At this point, you’re probably wondering if my intention is to convince you to give up before starting. Actually, the water that will sustain you during your linguistic trek comes from the heart aspect of language learning. As passionate, carbon-based life forms, we need motivation, inspiration, and joy to maintain such lengthy devotion.  Connections of a right-brained nature to the language will keep you churning along without checking your watch, and you’ll lose yourself in the humanity that birthed the miracle of language in the first place. After all, the reason we go to such trouble sustaining communication is to share and connect with other humans. Therefore, find appealing links with the culture. Seek friendships with people from that culture. Travel to the country and/or live with a family while studying abroad. Try new restaurants, or even better, prepare food from that culture. Surround yourself with the music, watch movies, explore the history, poetry, art, etc.  Without even realizing it, you’re feeding your soul by embracing aspects of a different, unique world-view. Now that both your mind and heart are satisfied, you’re truly ready to embark on an adventure of discovery and wonder. Buena suerte!

If you’re going to change the world, it will probably happen by the time you turn 17.

In a recent chapel talk to the students, I shared with them the reasons that I got into this profession of education in the first place.  I conveyed to them many of the factors that led me down this road.  But the core reason, when it comes right down to it, is that I believe passionately that if you’re going to change the world, it will probably happen by the time you turn 17.  

By changing the world, I do not mean necessarily becoming a famous general, business tycoon, or politician.  By changing the world, I mean choosing a life of purpose where day-in and day-out you contribute something to making the world a better place – be it large or small.  The first question you have to ask, therefore, is how can you make everything you have learned at Webb, educationally and socially, work for you?

When I was a young child growing up in San Diego in the late 60’s/early 70’s, my mother taught a class in junior high school in a little town south of San Diego – less than a quarter mile north of the U.S. Mexico boarder.  Basically, it was a large class of Spanish-speaking students who were attempting to cross the bridge from Spanish-speaking classes to a traditional English-speaking high school curriculum.  This eighth grade program was a sort of do-or-die scenario for many of the students.  If they survived it and thrived, chances are they would be successful in high school, and continue on to junior college, or maybe even traditional four-year college.  If they didn’t, chances are they would go downhill from there, most probably never graduating from high school.  

Many of the students in the program were actually illegal aliens – students who would literally get up at 3:00 a.m., and sneak across the border so that they could attend classes in the U.S. that day.  They would then sneak back across the border that night, or stay at a friend’s home in the U.S.   

Bear in mind, this was well before the hot-button political issues surrounding immigration.  The U.S. had a pretty casual position on the topic, so much so that, periodically, the principal of the school would assemble the teachers, and inform them that he had been tipped off that the Federal Marshals would be paying the school a visit to do what they termed an illegal alien sweep.  The teachers, including my mom, would then prepare packets for these students to take back home to Mexico for up to 3 weeks, until the coast was clear.  

As a child, I remember being mesmerized by her stories of these kids.  I was dumbfounded – why would students go so far out of their way to go to school?  I only did it because I had to, because my parents made me; or so I thought.  

Fast forward now 35 years.  Several years ago, my mom and dad were on a bus going to a San Diego Charger football game.  A man approached my mom and asked “are you Mrs. Stockdale?” Yes my mom said, thinking that he had recognized my dad and just wanted to say hello.  You probably don’t recognize me, I was in your Southwest 8th grade class.  This person was one of those who had to sneak across the border every morning to go to school.  As it turns out, he is now an American citizen and after graduating from college, went on to receive an advanced degree.  He is now a professor of English Literature at a university in San Diego.  He went on to inform my mom that his best friend from this now acclaimed 8th grade class, who was also once a Tijuana citizen, is also now an American and, after graduating from college, now works in the San Diego Sheriff’s department.  
This story is important to me for two reasons.  First, I am incredibly proud of my mother and her spirit of helping everyone around her become a better person.  

Second, it reinforces beautifully why I am so passionate about working with teenagers – if you want to make a real difference in the world someday, the life-changing experiences when you are young will set the stage forever.  Those kids from Tijuana had an insatiable appetite to learn and to be educated.  They were young and daring in one way, but very wise in another and their actions allowed them to make better lives for themselves and eventually to make a real difference in the world.  All they needed was a teacher who believed in them, and who inspired them to pursue their dreams.   

When hiring teachers at Webb, I certainly look at their skill sets, their educational backgrounds, and their experiences as educational leaders.  But more importantly, I look for people who truly know and understand the importance of this work – that we are in the business of changing students’ lives by inspiring them to make our world a better place.  How privileged I feel to be at a school with such a clear and uncompromising focus on educating honorable leaders who are destined to make the world a better place.

This past weekend (Jan. 30^th) the Webb community celebrated International Night 2010. Traditionally, the evening includes a progressive dinner, culture show, and dance.  Since its inception six years ago, the event has evolved into the largest student-organized event at Webb. Last year, the attendance grew so big that the Hooper Student Center was no longer adequate.  Instead, the event was moved to the Perry Gymnasium, which provided a large enough space to accommodate over 350 people, 5 “restaurants” and a performance area. 

The whole event capitalizes on the international composition of Webb’s student body. For the past three months, student organizers interviewed students with a heritage from another country or who have lived in other parts of the world. The planners created five “restaurants” based upon their research: Nigerian, Sri Lankan, Armenian, Indonesian and Latino. Each restaurant was decorated to fit the cultural theme and featured a sampling of authentic foods. For example, the Nigerian restaurant was decorated with items that were purchased in Nigeria when one of our students came back from visiting relatives. The Sri Lankan restaurant included on-the-spot Hoppers (a traditional food). Many students, faculty and staff even dressed in traditional costumes, creating a truly international atmosphere.

The distinguishing feature of this year’s event was the student culture show with over 100 participants. Unlike years past, the show contained acts entirely choreographed and performed by students. The acts included:

• Chinese peacock dance
• Instrumental acts including traditional Chinese instruments (Guzheng)
• Traditional Nigerian dance
• Korean Fan Dance
• Vocal duet of “Shan Hu Hai”
• Hawaiian Hula (both traditional and contemporary)
• Chinese Sword Dance
• Salsa and Cha Cha
• Latin song with instrumental accompaniment
• Israeli Dance
• Indian Dances (traditional, Bhangra, and Bollywood-style)

I would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of this event, especially the event chairs, Emily Stewart ’11 and Elias Bashoura ‘10. It couldn’t have happened without the involvement of the whole community; but the creativity, organization, leadership, and passion of the students were the driving force behind the event. Thanks to them, people are already looking forward to International Night 2011...