This Thanksgiving, I give thanks for all my colleagues who put students first. Since I’m in the world languages department, I thought I’d say thank you in different languages: Arigato. Merci. Grazie. Danke. Tak. Asante. Xiexie. Obrigado. Efcharistó. Spasibo. Shukraan. Salamat po. Dziekuje. Esekkür ederi. Mahalo. Gracias.
Did you know? There are close to seven thousand languages spoken in the world today. Each language has its own sounds, its own kind of music, unique history and development. Each language has a complex structure. Languages change over time. It takes hundreds and hundreds of hours to become fluent in a language, to be able to communicate smoothly and with ease. Languages are “living” as long as they have a community of speakers. Without a community, the language dies.
As different as French, Russian, Choctaw, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog languages are, they have much in common. Every language needs to talk about family, home, community, health, food, nature, art, emotions, ethics, etc. One particular aspect of language deals with expressions of courtesy. You find that “please” and “thank you” are more than words of politeness, but also recognition that people need each other. Please (I need help). Thank you (for helping me).
Our students here at Carson High are a lot like languages. We know that each student has his/her own voice, music, history and development. Each is a complex combination of challenges and strengths. Students change over time. Remember when that senior was a freshman? It takes a lot of time and effort to know them and be able to communicate with them. They need to be part of the community here at Carson to flourish.
Our students talk about family, home, school, friends, food, etc. They discuss what’s fair or not, and, boy, do they have emotions. As for those expressions of courtesy, please and thank you, they have a special meaning in our classrooms. Everyday, as teachers, we hear our students say, “Please come here. I need your help.” Of course, we go to them and we offer help. The best thing we can hear in return is “Thank you.” (You helped me. Now I can do it on my own,)
I give thanks for all you do for students every day. I thank you for inspiring me to be a better teacher.
Arigato. Merci. Grazie. Danke. Tak. Asante. Xiexie. Obrigado. Efcharistó. Spasibo. Shukraan. Salamat po. Dziekuje. Esekkür ederi. Mahalo. Gracias.
In any language, you are Carson.
0 Response to "Thank you. Grazie. Danke. Merci. Gracias."
Post a Comment