Gaelic Medium Education Gains Critical Mass in Nova Scotia - Explosive Growth In Student Enrollment

 "The children, they've been surrounded by the culture for so long. It's inevitable the language is going to come back to play a part. It's almost like it was like the missing link that brings in their spirit, their family, their history, the culture. All of it goes hand in hand with the language" - Mairi Parr

Canada's CBCNews under the headline "Gaelic Core Class Increasingly Popular In Nova Scotia", are reporting on the remarkable explosion of Gaelic Medium education taking hold in a province that once was home to over 100,000 Scots Gaelic speakers.

The Scots Gaelic medium education programs administered by the Strait Regional School District are experiencing phenonomal growth.  The article lauds the role of Gaelic teacher Mairi Parr, who is described as a driving force in the Gaelic renaissance now sweeping through the Provice's traditional Gaelic speaking districts. In a recent article in CelticLife International, Parr's impact on Gaelic medium education was described as follows: " The Gaelic program took a dramatic upswing almost six years ago when an energetic young teacher from Scotland arrived.  Mairi Parr's mother is a native Gaelic speaker from the isle of Sye and she raised her children to speak the language.  Parr studied Gaelic after graduatining school and spent a term at University College, Cape Breton. " 

In  the CBC article, Parr is quoted as follows: "The children, they've been surrounded by the culture for so long. It's inevitable the language is going to come back to play a part. It's almost like it was like the missing link that brings in their spirit, their family, their history, the culture. All of it goes hand in hand with the language". 

Proving that one dedicated person can make a difference, since Parr's work for the Strait Regional School Board began, the number of students enrolled in Gaelic medium classes has jumped 20 times over from 15 to 300 students. These are youngsters who are going to be champions of the Gaelic tongue their entire lives. A critical mass has been reached.  

The significance of what is happening in Nova Scotia, and its long term impact on the preservation and future growth of the Gaelic tongue cannot be underestimated. And the impact will not be confined to Nova Scotia but will extend to the entire Gaelic speaking world. Imagine the electrifying impact that a vibrant growing linguistic community in Nova Scotia will have on efforts to revive and strengthen the Goidelic languages of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. These are young perople who are retuning to the language of their grandparents with a dediction to the restoration of Scots Gaelic in Nova Scotia. 

 In 1850 the Scots Gaelic community of Nova Scotia is estimated by some to have exceeded 100, 000 Gaelic speakers. The malign neglect of the Provincial and Canadian governments failed to give Gaelic the same rights and recognition as that afforded English. It was the de facto policy of assimilation which was lethally effective against the Scottish language. For example, Gaelic was not the official language of instruction in the Cape Breton school system despite the significant presence of the Gaelic speaking community. The result was the steady decline of the language. The efforts of Mairi Parr and the thousands of Nova Scotians dedicated to the restoration of the Gaelic tongue are on their way to right the wrongs of history.

Strait Regional School Board Catchment - Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Provincial Flag of Nova Scotia:

http://www.aec.srsb.ca/sites/default/files/mairi.pdf

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gaelic-core-class-increasingly...

http://www.transceltic.com/blog/gaelic-language-revival-nova-scotia-stre...

http://www.celticlifeintl.com/gaelic-school-too/