Last week I finished another writing residency. When I walked into the school the first time a few weeks ago, I immediately felt a sense of community.
Students are invited to share and participate in cultural traditions. They attend dedicated Cree classes and are encouraged to practice recently learned words during morning broadcast. Also on broadcast: the teaching of sign language. Everyone is learning sign language to communicate with a student with a hearing impairment.
Noam Chomsky once said, “A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.”
Language can be the instrument by which community is strengthened and individuals are valued: no matter who you are, no matter your role. And when we find ourselves surrounded by community, we are all stronger.