Gaelic in Cape Breton Schools

Believe it or not, there are a number of schools now in Nova Scotia, particularly in Cape Breton, who are offering courses in the Gaelic language.  These courses are part of the schools’ curriculum and contribute greatly to the preservation of Scottish Gaelic in our tiny communities of Cape Breton while opening the door of opportunity to the youth who are so privileged to attend these educational institutions.

In Nova Scotia over the past decade or so, there have been an increasing number of young people who have become quite skilled, if not fluent, in the Gaelic language.  At a time where there are an increasing number of opportunities surrounding language and culture here, this is a fantastic piece of the puzzle! The puzzle of course pertains to the accumulation and development of more Gaelic speakers in the communities in which we live.  It is a large puzzle, but the pieces are most definitely coming together nicely at this point in our history.

Part of this assimilation of cultural elements can be attributed to the infusion of Core Gaelic status in a number of our schools in Nova Scotia.  Some of these are located in the Antigonish area of Nova Scotia.  Additionally, there are schools in Mabou and Iona, Cape Breton.   Core Gaelic status will assist at the ground level in continuing to develop awareness of our authentic Gaelic tradition as well as emphasizing the seriousness and value of Gaelic as a second language option in our rural community schools. 

Picture this, if only a quarter of the students in each of the above mentioned schools were to decide to study Gaelic as a second language from grades four thru twelve, preliminary calculations would indicate an encouraging number of budding young Gaelic learners coming out of our school systems in Nova Scotia each decade.   If that time, only 5 % decided to pursue their education in the Gaelic language further once again, the impact will continue to be incremental and is essential to the process.  Presumably this will continue to increase as government and legislation begins to play a larger role over the next few years.  We didn’t even factor in those students who will make a decision to walk in the Gaelic direction once again as adults.  The Core Gaelic influence will unquestionably go a long way towards the goal of creating more Gaelic speakers in the province of Nova Scotia. The spin-offs and intrinsic value are huge!