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FROM GREEK SCHOOL TO GREEK‘S COOL HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN ONTARIO AND THE ARISTOTELES CREDIT PROGRAM: USING WEBLOGS FOR TEACHING THE GREEK LANGUAGE IN CANADA by Themistoklis Aravossitas A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Themistoklis Aravossitas 2010 FROM GREEK SCHOOL TO GREEK’S COOL HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN ONTARIO AND THE ARISTOTELES CREDIT PROGRAM: USING WEBLOGS FOR TEACHING THE GREEK LANGUAGE IN CANADA Master of Arts, 2010 Themistoklis Aravossitas Graduate Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning University of Toronto Abstract Heritage Language Education is considered the cornerstone of Canada‘s multiculturalism policy. In Ontario, the mission to preserve the cultural capital of the various ethnic communities is carried out primarily by non-profit organizations and groups with limited official support. My thesis is the autobiographical inquiry of an internationally educated teacher who is involved in a Greek language credit program in Toronto. My commitment to understanding the needs of the new generation of learners guided me through a series of professional development initiatives and the creation of an educational blog which is currently used by students, parents and teachers of the Aristoteles Credit School. By presenting my experiences as I navigated the multidimensionality of HLE in Ontario, I hope to offer a case of a bottom-up reform attempt which is based on transformative pedagogy and brings heritage language education to the epicentre of community activity and educational change in the 21st century. ii Acknowledgements "I owe to my parents my life and to my teacher my well-being (good life.)" These great words of Alexander the Great (Wood, 1998) encapsulate the role of teacher and education and provide me with the opportunity to begin this writing adventure by acknowledging those who have played pivotal roles in my life. My teachers may have not been as glorious as Aristotle, but the name of Aristotle is connected to my research because it is the name of the school where I work. The Aristoteles School is not in Greece, the place where I was born and educated, but in Canada, the place where I chose to emigrate in search of my own Ithaca (Fagles R. 1996). I owe my life to my parents, two people who were unlucky, as they did not have the same opportunities that I enjoyed, but who had the wisdom and the willingness to provide them for me. My mother and my father did not even graduate from elementary school—given the harsh conditions brought to Greece by the Second World War, the years when they were supposed to be educated. Nevertheless, before I even started school, when I was only five years old, they sent me to learn English and thus provided me with the foundation for this life journey that brought me here today. My parents gave me both life and a good life because of the choices they made for me when I did not have the physical and mental maturity to make decisions on my own; they cultivated my land so that I could live better than they did. Throughout the course of this paper, I refer to parents as key partners of teachers in the educational field as, in my opinion, those two factors working closely together can achieve much more than even the most advanced education systems, programs, facilities, infrastructure and policies. Indeed, since my focus is heritage languages, in which the components of identity and iii tradition are instrumental, it is impossible to project success in schooling and teaching without the active support of interested parents. Another person responsible for my ―good life‖ is my teacher of my last three years of elementary school in Greece, Elias Papanastasiou. Gifted with the talent of creating and telling wonderful stories, he was a great teacher. When he spoke, I loved to listen to him so much that I gave him my full attention. I didn't want to miss a single word of his stories. My concentration on his narratives proved to be of enormous benefit to me. Thanks to this dynamic teacher, I realized that our lives are full of stories, and I learned how to enjoy and to analyze them. I also learned that if you enjoy stories (as the narrator or the listener), then you have a serious advantage if you choose to become a teacher. Many others have contributed so far to my well-being and it is impossible to list them all here but I will refer to the most recent ones. Momoye Sugiman was my ESL teacher when I was refreshing my English skills before taking proficiency exams to receive certification of my teaching status in Canada. She was the one who made me feel welcome in the Canadian education scene, encouraging and guiding me to give continuity to my studies and pursue the Canadian dream. The people whom I met at OISE—professors, support staff and colleagues—are those who have been contributing to my well-being in this present turn of my life. I am particularly thankful to Pericles Trifonas, my academic advisor, and Jim Cummins, a member of my thesis committee and a source of inspiration. They have been mentoring, advising and reinforcing me at every opportunity. iv My friend Betty Skoutakis supported me enormously and made me realize that getting started is more than half a job accomplished. Magda Sigalas, my colleague and friend, helped me out in all phases of my professional adjustment in the Heritage Language reality in Canada. She played an active role in initiatives to improve our school, such as the development of an educational blog which is at the core of this study. Finally, my wife Daphne and our two children Andreas and Matoula are my life partners. Their love is an everlasting and precious source of empowerment. I thank them all. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Prolegomena ............................................................................................................................ 1 Situating Myself as a Researcher ............................................................................................ 3 Identification of the Problem ................................................................................................... 5 Purpose and Significance of the Study .................................................................................... 7 Organization of the Thesis-Research Questions...................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Method: Narrative Inquiry .......................................................................................... 13 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 13 Selecting a Method and the Importance of Experience in Education ................................... 14 Gathering Experiences as Research Material ........................................................................ 17 Education and Narration ........................................................................................................ 19 Narrative Inquiry and Analysis ............................................................................................. 20 My Narrative Navigation ....................................................................................................... 22 Limitations of the Study and Ethical Considerations ............................................................ 23 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 3: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 27 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 27 PART A: Greek Presence in Canada: Educating the Third Generation ................................ 28 The journey. ...................................................................................................................... 28 Political participation and organization. ........................................................................... 30 Toronto‘s Greek Community ................................................................................................ 33 Greektown. ........................................................................................................................ 34 The missing link. ............................................................................................................... 36 Student profiles. ................................................................................................................ 37 The program limitations. ................................................................................................... 40 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 42 Part B: Heritage Languages in Ontario: Rhetoric,
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