Alaska: take a lesson from the Italians

What happens when culture and traditions clash with current events and global economies? In Alaska, families are moving from their traditional homelands to pursue better jobs and more options for their children. The result is budget cuts and schools closing because the families who stay behind don't have enough kids to support the school. When the schools close, those families must decide if they support looking to the future by moving to a town that has a school so their children can have opportunities in today's economy, or hold onto the past by staying behind and preserving their cultural way of life. Either way, something is lost.

The Italians struggled with this same question, but in a different context. As the older population dwindles and the young begin to move into places of economic power, dialects are being lost. To help keep their culture intact, while still allowing the children opportunities within the global arena, Italians now offer at least two types of required language: the regional dialect, and a foreign language - most likely English.

Alaska- take example. If you leave the families to make the choice, you will lose either way, as your future citizens must decide between academic illiteracy, or cultural ignorance. By making traditional culture a part of required education at all Alaskan state schools, you win both ways, and pull the past into the future.

more information, check out the NYT article on Alaska schools here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp