Letter

CO-1516 Daley, Mary Elysabeth. [Carta Circular] 1952 June 20, North Syracuse, NY [para] Candido Portinari, [s.l.]. 2 p. [inglês][datilografado] Dear Señor Portinari This year a new type foreign language program has been started at the North Syracuse High School. Pupils in the 7th grade study Latin and French, in the 8th grade, they study Spanish. These little culture courses last only 10 weeks. We try to give the children some idea of the contributions of French, Latin and Hispanic vultures on our own American way of life. The spoken language is also introduced. North Syracuse is one of the fastest growing communities in the country and as a result we have a huge school population. This year we were forced to go on double sessions. (Senior High from 8:00 to 12:00p.m.; Junior High from 1:00p.m. to 5:00p.m.) Many of the language courses are held as late as 4:00 in the afternoon. In spite of crowded conditions and the late hour, the program has been most successful and the pupils seem most enthusiastic about continuing study of a foreign tongue in High School. The big handicap this year has been the lack of a suitable textbook. We have used the Staver civilization booklets (Oxford Publishing Co) which are way out of date and the Juan y Maria (Panamerican Series) published by the Steck Co. of Austin Texas. At present my colleague, Mrs. Bethel Graves, 7th grade language arts teacher, and I, are writing a series of 3 little text books which will have the linguistic and civilization material combined to form are complete culture course. Since I am writing the Spanish text, I should be very grateful to you for your help in the following matter. The first unit is entitled “Evidences of Hispanic Culture in Our Own Country” e.g. (Place names (San Francisco; San Antonio, etc.; Traditions (cowboys); Exploration and Settlement of our country; Art (Music; Dancing; Literature; Theatre; Radio-TV; Movies atc.); Fashions, etc. In the first unit, I want the children to realize how may of our great artists are of Spanish or Portuguese descent and how much theses people have contributed to our enjoyment of life. In brief, I want to try to destroy any ethnocentric ideas so frequent amonh 7th and 8th graders – the idea that their culture is the best of all because they have all the latest mechanical gadgets in their homes. In an attempt to make them better appreciate the contributions of Spanish and Portuguese people, I should like you to write one or two short paragraphs in letter form telling me the following: A. City and Country where you born B. Date of birth C. Your type of work (Radio, Music, Literature, Movies, etc) D. In what way has your Spanish or Portuguese background or heritage made you the great artist that you are E. Any little sidelight that might interest 8th graders If you happen to have a photograph (glossy print suitable for publication) it would be very much appreciated. The letters that you write will be published as such in the book. We want to make sure that we have your signature! I feel that this approach would be more interesting to the children than a list of famous artists. In this way the children will feel much closer to the artist and will enjoy reading the book ever so much more. In a sense, I hate to ask you to take the time and trouble to do this for you are so very busy. Yet it would mean a great deal to the students and to me, if you could wrote such a letter as I have just stated. Even one short paragraph would be excellent. I want to finish the book before Nov 10th if possible, so that mimeographed copies of the book can be made for trial use next fall and then the revised text will be sent on the publishing company. An early reply would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter. Very sincerely yours, Mary Elizabeth Daley Chr. Of Spanish and French Dept. 2