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Unit 3: Scots in education
Introduction
The history of the Scots Language within Scottish education has, until relatively recently, been a rather sad story of ignorance, neglect, or downright hostility.
Historic socio-linguistic prejudices have meant that many thousands of youngsters have endured some deeply negative experiences whilst using their home language at school - for the simple reason that the language of their communities was deemed unsuitable for formal or academic purposes.
Recent educational initiatives, however, have sought to redress this in Scottish classrooms. Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority have made significant progress in recent years, raising the profile and the status of Scots. In this unit you will look at the history of Scots within education in Scotland, up to the present day.
Important details to take notes on throughout this unit:
- Early days of universal education in Scotland and the Education Act of 1872
- Prejudice - the language of Burns (permissible on one day a year only)
- The place of Scots language and Scottish Literature in recent and contemporary Scottish curricula
- Contemporary developments within Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Activity 1 
Before commencing your study of this unit, you may wish to jot down some thoughts on any of the four important details we suggest you take notes on throughout this unit.
You could write down what you already know about each/any of these four points, as well as any assumption or question you might have. You will revisit these initial thoughts again when you come to the end of the unit.
3. Introductory handsel
A Scots word and example sentence to learn:
- Kye
- Definition: cows, cattle.
- Example sentence: “Climate change means the parks are weeter than ivver, and the kye hiv tae come in earlier and earlier each year. ”
- English translation: “Climate change means the fields are wetter than ever, and the cattle have to come in earlier and earlier each year.”
Activity 2
Click to hear the sentence above read by a Scots speaker.
You can then make your own recording and play it back to check your pronunciation.
Transcript
Listen
Climate change means the parks are weeter than ivver, and the kye hiv tae come in earlier and earlier each year.
Model
Climate change means the parks are weeter than ivver, and the kye hiv tae come in earlier and earlier each year.
Go to the Dictionary of the Scots Language for a full definition of the word.
Language links
Some writers of Scots, especially in the Northern Isles, prefer the more Nordic ku spelling to the commoner coo for the English ‘cow’. This is another example of Scots not being a language with a common standard and thus multiple spellings for one word.The plural kye, however, is more commonly used throughout Scotland than the alternative coos.
Nordic languages such as Norwegian use this same short ‘oo’ vowel in many words common to Scots: hus/hoose; mus/moose; ute/oot, etc.
Related word:
- Luif
- Definition: The palm, the hand outspread and upturned.
- Example sentence: “The Scots wird luif is ithin the Orcadian poem twartree pages doon…”
- English translation: “The Scots word luif is in the Orcadian poem a few pages down...”
Activity 3
Click to hear the sentence above read by a Scots speaker.
You can then make your own recording and play it back to check your pronunciation.
Transcript
Listen
The Scots wird luif is ithin the Orcadian poem twartree pages doon…
Model
The Scots wird luif is ithin the Orcadian poem twartree pages doon…
Go to the Dictionary of the Scots Language for a full definition of the word
3.1 Early education in Scotland
Scottish Education has a long and illustrious history. Scotland was the first nation to provide free universal education. The establishment of 'a school in every parish' in late Victorian Scotland was one of the great achievements of western civilisation.
It became a model for the rest of the world, and is part of the reason for Scotland's continuing success as a thriving post-industrial nation. More recently, fluctuations up or down the PISA international education assessment scale have made headlines and resulted in a good deal of political point scoring.
But the fact remains that Scotland has an internationally strong education system that is founded on a long tradition and upheld by a dedicated and hardworking body of professionals.
For much of the 140-year history of universal education in Scotland, the Scots language has been completely absent. It may seem bizarre that early educationalists drawing up nineteenth century curricula would deliberately exclude local language from the classroom. In order to understand the situation, we need to consider the outlook of the Victorian educators, the value they placed on languages, and the purposes of the early curriculum.
This Victorian curriculum reflected a point in history when the populations of England, Scotland and Wales were largely occupied in industrial production at home, and colonial trade and enterprise abroad. The Union, and the British Empire were the structures around which life and trade revolved, and English, as the language of the larger, dominant partner, had become the official language of both Union and Empire.
It therefore made sense that the English language should take a prominent position in the new curriculum. Gaelic was associated with the past and with local parochialism, and had been temporarily outlawed following the Jacobite rebellions of the eighteenth century. It was granted no place in the nineteenth century Scottish curriculum; in fact the use of Gaelic in school became punishable by corporal measures.
Whether or not the early educationalists had any awareness of Scots Language we can only guess. Whether they considered it to be a language or a dialect, we do not know. But it was not included in the curriculum during the nineteenth century, while English was taught with a zealous enthusiasm.
Activity 4
To sum up the key points about the status of the three indigenous languages of Scotland in 19th century education, read each phrase below and match it to the language it relates to, according to the information provided in the text above.
a.
Scots language
b.
Gaelic language
c.
English language
The correct answer is c.
a.
Gaelic language
b.
Scots language
c.
English language
The correct answer is a.
a.
Scots language
b.
Gaelic language
c.
English language
The correct answer is b.
a.
Scots language
b.
English language
c.
Gaelic language
The correct answer is c.
a.
Gaelic language
b.
English language
c.
Scots language
The correct answer is c.
a.
Scots language
b.
Gaelic language
c.
English language
The correct answer is a.
a.
Gaelic language
b.
Scots language
c.
English language
The correct answer is a.
3.2 Prejudice - the language of Burns
From the late nineteenth century until well into the 1980s, Scottish teachers worked hard to eliminate Scottish forms of language.
The teachers’ behaviour reflected the views of educational leaders of the time, many of whom favoured the promotion of the ‘The Queen’s English’, or the English of the BBC, at a time when the corporation delivered its entire output through the medium of ‘Received Pronunciation’ - sometimes referred to as the ‘dialect’ of the British aristocracy.
John G. Shearer is remembered as a kindly and well-respected Director of Education at Orkney County Council during the 1950s. He nevertheless made the following controversial and provocative public statement at meeting in Kirkwall during October 1952:
“The schools have been urging the use of formal English for many years, but it is doubtful whether there has been any improvement during the twentieth century. It is equally likely that the language has become debased in that time. Most people dislike interference with their accustomed manner of speaking, and though they learn to speak Standard English in school, they revert to their accustomed idiom outside. No part of our work suffers more from the opposition of outside interests than this.
The use of dialect along with Standard English imposes on our young people the handicap of bilingualism that they habitually use two languages. This is a real impediment to progress. Further, the dialects are not pretty and their literature is small. Therefore, as we now have the assistance of the radio service – the BBC News is usually a standard of modern English pronunciation – we should discard our inborn prejudice in favour of our own dialect and make a serious effort in school to raise the level of spoken English”.
It has often been remarked that prejudice against Scots language originated most often amongst those Scots from the aspirant middle-classes who sought to abandon the linguistic heritage they associated with their past, with rural speech, or with working-class speech.
So, some people in Orkney may have been willing to consider John G. Shearer’s comments, but the poet Christina Costie reacted by writing what became a very well-known protest poem – ‘Speech’ – in defence of indigenous local language (Costie, 1974).
Costie’s poem is a dramatic monologue in the voice of a schoolboy who has been bullied by his teacher for using Orkney words of legitimate Scots and/or Nordic origin.
Activity 5
You will now work in some more detail with a sections of Costie’s well known protest poem ‘Speech’. To start with, you will hear and practise speaking Costie’s poem, then you will analyse aspects of the poem and finally, you will practise acting out the poem rather than just reading it.
Part 1
First of all, listen to the poem, then read it out recording yourself while you are doing so.
DON’T say “Nu”, say “Now.”
And don’t say “Ku”, say “Cow.”
An’ the bairns aal shouted an’ roared wae laughter,
When I said “efter” instead o’ “after.”
Sheu gaed me the klipe ‘cis I said “Liv,”
Instead o’ the palm o’ me haand,
An’ sheu haaled i’ me gansey an’ gaed me a rive,
When I couldno’ understand!...
Then listen to the model again and finally compare your own recording with the model. Feel free to repeat the process a few times until you are happy with your pronunciation of the Scots words.
Transcript
Listen
DON’T say “Nu”, say “Now.”
And don’t say “Ku”, say “Cow.”
An’ the bairns aal shouted an’ roared wae laughter,
When I said “efter” instead o’ “after.”
Sheu gaed me the klipe ‘cis I said “Liv,”
Instead o’ the palm o’ me haand,
An’ sheu haaled i’ me gansey an’ gaed me a rive,
When I couldno’ understand!...
Model
DON’T say “Nu”, say “Now.”
And don’t say “Ku”, say “Cow.”
An’ the bairns aal shouted an’ roared wae laughter,
When I said “efter” instead o’ “after.”
Sheu gaed me the klipe ‘cis I said “Liv,”
Instead o’ the palm o’ me haand,
An’ sheu haaled i’ me gansey an’ gaed me a rive,
When I couldno’ understand!...
Part 4
Now you have taken a closer look at the poem, try to read it out in a way that expresses the drama the poem depicts. Listen to the poem, then read it out recording yourself while you are doing so. Then listen to the model again and finally compare your own recording with the model. Feel free to repeat the process a few times until you are happy with your expression and pronunciation of Scots words.
- Please note: We have asked a speaker of a West Coast Scots dialect to record a dramatized reading of Costie’s poem to provide you with a range of dialects to listen to. The recording in Part 1 was made by a speaker of the Shetland dialect, who produced a version close to the Oracadian used in the poem. Note the differences in pronunciation by both speakers.
Transcript
Listen
DON’T say “Nu”, say “Now.”
And don’t say “Ku”, say “Cow.”
An’ the bairns aal shouted an’ roared wae laughter,
When I said “efter” instead o’ “after.”
Sheu gaed me the klipe ‘cis I said “Liv,”
Instead o’ the palm o’ me haand,
An’ sheu haaled i’ me gansey an’ gaed me a rive,
When I couldno’ understand!...
Model
DON’T say “Nu”, say “Now.”
And don’t say “Ku”, say “Cow.”
An’ the bairns aal shouted an’ roared wae laughter,
When I said “efter” instead o’ “after.”
Sheu gaed me the klipe ‘cis I said “Liv,”
Instead o’ the palm o’ me haand,
An’ sheu haaled i’ me gansey an’ gaed me a rive,
When I couldno’ understand!...
Costie was an Orcadian speaker whose family had been using Orcadian for generations. She was a quiet, unassuming person, who nevertheless gave voice to a strong feeling among Orcadians at the time that their language had real value. Costie had studied Norwegian and Icelandic, and knew the connections between her local language and these Nordic languages.
In the end, the persecuted little boy of her poem declares in almost full Norwegian Ah’ll … cheust ging hjem till Bergen, making the point that this derided home language is considered to be completely legitimate just across the sea in Norway (where language policies have always been much more enlightened).
Scottish literature includes many examples of how Scots language has been driven out of classrooms, and out of the mouths of youngsters. In Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s novel Sunset Song (1932), young Chris Guthrie appreciates the richness of the Scots that is spoken by her family and neighbours, but in the school she becomes the ‘English Chris’.
William MacIlvanney based the famous scene in his novel Docherty (1975) where young Con is belted for saying Ah fell an bumped ma heid in the sheuch, sur on the real experiences of Scots speakers in Ayrshire.
And also in Ayrshire and the West of Scotland more generally, many middle-aged Scots speakers today will remark on the irony of the fact that, while Robert Burns’ Scots poetry was celebrated with recitals and prizes on the poet’s birthday on January 25th, on all other days of the year the use of Scots was punishable by a blow from the tawse, or leather strap; the language of Robert Burns was permissible in school on one day of the year only.
Whether you went to school in Scotland, or in a different country, what memories do you have of how you were taught, what was considered, ‘proper pronunciation’?
Your experience may take place in Scotland, and your memories may be about learning the sort of ‘BBC News pronunciation’ or ‘The Queen’s English’ as mentioned above.
3.3 Scottish curricula: language and literature
University literature curricula in Scotland had been, until relatively recently, almost completely devoid of Scots language.
It was as late as 1971 before the University of Glasgow established the first ever chair in Scottish Literature, and from this point onwards interest in Scottish writing has grown, with all of the leading Scottish universities now delivering courses in Scottish Literature in one form or another.
This movement has taken time to trickle down through teacher-training institutions into classrooms where, finally, and at long last, canonical English literature is beginning to give way to a more inclusive spread of literary texts, and to a representative range of Scottish texts.
Curricular bodies have been decidedly slow and conservative in moving to accept, and eventually to promote, Scottish texts in the classroom. A profession that had itself until recently been educated solely in English literature was also - either through reasons of insecurity or ignorance - reluctant to embrace the teaching and promotion of Scottish literature.
Eventually, however, some restricted (and rather ambiguous) acknowledgement was made of Scots language and Scottish literature within the official guidelines for the Year 5—14 curriculum during the early nineteen nineties. This meant that some promotion of Scottish literature and the ‘dialects’ of Scotland was finally permissible and, to some extent, legitimised in the classroom. Scots language and Scottish literature had gained a small curricular foothold.
The subsequent inclusion of ‘compulsory’ Scottish texts within the ‘Higher Still’ qualifications framework of the late nineties and within the new, contemporary National Qualifications has not been without controversy. Some professionals expressed outrage at being ‘dictated to’ about what they were expected to teach. Others questioned how the term ‘Scottish Text’ could be defined. Some even complained that there was insufficient Scottish writing of the quality required for classroom use.
Nevertheless, we have arrived at a point where all youngsters taking National Five or Higher English in Scottish schools now read and answer on at least one canonical Scottish text, and a new generation of teachers has grown up who have a deeper affinity with and greater empathy for Scottish literature and language. (The sterling efforts of the smaller band of enthusiasts who insisted on teaching Scottish literature, language and history to youngsters during the sixties, seventies and eighties should not, however, be overlooked.)
Most of the specified texts in use today are Scottish texts written in English, so there is a limit to the amount of Scots language that youngsters will encounter through the study of literature. However, Alan Spence’s drama Sailmaker (1988) uses Scots dialogue; the stories of Anne Donovan are written in Glaswegian Scots; Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song utilises a range of Scots vocabulary (within a mostly English narrative); the group of Burns’ poems specified for Higher English are written in rich, braid Scots.
In which ways do you think the inclusion of Scottish (or Scots) texts might enhance or promote young peoples’ learning in Scottish classrooms?
Depending on the answer you gave for the previous question, what more can you say about novels or poets which were taught at your school and the links they have to promoting a sense of national identity?
By 2009, the new Curriculum for Excellence was establishing itself in Scottish schools. Education Scotland’s ‘Principles and Practice’ document for English and Literacy published in the same year went a little further than the previous 5—14 curriculum had gone in its referencing of Scottish culture, language and literature:
“The languages, dialects and literature of Scotland provide a rich resource for children and young people to learn about Scotland’s culture, identity and language … it is expected that practitioners will build upon the diversity of language represented within the communities of Scotland, valuing the languages which children and young people bring to school.”
It is unfortunate that the writers of this document did not go as far as to identify the ‘languages’ of Scotland as English, Scots and Gaelic, or that specific reference to Scottish language and culture were left out of the governing ‘Experiences and Outcomes’ documents of Curriculum for Excellence. The inclusion of the word ‘dialect’ seems a well-meaning addition, but probably muddies the waters somewhat for teachers. ‘Dialect’ suggests a sub-set of language, and for many people the word carries negative connotations.
If Scots can be considered a ‘language’ with parity to English or Gaelic, it is much more likely to be taken seriously; even to refer to it as ‘language’, if not as ‘a language’, helps to raise the status of Scots. ‘The diversity of languages represented within the communities of Scotland’ is also open to ambiguous interpretation; does this refer to Gaelic and Scots, or to Urdu, Cantonese, Polish, or to all of these languages?
But the overall tone of the paragraph and its references to Scottish culture remain positive, and send the clear signal that it is good for Scottish youngsters to learn about Scottish things.
The increased emphasis placed on Scottish culture in the Curriculum for Excellence has begun to filter through into schools, and by April 2015 schools HMIE inspectors (full title “Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education”) were in a position to make the following comments on the place of Scots within the curriculum:
“Across all sectors, staff are increasingly using Scots and Scottish texts to develop children’s and young people’s literacy skills. The next step for many schools is to plan opportunities for children and young people to use Scots language, and Scots and Scottish texts, beyond one-off events such as for St Andrew’s Day or Burns celebrations.
A knowledge and understanding of Scots language and Scottish texts allows children and young people to explore and appreciate Scottish culture. Learning Scots can often improve learners’ engagement in learning and their development of wider literacy skills. Through Scots, learners can explore language in more depth, making connections and comparisons with the linguistic structures and vocabularies of other languages.
Scots as a context for learning can also provide an engaging platform for children and young people to explore language, register and audience. It can encourage reluctant readers and writers to become involved as texts in Scots can capture the imagination and speak to them in a familiar voice.”
So, far from being considered an ‘impediment’, as John G. Shearer put it some sixty years earlier, the idea of having access to different languages or linguistic forms is now being recognised as a strength and an advantage.
A central tenet of the Curriculum for Excellence is that learning should be relevant and personalised; it seems clear that part of the process of ‘personalising’ learning includes learning about Scotland, its languages and its culture.
Activity 6
Compare the above communication from Scottish education inspectors to the quote from John G. Shearer (1952) you read in section 3.2 and is repeated below. Write a few sentences describing the shift in attitudes to Scots between 1952 and 2015, based on your reading of the two extracts.
“The schools have been urging the use of formal English for many years, but it is doubtful whether there has been any improvement during the twentieth century. It is equally likely that the language has become debased in that time. Most people dislike interference with their accustomed manner of speaking, and though they learn to speak Standard English in school, they revert to their accustomed idiom outside. No part of our work suffers more from the opposition of outside interests than this.
The use of dialect along with Standard English imposes on our young people the handicap of bilingualism that they habitually use two languages. This is a real impediment to progress. Further, the dialects are not pretty and their literature is small.
Therefore, as we now have the assistance of the radio service – the BBC News is usually a standard of modern English pronunciation – we should discard our inborn prejudice in favour of our own dialect and make a serious effort in school to raise the level of spoken English.”
Answer
This is a model answer and your answer might be different.
In the speech by Shearer I was very surprised to read him as having said “the handicap of bilingualism” which is such an alien concept to life and education today, as seen in the report by the HMIE inspectors which says, “through Scots, learners can explore language in more depth, making connections and comparisons with the linguistic structures and vocabularies of other languages.” I imagine Shearer would have received quite a harsh response from other Orcadian when he said, “further, the dialects are not pretty and their literature is small.”
If it had been available I’m sure the other Orcadians would have liked to have quoted from the school inspectors who in 2015 said, “it can encourage reluctant readers and writers to become involved as texts in Scots can capture the imagination and speak to them in a familiar voice.” There is 63 years between the two statements, which in terms of history as a whole is obviously not a huge amount of time – but think of how many Scottish girls and boys went to school in between that 63 years!
From that point of view the shift in attitude seems incredibly late and slow to have come.
3.4 Contemporary developments within Education Scotland
During 2014, Education Scotland appointed four ‘Scots Language Coordinators’ to work with Scottish local authorities and other partners to develop capacity in Scots language education. The team of co-ordinators worked over a period of twenty-three months, developing a range of approaches to the promotion of Scots as an educational and motivational classroom tool.
Scots language ties in well with the Scottish Government’s 1+2 Languages Policy for Modern Languages. Although Scots cannot be taught in exactly the same way as the modern European languages are, it nevertheless provides a very useful way into learning about vocabulary, linguistic difference, links with other Nordic or Germanic languages, or attitudes towards language. As such, Scots is increasingly being used in the primary sector as part of the drive to focus more closely on languages.
The coordinators set up ‘Scots Language Ambassadors’, a scheme where Scots language experts and speakers from a range of backgrounds visited schools in order to talk in and about Scots. In-service training was provided for hundreds of professionals in the area of Scots language education.
A Curriculum for Excellence Briefing Paper was published, describing in detail the benefits of using Scots in the classroom. Scots language resources were created and publicised – which can be viewed on Education Scotland’s National Improvement Hub (search for “Scots language”).
At the same time, as these initiatives have been going on, the Scottish Government has launched a historic new Scots Language Policy, with the aims of promoting and preserving Scots. The Scottish Government’s Scots Language Policy applies to bodies like Education Scotland, Creative Scotland, and the National Library of Scotland.
Also in 2015, a residency was created for the first ever ‘Scots Scriever’ (Scots Prose Writer) at the National Library of Scotland; the first writer to hold the position was Hamish MacDonald. The Scriever’s role is to promote Scots, to promote the Scots materials held in the archives of the National Library, and to create new Scots prose.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority has also made moves to recognise Scots formally, developing a new Scots Language Award. This award has been available through centres since 2015, and allows candidates to gain SCQF accreditation for their learning in Scots. The units are ‘History and Development’ of Scots, and ‘Understanding and Communicating’ in Scots.
The existence of an Award in Scots language, provided, accredited and verified by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, is a major step forward for Scots, and has already begun to contribute to improvements in the status of the language. If young people in Scotland are now able to gain official accreditation for their learning in Scots from our national awards body, this surely speaks volumes about changes in attitudes towards Scots.
It is difficult to predict what the future might hold for Scots within Scottish education. Many of the youngsters currently being targeted by the National Improvement Framework or Closing the Gap initiatives will be from Scots speaking families in Scotland’s poorer areas - such is the sociolinguistic division in Scotland. It seems clear that using Scots materials in the classroom will help to engage these youngsters and develop their literacy skills.
And some of Scotland’s more rural areas reported the highest usage of Scots language in the 2011 Census, with upwards of 40% of respondents in certain rural Local Authority areas such as Moray, Aberdeenshire, Orkney or Shetland reporting that they use or understand Scots language. It stands to reason that teachers in these areas especially ought to be capitalising on the enthusiasm that young people and their parents have for the Scots of these communities.
The young people of the twenty first century are subject to a greater range of linguistic influence than ever before. The language of their community or family vies with the language being used by their peers across the world, listenable via the internet. Other media also play a role. And while Gaelic is well represented in the contemporary media, Scots is almost completely absent; so it might be argued that investment in Scots education (and the arts or museums services) can only achieve limited success on its own without a corresponding push in the area of the broadcast media.
Notwithstanding these reservations, it can be said that Scots language has survived into the twenty first century with no official support, and its growing presence in modern Scottish classrooms, and the backing it is now enjoying from the Scottish Government and Education Scotland is cause for both wonder and celebration.
3.5 What I have learned
The final activity of this section is designed to help you review, consolidate and reflect on what you have learned in this unit. You will revisit the key learning points of the unit and the initial thoughts you noted down before commencing your study of it.
Activity 7
Before finishing your work on this unit, please look below at what you wrote in Activity 1, where we asked you to take some notes on what you already knew in relation to the key learning points of the unit.
Compare your notes from before you studied this unit with what you have learned here and add to these notes as you see fit to produce a record of your learning.
Here are the key learning points again for you as a reminder:
- Early days of universal education in Scotland and the Education Act of 1872
- Prejudice - the language of Burns (permissible on one day a year only)
- The place of Scots language and Scottish Literature in recent and contemporary Scottish curricula
- Contemporary developments within Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority
Further research
For details of the Scottish Qualifications Scots Language Awards.
For the full text, discussion and analysis of Christina Costie’s poem ‘Speech’.
Explore the resources on the National Improvement Hub and search for 'Scots language'.
Browse the list of prescribed Scottish texts for current Scottish national qualifications courses.
Now go on to Unit 4: Dialect diversity.
References
Acknowledgements
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:
Course Image: Supplied by Bruce Eunson / Education Scotland
Activity 2 Image: Anja Hall
Activity 3 Image: (c) Genusfotografen (Tomas Gunnarsson) / Wikimedia Sverige, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Section 3.1 image: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Section 3.3 image: Matito. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Text
Extract in Section 3.2 and Activity 6: The Orkney Herald 7 October 1952. Original Publisher Unknown
Poem in Activity 5: 'Speech' by Christina McKay Costie. Used with permission of Nancy Scott.