NMH Student Masters Russian, To Learn Dakota

NMH Student Masters Russian,
to Learn Dakota

MOUNT HERMON, MA—When Echo, MN, resident Frank Redner had to choose which language to pursue to fulfill the language requirement at Northfield Mount Hermon School, where he’s a junior, he used the process of elimination: Spanish was too popular; French pronunciation seemed too difficult; Chinese characters didn’t appeal to him; and Latin was the language you “should” take for college entrance.

“Russian was different—that’s why I chose it,” he says.

Apparently he made the right choice, for his two years of Russian study have garnered him special honors. In addition to consecutive gold medal performances at the annual New England Regional Olympiada of Spoken Russian, Frank was recently named a Russian Scholar Laureate for 2007 by the American Council of Teachers of Russian.

“I nominated Frank because I consider him the most dedicated and hard-working student of Russian at the school,” says Russian teacher Elena Michelson. “He would always go the extra mile, whether it was analyzing, practicing, or memorizing.”

Michelson is proud that many of her students have completed four levels of Russian, some in two years; Frank plans to complete Russian III and IV before graduation. He’s enjoyed diving into Russian culture, particularly the unusual animation used in Russian cartoons. His passion for language has inspired another undertaking, one closer to home. Next summer, he’ll learn the Dakota language with the help of his 80-year-old grandfather, one of the remaining five or six people in the United States who speaks Dakota fluently.

According to Frank’s mother, Helen Blue-Redner, he is an official member of the Sioux community and grew up hearing Presbyterian hymns sung in Dakota. Because Dakota is not written down, the oral tradition becomes a key to survival of the culture. Frank relishes the opportunity to learn it. Meanwhile he’s planning to visit Russia over spring break with a group of NMH students led by Michelson, who says of her Slavic scholar, “It’s because of students like Frank that I’m putting this trip together.”

Contact: Kate Snyder, 413-498-3357 or ksnyder@nmhschool.org.

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