To some Burns is a networking opportunity. At least Burns Suppers
at schools are less about contacts and more about culture. The
ocassions demand careful planning and Internet-working, not networking,
could be part of the annual preparations.
'Search engine' is internet jargon for electronic index. These
tools make it possible to find resources and Altavista
is one of the best. When I typed in "Robert Burns"
- with capitals and in inverted commas so that it was recognised
as a name - Altavista trawled through Web sites all over the world.
In a matter of seconds it returned a list of the relevant pages.
There were 2000 references.
Pupils involved in the organisation of the annual Burns Supper
should read the information given at the official Scottish
Tourist Board Web site. There's a very good page about the
national bard. Web addresses end with the files in which the page
is stored, listed and separated by slashes. You can go straight
to the Burns Supper page by entering http://www.holiday.scotland.net/guide/p_info/faq_supper.htm
.
This type of researching is ideal for "reading for information"
in 5 - 14 English. The page, contributed by the Burns Federation,
explains what speeches should be included and the tone and length
appropriate for each. The words of The Selkirk Grace and
To a Haggis are given and a suggested menu - including,
of course, haggis - is also listed. Concern is expressed that
guests should sing "Syne" and not "Zyne" and
apparently it1s also wrong to include "for the sake of".
Now you know.
The page answers the questions which anyone organising a Burns
supper might ask. In fact pages which include the abbreviation
FAQ always give answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Standard grade candidates writing about the life and times of
Rabbie
Burns can find out details and see pictures of the poet on
the Web. He was, it's suggested, a private in the Royal Dumfries
Volunteers, the Dad1s Army of its day. Burns as the young
Private Pike is a lesser known image. There's a wide choice of
photographs of people and places but, as always with images, these
can take a while to download. If you want the information without
the pictures, turn off the automatic loading of images. It's in
the Options menu.
Appreciation of Burns music is also well supported on the Web.
The
Scottish Music Information Centre has a bicentenary guide
to his songs, including a list of the scores held in the reference
library and a detailed discography. Music departments studying
Scottish music will find this site of great value.
Eighteenth century people, poems and songs investigated through
twentieth century technology, with relevance for twenty-first
century assessment in the guise of Higher Still .
And it1s not just the Web. Using Altavista
to search newsgroups reveals 164 messages about Burns currently
posted on the noticeboards of various online discussion groups.
One honest soul has asked the question "Who is Burns?"
not as an existential exercise but in the hope of a helpful reply.
He knows that Burns was Scottish but wants to know what contribution
he made to history. Significantly there is ten times more information
about William Wallace than about Robert Burns on the Internet,
no recent movies to enhance the image, yet.
The seeker of knowledge has been rewarded with a detailed reply
giving biographical and literary details as well as the useful
hint that a hardback book published in 1905, The Complete illustrated
Poems, Songs and Ballads of Robert Burns, is currently available
at bargain book shops for £5. He is also warned about "Syne"
not "Zyne". Perhaps someone could write a song or a
poem about this, perhaps entitled It's Syne with an S, not
Zyne with a Z. Both message and answer can be read at the
Celtic music newsgroup.
Any students preparing a CSYS dissertation about Burns
could add their own questions and take part in the discussions
about the poet's works. Several American universities seem to
take a great interest in the achievements of Burns and answers
would be sure to follow.
The University of
North Carolina even has files which you can download or copy
to your own computer, including audio recordings of some of the
poems. Students can hear To a Mouse. being read by a wee
Scottish girl who sounds as if she's a participant in a primary
school Burns competition. She says it with feeling and pupils
could listen to grasp the tone, listening in order to respond
to texts. The opportunity to perform on the school Web page, with
a world wide audience, is a now a real possibility and fifteen
minutes of global fame could well prove a motivating factor in
talk assessments.
UNC has no doubt made these authentic Scottish recordings
available to ehance understanding of the poems but I1m not sure
what audiences unfamiliar with the Scots tongue will envisage
when they hear about a "Wee, sleekit, cow1rin, tim1rous beastie".
(... the best laid schemes o1 mice an1 men?)
Information about teaching Scots can be found at the Scottish
CCC where there are details about The Kist , an excellent
resource pack which inludes poetry, prose and drama activities
as well as audio recordings.
For real enthusiasts some newsgroups also have details about Burns
Suppers in Virginia and San Diego. The Virginian one sounds a
good deal at $59, including an overnight stay. Unfortunately I
don1t think the flight's included.
