Every day teachers across the world hope to inspire the students in their class. Rarely do they expect to be inspired in the same way.
This year, fifth-grade teacher Andrius Vitkus found this inspiration in his seventh-period class. Often times teachers aren’t able to connect with a student the way Vitkus has with fifth-grader Ariana Vishnevsky. One day, after being left with a “goodbye” in Lithuanian, that connection sparked.
Vitkus himself was raised in a Lithuanian household. As a child, he lived in a pocket of Chicago with a deep Lithuanian influence. He even attended a Lithuanian Saturday school. During that part of his life, before he entered elementary school, all he knew was Lithuanian. He had been connected to the language and culture so strongly that he hadn’t yet begun to learn English.
“When my brothers were born, … [we] moved out to the suburbs, and that’s when we stopped really having a lot of constant Lithuanian,” he said.
At this point, Vitkus had to learn English. As a part of his school and now home life, American culture became a prominent influence. His name had even been shortened by teachers to make it more convenient: Andy.
Now, as an adult and full-time teacher, Vitkus is still finding connections to his Lithuanian roots.
Ariana Vishnevsky is no stranger to learning new languages. In fact, she speaks three. As an American student, she speaks English. However, as a daughter of Ukranian and Lithuanian descent, she speaks both Russian and Lithuanian.
Vishnevsky’s linguistic roots lie heavily in Russian, the language of her home and the language she inherited from the teachings of her father and grandparents. If she’s in trouble, however, things revert to English.
Within the past year, Lithuanian has been among Vishnevsky’s priorities. Giving greetings and farewells in Lithuanian has been just a small reminder of a much larger history on the sides of both her and Vitkus. Learning small phrases such as “Aš tave myliu,” (I love you), has connected Vishnevsky to her family and background.
In a different way, this is what has connected her to Vitkus.
“Every kid wants to have a connection with their teacher. Look at this connection… it was from the beginning,” Vitkus said.
Not only has this connection brought a new vibrance to his classroom, but a new goal to his agenda. He, too, is aimed towards relearning Lithuanian.
Vitkus’s family history is a long and most interesting one — one you can ask him about yourself — but history is just that, history. The light Ariana Vishnevsky has sparked, however, is one that will shine into the future of the lives of Vitkus, herself, and anyone else in need of motivation to stay connected to their roots.