A tribute to Peter Wheeldon
It is difficult to find words which adequately reflect the shock and sadness I experienced on hearing of the untimely death of Peter Wheeldon at the end of April. In part this is due to the fact that I was due to meet up with him the next time he was through in Glasgow fulfilling his duties as principal examiner for Urdu, so that we could discuss his contribution to the 2007 SALT conference. I had asked Peter to talk about the negotiations involved in adding a new language to SQA’s roster, with a view to considering how this might affect the other new languages which are taking root in Scotland . He had responded enthusiastically, as I had expected, because above all things he was passionate about language and languages, particularly those spoken within communities whose home language is not English.
In many respects, this planned re-acquaintance encapsulates his life. Language advisers of a bygone era tend to lumber off gratefully into retirement. Not Peter. He decided to immerse himself in Urdu, in between devoting himself to developing his skills as a flautist, working on his water-colours (no mean achievement when you are colour-blind…), and a whole host of other activities (local Rotary Club, golfing, programme writer for Curry RFC and who knows what else). We occasionally met up while sharing duties on ALL’s Community Languages Panel, and it was a matter of mutual satisfaction that he was chosen to plan for the introduction of Urdu as a standard-grade language (not bad, considering he had only started learning the language in later life).
I first came into contact with Peter back in the late 1970s when east and west Scotland were ploughing their independent furrows to rip up the field of grammar/translation teaching with a view to planting something a bit more in line with pupils’ expectations and abilities. Lothian had this thing called GLAFLL (graded levels of achievement in foreign language learning) whilst Strathclyde had decided to flesh out the bare bones of Éclair. (Younger members of SALT should ask their grandparents what all this implied). That this would eventually lead to adoption of a syllabus based on functions and notions rather than verb endings, and ultimately the standard-grade syllabus, was the result of hard work by talented exponents within the teaching profession, encouraged by increasingly enlightened advisers and university lecturers. In the middle of all this was Peter, pushing, conspiring and, when necessary, tugging at the reins of innovation. He was not alone, of course, but it was his ability to bridge the gap between the theorists (and he was massively well read on linguistics) and the practitioners that underpinned the esteem of his colleagues. He was never happier than when he could return to his roots as an inspiring teacher by standing in front of a class and helping them deduce what made the language tick.
When he eventually became adviser in Lothian, he headed up a team of similarly inspired young teachers to carry on his good work. Administration was not Peter’s preferred area of responsibility and his initiatives were not always adequately rewarded. He could be a sharp critic of national assessment developments, which makes SQA’s eagerness to embrace him latterly a piece of rich irony. Typically, the Lothian take on primary foreign language learning (in the days when regions had their own pilot versions) was different, to put it mildly. That is all history, as was Peter’s support for language learning to become a compulsory part of education.
I wish I had met up with him more often. Social occasions were a joy, whether in a bar or at his home. He was witty, sharp, friendly, open to argument (if only to destroy it comprehensively, where merited, without damaging one’s ego). As one member of SALT executive has put it to me: he was a lovely man.
His funeral service was attended by many, many people from many, many agencies and institutions – all friends, all admirers. His wife Anne put together a series of contributions and musical interludes that perfectly summed up the huge scale of his intellect and interests. Our sympathies go out to her, his own immediate family, and the children united in grief.
The world is a poorer place without him.
John Fergusson (formerly adviser in Glasgow )
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