Czech language passed from generation to generation at an Illinois school built 100 years ago

The Masaryk School is architecturally undistinguished, a faceless cube set among Cicero’s bungalows, but every brick was laid with loving care by immigrants determined to pass the Czech language on to future generations. A century later, the parents of its students are equally committed.

Some drive their children in from far-flung suburbs such as Aurora and Downers Grove, then kill time during the three hours that classes meet on Saturdays. When I asked a room full of beginning students if they were there by choice or command, hands shot up at the second alternative, accompanied by some giggles and exclamations.

But when the room