Arizona Bans Teachers Who Have Foreign Accents...

[DiamondSkin]

Hera....Help Us.....

If they ban teachers with 'Mexican' accents, I propose we ban all teachers with Southern accents....and Brooklyn accents....and Jersey accents....and Irish accents.....

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/30/arizona-teachers/

I guess with my quasi-Jersey accent I can't teach in Arizona!

And what accent is acceptable in Arizona, btw?

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

What do you expect from a state populated mostly by old, white, upper-class retirees who fled the city and now just want to live in prefab retirement villages where everything looks the same.. the cars, the houses, the people....

 

[Adrock-JD]

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

The new state motto is "GET OFF MY LAWN!!!"

 

[Joshua_me]

Yes.

Arizona is one of several states that are about to reach a "tipping point".

That is, within 10 years or so Hispanics will comprise more than 50 percent of the population, making the elderly wealthy white folks the... *gasp*.... minority.

And whitey can't stand it, let me tell you.

They are doing everything possible to insure that the American 1950's never go away. Steeped in denial over the futility.

 

[gsdx]

I guess this car salesman need not apply:

 

[G-Lexington]

>>>The new state motto is "GET OFF MY LAWN!!!"

"...AFTER YOU MOW IT!"

Lex

 

[Piquechampion]

Hey I fucking blame Janet Napolitano for all this mess, I think there should be a law where if some person is elected for political office, they can't just call it quits when something better comes along.

 

[erobert]

The new state motto is "GET OFF MY LAWN!!!"

Banning teachers with Hispanic accents...? They've created a legal quagmire for themselves.

What next? They're going to try to secede from the nation?

 

[gsdx]

What next? They're going to try to succeed from the nation?

I think you meant 'secede'.

 

[erobert]

That's what I meant, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Willie Boy]

HB 2281 would make it illegal for a school district to have any courses or classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity “instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

It also would ban classes that “promote resentment toward a race or class of people.”

Is there anything wrong with this? All they're trying to do is take the focus off ethnic background, making everyone equal and excluding none.

As for wanting people who speak proper English to be teaching English... Well we can't have that, the whole world could come to an end!

 

[Críostóir]

Is there anything wrong with this? All they're trying to do is take the focus off ethnic background, making everyone equal and excluding none.

As for wanting people who speak proper English to be teaching English... Well we can't have that, the whole world could come to an end!

Are you really this naive? They're making it illegal to study ethnic groups other than the dominant one, which no one needs to study in school because it pervades the entire culture.

And do you really not know how they're going to use this "accents" provision? Do you really believe that legislation does what it seems to say it does?

 

[Knucklehead]

Maybe now they may be going too far.In a way ,I could see where they are coming from,since if you're teaching someone English, it helps if you don't have a real thick accent that the student may not be able to understand..

From the article----Today, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Arizona Department of Education “recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English”:

State education officials say the move is intended to ensure that students with limited English have teachers who speak the language flawlessly.


But many schools in the state still have a significant number of teachers who are native Spanish speakers. At one school, state auditors complained that teachers pronounced “words such as violet as ‘biolet,’ think as ‘tink’ and swallow the ending sounds of words, as they sometimes do in Spanish.” The principal at that school acknowledged that teachers “should speak grammatically correct English” but said they shouldn’t be punished for having an accent.------

I agree that to teach English ,you should probably be able to speak it without too heavy of an accent.But, if most of the people you are teaching it to also speak Spanish,then what is the problem?

When I was a kid,we had a few Nuns from Ireland who taught us.Some of them had real thick brogues,and were sometimes a little hard to understand,but we figured it out . One would always say ''taught'' instead of ''thought.'' Christopher Columbus had ''taught'' he had found a passage to India.My Uncle Martin is from Ireland ,and after "Hello Kenny" -I can't understand a fucking word he says.The Nuns were a breeze compared to him..

The point is,leave the teachers alone.Half the population of Arizona speaks Spanish.It would probably be better if they were taught English by someone fluent in both Spanish and English, regardless if their accent betrays their origins.I've been told I have a thick accent,that shouldn't bar me from teaching any subject I earned the credentials to teach..

People can't have it both ways.They can't bitch that immigrants won't speak English ,then turn around and get rid of the people that are teaching it to them..

 

[davy]

...
As for wanting people who speak proper English to be teaching English... Well we can't have that, the whole world could come to an end!

i've never seen bigotry appeasement before.

 

[Willie Boy]

i've never seen bigotry appeasement before.

It isn't bigotry appeasement, its about common sense. Have those with a clear and concise ability to speak the language teach it.

Think about it this way, would you prefer to have someone who has a complete understanding of written English (including grammar) writing the owner's manuals for major electronic items, or would you rather have them written by some Chinese guy who can't even write broken English to be writing the instructions for how to program your DVR? We are talking about the same principle.

Apparently the majority of English speaking jubbers were taught to read and write by those who didn't have a proper understanding of the written word. That would definitely explain the lack of reading comprehension. And now you want to cry and moan and scream bloody murder over the fact that someone is trying to rectify the situation.

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

I love the irony that someone from England can't teach English.

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

It isn't bigotry appeasement, its about common sense. Have those with a clear and concise ability to speak the language teach it.

Think about it this way, would you prefer to have someone who has a complete understanding of written English (including grammar) writing the owner's manuals for major electronic items, or would you rather have them written by some Chinese guy who can't even write broken English to be writing the instructions for how to program your DVR? We are talking about the same principle.

Apparently the majority of English speaking jubbers were taught to read and write by those who didn't have a proper understanding of the written word. That would definitely explain the lack of reading comprehension. And now you want to cry and moan and scream bloody murder over the fact that someone is trying to rectify the situation.

Um.. who says you can't have proper understanding of the English Language and have a foreign accent?

I'll tell you now that all of my friends from England, India, South Africa, Atlantic Canada and Jamaica speak better English that I hear from most Americans but they speak it with an accent.

It's pretty clear that this is just pathetic Xenophobia from white people terrified of losing their place on the ladder.

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

As for wanting people who speak proper English to be teaching English... Well we can't have that, the whole world could come to an end!

I would submit that Queen Elizabeth and Desmond Tutu both speak impeccable English. but they have foreign accents. Would you allow them to teach english?

 

[Willie Boy]

They are not just talking about an accent, here is the text in question:

Today, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Arizona Department of Education “recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English”

They are talking about heavy accents (you know, when the words are barely understandable to be English) and those can not speak clear sentences not being allowed to teach English to those who are learning English as a second (or third, fourth, etc... ) language. The powers that be are trying to give them every chance to learn how to speak clear English with the least amount of trouble.

You're right! Trying to give a better chance to those who are struggling to learn English is EVIL! We can't have that, it would be better if they continued to struggle and ultimately failed and were forced into menial labor when they grew up and had to turn to a life of crime to provide for their families. Yes that is a much better situation.