Arizona Cracking Down on Teachers with Accents

[T-Rexx]

The Arizona Department of Education has announced it will be sending evaluators to Arizona schools to assess the grammatical and auditory tonal correctness of the speech of Arizona teachers. Teachers who are found to manifest "heavy accents" will be "temporarily reassigned" to unspecified positions. Teachers "who are not fluent in English" or "who make grammatical errors while speaking" will be similarly reassigned.

Presumably, the state is trying to keep George W. Bush from ever becoming a teacher in Arizona.



http://www.statesman.com/blogs/cont...cking_down_on.html?cxntfid=blogs_somos_austin

 

[JB3]

The Arizona Department of Education has announced it will be sending evaluators to Arizona schools to assess the grammatical and auditory tonal correctness of the speech of Arizona teachers. Teachers who are found to manifest "heavy accents" will be "temporarily reassigned" to unspecified positions. Teachers "who are not fluent in English" or "who make grammatical errors while speaking" will be similarly reassigned.

Presumably, the state is trying to keep George W. Bush from ever becoming a teacher in Arizona.



http://www.statesman.com/blogs/cont...cking_down_on.html?cxntfid=blogs_somos_austin

These teachers will be responsible for teaching students english, its reasonable that they themselves be able to speak it well. This also isn't just Arizona; this was part of No Child Left Behind.

 

[polobro25]

wow... just wow... for some reason, I just don't like this

 

[JB3]

wow... just wow... for some reason, I just don't like this

Why? There are objective measures regarding speech, which will prevent people being moved for no good reason.

And think about it this way; many of these teachers are ESL teachers. How the hell are they supposed to teach their students english well if they can't even speak it themselves?

 

[T-Rexx]

Why? There are objective measures regarding speech, which will prevent people being moved for no good reason.

No, it's subjective. If the evaluator doesn't like your "speech" you're gone.

wow... just wow... for some reason, I just don't like this

You're from Boston, polo, so you will never be able to teach in Arizona. Liberal accents aren't conducive to education, you know.

 

[JB3]

No, it's subjective. If the evaluator doesn't like your "speech" you're gone.

No, its actually not. My mom works closely with speech and language pathologists, and there are objective methods to measure accents and diction (as well as blatant errors in grammar, etc.). Just because you think you're right, doesn't make it so.

You're from Boston, polo, so you will never be able to teach in Arizona. Liberal accents aren't conducive to education, you know.

Uh, no, actually. Because the methods to assess are objective, it won't matter where you're from.

 

[polobro25]

Why? There are objective measures regarding speech, which will prevent people being moved for no good reason.

And think about it this way; many of these teachers are ESL teachers. How the hell are they supposed to teach their students english well if they can't even speak it themselves?

I know that I am going to be shot down for this, but the action calls into question the importance of vernacular in public education. That's why I have a problem with it.

Additionally, for teachers that don't use the language correctly, how did they become teachers?? Shouldn't educational screening have been preemptive?

 

[JB3]

I know that I am going to be shot down for this, but the action calls into question the importance of vernacular in public education. That's why I have a problem with it.

Additionally, for teachers that don't use the language correctly, how did they become teachers?? Shouldn't educational screening have been preemptive?

It should have been (and is a part of NCLB so its part of the law), but many states haven't been able to get to those requirements until now. Even then, they don't affect teachers already in the system, they only affect new teachers.

And how does it call into question the importance of vernacular? This has nothing to do with that. This has to do with ESL teachers that speak english so poorly that they're not going to be able to perform their job the way that the district requires.

People are finding all sorts of imaginary ways to criticize this action, but most honestly have no idea what they're talking about.

 

[polobro25]

And how does it call into question the importance of vernacular? This has nothing to do with that. This has to do with ESL teachers that speak english so poorly that they're not going to be able to perform their job the way that the district requires.

People are finding all sorts of imaginary ways to criticize this action, but most honestly have no idea what they're talking about.

We're obviously reading into this situation differently, but how are you deriving ESL teaching from the article posted above? I see this as standard public education. And I do know what I'm talking about, I resent your statement above.

 

[T-Rexx]

Concerning the state's sudden decision (after nine years of NCLB) to enforce teacher accent restrictions:

"This is just one more indication of the incredible anti-immigrant sentiment in the state," said Bruce Merrill, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572504575213883276427528.html

 

[JB3]

Concerning the state's sudden decision (after nine years of NCLB) to enforce teacher accent restrictions:




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572504575213883276427528.html

Bullshit. This is state officials wanting an increasing number of hispanic students to actually learn english well enough to pass state exams and be productive members of society as bi-lingual students. Here is a relevant quote from the article:

State education officials deny any discrimination against teachers, saying they are acting in students' best interest.

Ms. Santa Cruz, the state official, said evaluators weren't looking at accents alone. "We look at the best models for English pronunciation," she said. "It becomes an issue when pronunciation affects comprehensibility."

"Teachers should speak good grammar because kids pick up what they hear," said Johanna Haver, a proponent of English-language immersion who serves as an adviser to Arizona educators. "Where you draw the line is debatable."

 

[JB3]

We're obviously reading into this situation differently, but how are you deriving ESL teaching from the article posted above? I see this as standard public education. And I do know what I'm talking about, I resent your statement above.

This is from the WSJ article Rexx posted:

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 some school principals and administrators say the department is imposing arbitrary fluency standards that could undermine students by thinning the ranks of experienced educators.

It is explicitly intended for ESL and ELL classrooms.

And, to be frank, if you think its all about accents you don't know what you're talking about. This is all about fluency and clarity of spoken english within the ESL classroom, because that is among the most important things within classrooms of that sort. If the students are learning poor english in a classroom where they're supposed to learn proper english and grammar, its a waste of time and money.

 

[Apollo]

This is gonna suck for british teachers.

 

[Kulindahr]

No, it's subjective. If the evaluator doesn't like your "speech" you're gone.

He's right, though; there are objective criteria. Whether they get used is another matter.

You're from Boston, polo, so you will never be able to teach in Arizona. Liberal accents aren't conducive to education, you know.

 

[polobro25]

This is from the WSJ article Rexx posted:



It is explicitly intended for ESL and ELL classrooms.

And, to be frank, if you think its all about accents you don't know what you're talking about. This is all about fluency and clarity of spoken english within the ESL classroom, because that is among the most important things within classrooms of that sort. If the students are learning poor english in a classroom where they're supposed to learn proper english and grammar, its a waste of time and money.

Again, your argument is presumptuous. Based on your own quoted text, it does not state that this is in regards to ESL classrooms. It does however state that this is in relationship to those that are learning English (where your presumption lies). Since you don't think that I know what I am talking about, SHOW ME EXPLICITLY WHERE THEY ARE REDIRECTING TEACHERS THAT INSTRUCT ESL, otherwise, I will rely on what I read which relates this discussion to standard classrooms. BTW, I never said that this was 'all about accents', again, you're assuming...

Otherwise, I stand by my initial contribution to this thread stating that 'for some reason, I don't like this.'

 

[Kulindahr]

This is gonna suck for british teachers.

Hey -- what about Aussies!!!

 

[JB3]

Again, your argument is presumptuous. Based on your own quoted text, it does not state that this is in regards to ESL classrooms. It does however state that this is in relationship to those that are learning English (where your presumption lies). Since you don't think that I know what I am talking about, SHOW ME EXPLICITLY WHERE THEY ARE REDIRECTING TEACHERS THAT INSTRUCT ESL, otherwise, I will rely on what I read which relates this discussion to standard classrooms. BTW, I never said that this was 'all about accents', again, you're assuming...

Otherwise, I stand by my initial contribution to this thread stating that 'for some reason, I don't like this.'

This is intended directly for ESL classrooms. By its very definition, if you're teaching students that speak another language first and english second, they are ESL or ELL students. It is also very clear that these classrooms were taught almost exclusively in spanish until voters passed a law requiring classes to be taught in English.

Please read the WSJ article, because it makes my point very clear. While there will certainly be regular classroom teachers that are affected, this is directed almost entirely at ELL and ESL teachers.

 

[TheTalkingAsshole]

The source is FoxNews so it can't be accurate anyway.

 

[saymyname]

Southerners have just as much difficulty speaking proper English as immigrants do.

Seriously. "Do what?" "Do what now?" "I was fixin' to..." "Huh?" And the goddamn "I got nothin'"

 

[bankside]

This is actually a covert project of the Canadian government. You know who will be the only teachers still standing after this project is complete....EHHHHHHH?