Arizona Bans Teachers with Accents (loans, schools, university)

[KarmaPhx]

I am surprised no one else has posted this yet.

Arizona Teachers With Accents and Ethnic Study Banned (http://digg.com/d31Pudv - broken link)

The Arizona Department of Education has told schools that teachers with "heavy" or "ungrammatical" accents are no longer allowed to teach English classes.

Makes sense to me, if you can't speak English correctly, how can you be expected to teach it?

[janelle144]

How can the students understand what is being taught? Those teachers need to work on getting rid of their heavy accent so their students understand them, same thing if an American teacher would go to France and not be able to speak French very well. DUH.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

I am surprised no one else has posted this yet.

Makes sense to me, if you can't speak English correctly, how can you be expected to teach it?

Makes perfect sense to me, KarmaPhx.

Being an English Major, I am appalled at the blatant errors, both written and spoken, made by individuals claiming to be educated.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by janelle144

How can the students understand what is being taught? Those teachers need to work on getting rid of their heavy accent so their students understand them, same thing if an American teacher would go to France and not be able to speak French very well. DUH.

Yes it is such a huge problem that we need a state law for it. Don't you think this is an issue that should be left to principals, school boards and not the state legislature? How about science teachers who don't know anything about the periodic table? Or sports coaches who never played the sport? No law for them?

This is just more Mod Cut: legislation from the reactionaries that run this state these days. There is a real race to the bottom going on in the Republican party. The State school superintendent is vying for the Republican nomination. In this state, you have to win over a polarized base to get to the ballot in November. All of them, even McCain, are trying to outdo each other to see who can put down the Hispanics and the poor and the teachers and schools and everyone else the "base" loves to Mod cut dislike to get nominated. Bad mouthing anything Hispanic scores big political points in Arizona these days.

[KarmaPhx]

I have taken college courses where the professor has had such a strong accent, and made so many grammatical mistakes, we all had a hard time following along with lectures, which severly effected our grades and capability of learning the material.

[zenkonami]

So it's not real English, even if it's a man like Andrei Codrescu?

Who decides when the accent is too "heavy" or "ungrammatical?"

If someone has a thick southern drawl, or maybe a heavy New England accent, will they be rejected as English teachers? What if they are from the UK? Do we need to adopt a L'Académie française type body to establish standards on English, despite the near impossibility of reigning in language successfully without near totalitarian enthusiasm?

Being able to speak the language and teach the concepts correctly is one thing. Banning accents? Well I suppose we better cut most of the foreign language teachers from our schools, because most of those that I've had possessed horrible accents in the language they were teaching. Or is that acceptable because it's not our national tongue? Are we allowed to teach those incorrectly? How about math teachers with horrible handwriting...even if they are fantastic teachers and highly successful...but some of us can't read their equations!

You want improved laws restricted illegal immigration then we can have a fair debate. This? This is simply stupid.

[Squab]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

I am surprised no one else has posted this yet.

Arizona Teachers With Accents and Ethnic Study Banned (http://digg.com/d31Pudv - broken link)



Makes sense to me, if you can't speak English correctly, how can you be expected to teach it?

Sounds fair to me. I remember when my son was going to Central Mich. University years ago. A professor he had had a very small grasp on the English language. You would think if you had English speaking students, you'd want professors that could at least speak the language well enough to make known to his students what the hell he was trying to conveigh...... But no......I imagine the university had a quota of foreigners they were required to hire.....Only a guess.......

[DarkWolf]

So I guess a Brooklynite can't teach there or a New Englander , there accents would be to heavy to understand. Arizona seems to be slipping into the Category of Stupid states

[Chelito23]

Arizona is showing what kind of state it really is with all this nuttiness as of late.

Don't the state legislators realize that we ALL have accents, it's relative. If someone from Arizona goes to Georgia, guess who has the "accent" then.

Teaching student with teacher cloans who are uniform and all sound the same does NOT prepare them for the real world. It only encourages them to see that there is only one "right" way of doing things.

I think Arizona is one big mess abd I just hope the that foolishness that is being legilated there stays there.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

So I guess a Brooklynite can't teach there or a New Englander , there accents would be to heavy to understand. Arizona seems to be slipping into the Category of Stupid states

You think it's stupid to allow someone who can't communicate or be understood be responsible for educating people?

I'm lucky - I grew up overseas and know people from all over the world. I can understand accents easily. But I know a lot of people who got absolutely nothing out of courses they paid for (and need to understand). That's not fair, either.