In Arizona, Complaints That an Accent Can Hinder a Teacher’s Career

[homasse]

In Arizona, Complaints That an Accent Can Hinder a Teacher’s CareerWhen Guadalupe V. Aguayo puts her hand to her heart, faces the American flag in the corner of her classroom and leads her second-graders in the Pledge of Allegiance, she says some of the words - like allegiance, republic and indivisible - with a noticeable accent

Comments

[chaya]

“It’s critically important that teachers act as models when it comes to language.”

[thepuddingcook]

If kids really imitated accents all my ESL students would be speaking English with a mishmash ohio/native american rez/bronx/puerto rican accent. And so far....no. It just doesn't work that way. Second Language Acquisition, have these people heard of it?

[layweed]

OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. ACCENTS? IN MY AMERICA? FUCK NO SOMEONE CALL THE PATRIOT POLICE TO COME AND ARREST HER.

[sephystabbity]

I'm glad we are at least trying to work past the accent issue, I don't really see what's the point of arguing about an accent, it's not like the profs are teaching in another language. The whining and backpedalling from the spokesman is totally making me roll my eyes.

Like, seriously, most of my college profs have accents, one with a British, one with a Mexican and two with Chinese accents. And fuck that, they're awesome profs and I never lacked for learning from them.

[homasse]

*snerk* My little brother, when he flunked nearly all his classes his freshman year because he was being a dumbass, tried to excuse away all his failing grades to me over the phone. One of his excuses was his professor was foreign and had a thick accent, so it was hard to understand him.

...he tried this excuse on his big sister living in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language every day and who had worked as an ESL teacher.

I will let you guess about how well that ended for him.

XD

[sephystabbity]

Lmao, dude never stood a chance, I'm guessing XD

[homasse]

LOL, he didn't stand a chance anyway (he pulled 'It was hard to get to class!' on me, and then got burned with 'You know I had two dislocated knees at once one semester, right? Try again,") but that was the one that got him completely ripped into. >XD

[art_house_queen]

You can bet they would not give a fuck if this were someone with a British accent.

[chipuni]

Absolutely.

[homasse]

Or, hell, a French accent--provided it was coming out of a white face, mind.

[riath]

Perhaps. Although when I speak to my family and former school-mates they are always telling me "Speak American! I can't understand you." It makes me want to adopt a Scottish Glasgow accent just to annoy the hell out of them.

[romp]

Her principal, who should be supporting her. Nice.

Given the population of Arizona, maybe they should hire only teachers with Spanish accents.