For my response I chose a quote from the Obituary story but also tied in my response to Mr. Harvey. The quote is, “No one will want to give you a job. You sound uneducated. You will be looked down upon. You’re speaking a low-class form of good Standard English. Continue, and you’ll go nowhere in life. Listen, students, I’m telling you the truth like no one else will. Because they don’t know how to say it to you. I do, Speak Standard English. DO NOT speak pidgin. You will only be hurting yourselves.” This quote shows how strongly Mr. Harvey took his teaching but I think it was a little too strong. After reading this quote I am glad that he wasn’t my teacher. It is very negative and would make anyone feel worthless. Learning a new language and having to write and speak it would be hard for anyone. The kids he taught spoke pidgin which is an English/ Hawaiian Creole mix that the children were used too. Any child who has to learn a new way of speaking and writing usually has to learn at a young age to get the knowledge so some fifth graders might be harder to work with. As a teacher he should be helping them learn and be positive while doing it. I don’t know if he is just burnt out on teaching and should retire or if he enjoys putting kids down. In all my years of going to school I have never experience someone like him or heard such a strong opinion in a quote before.
As a early childhood teacher I feel sorry for the children in his class and hope that there aren’t anymore teachers out there like that. I do feel he was maybe trying to help them but his negative personality just made him word it so strongly. I have children in my class who have Spanish as their first language and now they have to try and learn English at the age of two. They are getting the mixed languages which can have an effect but we never look down or tell them they are of a lower class. When you take on the job as a teacher you are helping children learn no matter the subject or age.
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Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteYou raise a great point that I think Mr. Harvey fails to realize. It’s not that the students are speaking English improperly; it’s that they’re speaking a completely different language. He treats his students based on the stereotypes surrounding “poor speakers of English” when he should be treating them as English Language Learners. This realization alone would help Mr. Harvey adjust his teaching to better facilitate the students’ learning.
The quote you chose is a powerful one, and it names a truth that unfortunately exists in our society; we often judge people based solely on their ability to write, read and speak Standard English as if that alone demonstrated intelligence. We forget that if forced to speak another language, many of us would seem illiterate too.
I like that you brought your experiences as an early childhood educator into your response! You remind me that teachers need compassion and that students possess multiple kinds of intelligences and hence need varied kinds of assignments in order to demonstrate their abilities.
Thanks for these ideas!
Lauren :)
Exactly! The focus is on the children in that moment. He should be helping them slowly "learn" English. Not belittling them for speaking differently.
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie, its nice to hear a comment from a teaching perspective, especially a young kids teacher. I agree with you that the way he approaches these children, regardless of what his attentions are completely out of line. Also, I was thinking about my own middle school or younger years and I do remember alot of spanish speaking students struggling with the language. Its very similar to what Lovey is experiencing.
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteYour students are very fortunate to have you as a teacher. To show them the compassion you have for them and to show them that you understand their cultural is something that they will remember throughout their learning years.
You must understand very well why it is wrong to treat young students badly, since you are a teacher to young kids yourself. Mr. Harvey shouldn't treat his students the way he does, but instead should understand the difficulty they are going through and should realize that him being disrespectful towards the kids only makes it harder for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It is very difficult learning a new way of speaking especially as a child, they need a positive role modle to be feel confident in tying something new. good job!
ReplyDelete