I am still reeling from a conversation I had with a student who is
currently teaching (has been for the past 20+ years) who informed me that
she was "against this whole ESOL thing. ... I am a Native Floridian. These
Haitians are coming into our country and overcrowding our schools. They
talk with this heavy accent and are so rude...." Of course she also added
"I am a culturally sensitive person. I had many Black friends growing up. I
see individuals not groups or cultures." Worse still, on my probing, it was
her opinion that many other teachers in her school felt the same way!
It did take me a while to get through to this person that accent and rude
behavior are two VERY different issues; and that all of us do have
accents!! I also began to address the issue of resistance and why students
rebel against the system/ class. I also pointed out that many bright
students who perceive the way they are treated will rebel! I also asked her
how she thought she could equitably address the needs of students if she
felt this way about them. That's when the "if the individual student
behaves, then I am OK." Yes, we did talk about culture-based attributions
of "good" and "bad" behavior in class.
It seems that I am faced with, what the field of Multicultural Education
might consider the epitome of close mindedness. I guess it is going to be a
long semester for me. I am looking for any support on how I might help this
teacher, without cutting off channels of communication completely. I am
particularly bothered by this because, as I mentioned earlier, there seems
to be a definite trend towards the increase of anti-Haitian feelings. This
is going to get worse, because I heard that it is likely that we will see
more waves of immigrants from this country.
Dr. Dilys Schoorman
Dept. of Teacher Education
College of Education, Room 485 Phone: 561 297 3003
Florida Atlantic University Fax: 561 297 3335
777 Glades Road e-mail:
dschoorm@fau.edu
Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991
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