2010-05-27 CNN
This story gets to a lot of us. I just can't let it go. We've talked about this new crackdown in Arizona, the crackdown on teachers' accents. Too thick, you are out. There's the door. Have a nice day. I just don't understand how some measures accent thicknesses. It's not like there's a breathalyzer for it. Let's hear from a teacher though, who's holding her breath as higher-ups check her accent and from the superintendent who thinks these accent checks are needed. Check out the story from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and then let's talk.
Some people are saying that teachers like me should not be teaching students who are learning English.
Some teachers like Kristina Parsons in Tucson, believe they are being targeted by the Arizona Department of Education, because they have accents.
A state monitor came into your class.
Yes.
They audited you.
Yes. They just walked in, in the middle of class.
Parsons who was born in Brazil has taught ELL – English Language Learners for more 20 years. She has two university degrees. This is the first time she has been audited. And she resents the extra scrutiny.
You could have a Ph.D and be a bad teacher.
State School Superintendent Tom Horne says as part of 'no child left behind', he has been monitoring ELL teachers for bad grammar and mispronounced words for the past eight years.
Are you going after one particular accent?
We are not going after any accents including Spanish accent. It has to be faulty English. If students are being taught English. And they are gonna referred to a 'comma' as a 'coma'. People are gonna misunderstand them.
English professor Roseann Gonzalez disagrees, saying studies actually show that non-native speakers make better English teachers.
Are you saying that a teacher's pronunciation of specific words is not important?
That's right. Because language is very contextual, we depend on the context to understand what words mean.
You would tell somebody who could not be understood that they need to go into another profession.
Of the 1,500 teachers who are monitored last year, 25 were found to have pronunciation issues. That worries teachers Charles Collingwood from Trinidad and Ian Keith from Ireland who wonder who's judging.
You can't say there's one way to pronounce anything in American.
Seeing what kids are learning. Those are more important thing than if I, I say, think instead of think.
Horne's critics says he is going to after immigrant teachers.
It's totally idiotic. I grew up in a house where my parents spoke Polish. And they certainly spoke English with a heavy accent.
But here you are superintendant.
Right.
So, it didn't hurt you?
No, but my teachers spoke proficient English.
Kristina Parsons says she is also proficient.
The Arizona Department of Education gives us a certificate saying yes. You are certified to teach after that they say no, I don't think you can't do it, so I'm going to go into the classroom and see if you are doing a good job.
Let's go.
Parsons is still waiting results of her audit. If she doesn't pass, she could be reassigned to another position somewhere else in the district.