17 Lawrence Teachers Fight Fluency Rules

The Boston Globe ^ | 7/25/2003 | Anand Vaishnav

[buccaneer81]

This is what it has come to... Expect Souder, O'Connor and Kennedy to swing the Supremme Court decision to affirm this travesty.

[risk]

>>>> ''I feel that all the work I have done for the past 20 years does not count.''

I guess if you can't learn your host country's language in 20 years, you shouldn't be teaching.

[Bogey78O]

The worst classes I had were the ones where my professor could barely speak english.

In one class it got so bad I had to drop out of it because the instructor was just reading passages from the book.

[Political Junkie Too]

I remember having a Chinese math teacher in college who taught us about rhombrums and paragrams.

-PJ

[buccaneer81]

The worst classes I had were the ones where my professor could barely speak english

You must have gone to Ohio State!

[buccaneer81]

I remember having a Chinese math teacher in college who taught us about rhombrums and paragrams.

How about "long derision", and "calcurus" ?

[jnarcus]

Borders,language,culture...Why oh why is ANYONE teaching an English course if they are not fluent? My materials science prof was incomprehensible due to his heavy accent BUT he did understand grammar so his written notes to us were excellent

[buccaneer81]

Why oh why is ANYONE teaching an English course if they are not fluent?

Careful!! That kind of question will get you arrested in Massachusetts, California and Madison, Wisconsin.

[Political Junkie Too]

My roommate had a geometry teacher who was blind. The teacher would go to the board with chalk and have the class tell him whether to move the chalk up or down, left or right, warmer, colder...

My roommate dropped the class after a week.

-PJ

[LiteKeeper]

Me, schpeek Enklish? to teech?

[Jeff Chandler]

Why me take test have to?

[Vesuvian]

$14,580 to teach 6 teachers English? That's $2,430 each! Where are they sending them, Harvard? How come they don't have to pay for it themselves?

(and where can I sign up?)

[metesky]

Bump/ping for your hometown.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

August 21, 2001 - Teachers from Philippines arrive in Boston to teach math and science***Boston Teachers Union president Edward Doherty said he supports the city's hiring of foreign teachers if officials can't find anyone qualified locally. That's the case, Joyce said.

''We have an obligation to children to find the best math teachers we can find, wherever we can find them,'' he said.

At first it seemed as though the Philippine teachers wouldn't make it. Bureaucratic problems with obtaining visas for the teachers delayed their arrivalfor several weeks. US Representative Michael Capuano and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, both Massachusetts Democrats, worked with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to speed up the process.

'Their arrival means that a significant number of students will be able to get the good education they need and deserve,'' Kennedy said in a statement welcoming the teachers.

[grania]

How come they don't have to pay for it themselves?

Really. I would think all of these communities have free options for immigrants to learn English. Of course, who knows if the teachers of those classes speak English...

[wafflehouse]

bump for later

[Vesuvian]

That's true- they should be directed to attend the free courses and if they don't like it then they can pay for instruction.

[ladylib]

The kids have to be fluent in English to get a high school diploma in that state. Why shouldn't the teachers be fluent in order to teach?

I think every public school teacher should be required to pass Massachusett's high-stakes exit exam in order to keep their jobs.

Several years ago, Massachusetts "math" teachers couldn't pass a simple math exam.

[OldFriend]

Hey, my son had that same prof!

[whereasandsoforth]

Hey! I'm qualified to teach spanish and didn't even know it!

Hold mah sequins jockstrap! I'm tryin' out for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders!