Thread: Arizona Seeks to Reassign Heavily Accented Teachers

Updated May 22, 2010

Arizona Seeks to Reassign Heavily Accented Teachers

By Casey Stegall
- FOXNews.com

After passing the nation's toughest state immigration enforcement law, Arizona's school officials are now cracking down on teachers with heavy accents.

The Arizona Department of Education is sending evaluators to audit teachers and their English speaking skills to make sure districts are complying with state and federal laws.

Teachers who are not fluent in English, have a heavy accent or do not speak grammatically correct will be temporarily reassigned.

"As you expect science teachers to know science, math teachers to know math, you expect a teacher who is teaching the kids English to know English," said Tom Home, state superintendent of public instruction.

In 2000, voters passed a referendum which stipulated that instruction of these classes be offered only in English. Then in 2003, President Bush's No Child Left Behind act stated schools couldn't receive federal funding unless an English teacher was totally fluent in the language.

For the most part, the state is in compliance, but not all teachers are up to standards. Of the 236 total districts in the state, nine were cited for not being in compliance with fluency regulation this year.

Critics say with deep cuts to education thanks to the failing economy, the state should focus elsewhere. The Arizona Education Association, a union representing some 34,000 teachers, refused speak to Fox News.

Of the 1.2 million students in Arizona public schools, roughly 150,000 are learning English as a second language.

"It's my jobs to make sure they're taught English in the most rigorous, possible way so they can learn English quickly, can compete with their peers, and succeed academically," Home told Fox News.

The state says this move has nothing to do with the new law that requires police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the United States illegally.

In Creighton School District, 35 percent of students are "second language learners," said Superintendent Charlotte Boyle.

"In Creighton's school district, we do have several teachers who do not pass the fluency test," she said.

"For the past several years, we have provided opportunities for those teachers to increase their fluency," she said. "We have enrolled them in community college classes. We also have classes within our district for those teachers."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05 ... -teachers/

after 10 years a teacher cant be prficient in english ?

I would have some serious questions about their teaching abilities then

My grandaughter who is a good student, carrying a 3.8 average in college dropped Spanish in her second year of high school because the Spanish teacher had such a strong accent that the students could not understand her English. When the kids would ask her to repeat something because they couldn't understand what she was saying she would get mad.

I know she was teaching Spanish, but you still have to speak English to teach English speaking kids Spanish. She also taught other classes that I heard kids complaining about her accent and attitude.

Get these thick accent people out of our schools. What are they doing there to begin with? Why are there non-English speakers in public schools to begin with? Children of illegal aliens? Get them out of our country. Problem solved.

This should have been done years ago, starting with segregation of our schools. How can you teach kids English when you can't get two words our that are grammatically or linguistically correct? I remember being in the 7th grade and having a math teacher that could not speak proper English. That was the first time I did poorly in a class and the point at which I disliked math.

Originally Posted by bigtex

This should have been done years ago, starting with segregation of our schools. How can you teach kids English when you can't get two words our that are grammatically or linguistically correct? I remember being in the 7th grade and having a math teacher that could not speak proper English. That was the first time I did poorly in a class and the point at which I disliked math.

It's outrageous!! Why in the world would they hire teachers who can't speak English or speak it with such an accent that students can't understand a word they say and subject our American Students to this? I had no idea. This is a national disgrace and is just another revelation that proves we should pass school vouchers and work on privatizing education, because the authorities and administrators running these schools don't have a brain in their heads.

We need to make sure this rule applies to higher education as well. I once had a college math teacher from China. His accent was terrible! One sentence I remember was this: "The skayl loot foe two!" (the square root of four is two). Needless to say, I transferred out of his class. Math was hard enough when spoken in clear English!!