15963: JHudicourt: teaching in Creole (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JHUDICOURTB@aol.com

I tried to stay out of the French/Creole argument for a while, but I can't
resist any more.  I would like to bring some sense into the discussion.  Let's
say there are 2 sides:  one group says you can't teach the kids in Creole
because they need a "world" language.  The other says you must teach the kids in
Creole because it is their language.

Here are my arguments FOR teaching in CREOLE:
-Knowledge must start with self-knowledge and extend outward.  Studying ones
own intimate skills, such as the language we learned first and know best, and
our immediate environment (and not the geography of Europe if we live in
Miami), is the strongest base for further learning and development.  In addition
true reading is language-based.   We must comprehend to read.  Reading without
comprehension is not reading. So I say a child who speaks mostly Creole NEEDS
to learn to read in Creole because it will be his/her strongest base, solid as
a tree trunk from which other learning can branch out.  This has nothing to do
with universality of the language, with the number of books available, or the
fact that physics textbooks can't be found in Creole.

Here is an argument for teaching other Languages:
-Haitians belong to the whole world and travel all over the world.  English,
French, and Spanish are the most commonly spoken languages in our Hemisphere.
In order to do well in our Global life we need languages other than Creole.
That argument does not exclude my argument FOR Creole.  We certainly are much
better off knowing several languages. Many Haitians have strong ties with
Dominicans, the US, Canada, France, Puerto Rico, etc...  There is a difference
between the needs of international Haitians and the needs of a small child
learning to read his language and his world.  Children of the Haitian bourgeoisie
and the Canada Haitian diaspora grow up bilingual in French and Creole, those of
the US Haitian diaspora grow up with English and Creole. WE would be very
helpful to our children in the diaspora if we intentionally helped them love
their Haitian roots and their Haitian language.  When the kids become teenagers
and adults they want to strengthen their links with Haiti.  They are often
disappointed and embarassed when they try and they are ridiculed instead of
encouraged.
I believe that the orginal post about language last week was about a French
bilingual program in Florida.  In teaching, the questions are always: What is
our goal ?and Who is our student?.  Are the Haitians there going to be taught
French as a second language or is it assumed that they already know it?  Are
they going to be taught French that they might have a chance to practice if they
are among French speaking Haitians or French that they would need as tourists
in France?  (Haitian:  Je vais acheter un petit bonbon pour toi.  French:  Je
vais skier aux Alpes).
Yes, I did walk into a French as a second language class in Dorchester,
Massachusetts a few years ago where a young American woman with a poor accent was
teaching Haitian kids to congugate the verb "aller" with this sentence.  "Nous
allons skier aux Alpes."  That kind of teaching is absurd.  I am not saying
that a Haitian cannot imagine going to France on a ski trip but rather that new
immigrants who have so much to learn about functioning in their culture and
the American culture could use their school time in a much more productive way.
I want to also mentioned that a few years ago I was invited by a group of
Haitian-American students at Harvard College who wanted to know Creole.  They had
formed a Haitian club and wanted to serve the Haitian community but they
realized that they did not have the appropriate language.  One of them had a
Haitian music program on the college station, they had parties with Haitian music,
but they were handicapped in their attempt to do community service.  They were
all children of Haitian professionals who were born and raised in the US.
Their identification with being Haitian was through the music and the strict
upbringing of their parents.  Many of them knew  some words in French, some words
in Creole, but they could not get along effectively in either language.  They
did know the song "Dodo Titit" and the sentence:  "M ap kale ou!"
There is no reason why Haitian children should not learn French, but if it is
instead of Creole, their first language , it does not make sense.  I will
never forget a quote I read somewhere: "Humans function as effectively as their
environment demands."  I see my little relatives in Haiti start with Creole and
French as preschoolers, speaking conversational English as 10 year-olds, and
actively seeking Spanish as teenagers.  Why not? But these are children with
solid education, whose school is in French with daily Creole and English
courses in Petion-Ville.  There are some schools, however where the "language
immersion" program hides poor education.  We have one in Cambridge which is
advertised as a wonderful Spanish/English two-way immersion.  They claim to be one of
the few bilingual programs where test scores are above average.  However,
when you segregate the test scores, the English-speaking middle class children
who join the program to learn Spanish are above average in both Spanish and
English test.  The immigrant kids continue to be below average in both languages.
  My point with this is that some of these immersion program claim to serve
both populations well but when you look at the details, they actually cater to
the white middle class.
    Let's not forget that education is political.  Starting a public-school
French program in Florida is a political choice.  It is probably related to the
real-estate in the area and savy politicians making an economic choice for
the neighborhood.