23269: Nlbo: Haitian Educators' Contributions (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Nlbo@aol.com

 The following appeared on the September issue of the Boston Haitian Reporter
under the title:

                                      Are Haitian Teachers Passing on the
Torch?

The Unz initiative ended the three decade old Transition Bilingual Education
program when most voters cast ballots in favor of Question Number 2 on
November 2002.   In the fall 2003,  one year English Immersion classes  replaced the
three year ESL (English as a Second Language) and native language instruction
components in many school districts. A year is not sufficient to assess the
impact of the dismantling of Bilingual Education.  Personally, my ESL teaching
task had remained the same since I started working with an
international/immigrant population twelve years ago. However, as a Haitian educator, some
communication or collegiality could have occurred among us to provide more collective
support to Haitian parents,  students,  and the Haitian community in general.
This new  academic year could be a moment to retrospect on not only the
impact of Unz initiative, but on collegiality , communication, and productivity of
K-12 Haitian teachers.

How are Haitian educators “passing on the torch”? What is a concrete thing I
can hand on to a Haitian who was born in Boston when the Bilingual program
started in  l971 or any time thereafter as example of what ‘we’ as teachers
have done?  As an educator, I am thinking of a book,  pamphlets, or articles. A
number of us were paid by our school systems to develop curriculum materials in
Haitian Creole. One teacher was given a year off with paid salary to produce
a literature/history book in Creole geared to middle grades.  One had a mini
grant to compile her children’s poetries into a book. Yolette and I write
monthly in the Boston Haitian Reporter

In terms of creativity, I mean those producing for non lucrative purposes
including college credits.  I am aware of several K-12 teachers who demonstrated
some productive, tangible creativity.  A  teacher made a Creole book of a play
he produced. One wrote two small paper backs in Creole geared to K-3 levels.
Another published two children books in Creole about African American heroes.
A high school teacher made his own materials to train teachers in remote areas
in Haiti for many summers.  The teacher who had contributed the most is
Emmanuel Vedrine who went to the extreme of quitting teaching. In 10 years he self
published volumes of grammar, dictionaries, poetries,  and fiction works in
Creole. His recent 700 page bibliography on Haitian Creole was published in
October, 2003 by Educa Vision.  I doubt that  the Haitian community in Boston is
aware of his tremendous sacrifice,  passion and dedication to Haitian and
Creole Studies. A high school teacher runs a Creole discussion line and publishes
Creole magazine on the web.

Is that enough?  After more than 30 years of  educating Haitian children,
only three teachers in the Boston area had published education related articles
in English.  What will a Haitian American entering graduate school in the fall
have as history of educating Haitians in Boston written by a Haitian?  Besides
two or three doctoral thesises, what books or articles will an 18 year old
find in a library, on the web if he/she is writing about any topic concerning
Haitians living in Boston from a Haitian perspective?  The Euro-American writer
does not write with the same lens, emotions, styles, attitudes as a Haitian.
Meanwhile if we look at social mobility, many of these teachers are
homeowners.  Their children go to private schools and they live more likely a
comfortable middle class life style.   Globally speaking, what is this influential
sector of society producing and giving to the Haitian community or the future
generations?  Many of them  don’t contribute their wisdom and experiences in
discussion lines, listservs, or newspapers.  They don’t go to Haitian meetings or
churches. In other words, most Haitian teachers are a group of professionals
who live their exclusive life style and are not involved in the Haitian
community who could benefit from their expertise. I don’t want to blame anyone either
because being actively involved in the Haitian community is tedious work that
is not always appreciated and welcomed.

If one doesn’t want to be actively engaged in meetings, conferences, I
believe in the comfort of the library, one’s computer, some books or articles could
be produced.  In my life time, I have known of two major producers of didactic
materials, les Frères de l’Instruction Chrétienne,  a European Catholic
congregation, Odette Roy Fombrun, and one major publisher, Henri Deschamps. As one
individual, Madame Fombrun had published most elementary school books for
decades. Ms. Fombrun who is over 80 had published not only children’s books, but
articles, essays, and novels as well. In the past 10 years, Henri Deschamps had
had a staff under the direction of Mayel Fouchard producing books. Madame
Fombrun is still part of the staff.

In the l980’s l’Institut Pédagogique National (IPN) the former elementary
branch of the Haiti’s  Department of Education produced a series of paper back
books for school children. Haitian  Creole books were also produced from some
grants provided in the Dade County Miami in the late l970’s and the early
l980’s. Hampton books had published a series of children social study Creole
books. Marcus Plaisimond published a trilingual children’s picture book.” Haitian
Days TiDjo Remembers.” Joan Hyppolite also published  some Junior High
literature.  Several years ago, I generated a list of Haitian children books
published in English.  However, my  focus is now on productivity and creativity of
Haitian teachers in the Boston area.  The political infrastructure is blamed for
lack of new school books in Haiti.  What is preventing production of books,
articles in Boston where all the technical and intellectual means are available?

One may argue that a university professor is required to write, not the K-12
teachers.  However as a practitioner, I feel I can provide reflections on
daily elementary classroom experiences which a university professor doesn’t have.
If he/she had had K-12 experiences, the academia doesn’t publish in avenues
available to the average person.  How many parents, young people unless they
are doing research read those professional journals? Daily, weekly, monthly
papers, radio, TV programs are more accessible to the average person. I understand
that teachers have families and other responsibilities.  However I always
believe the adage” If there is a will, there is a way.”

In the midst of increasing teenage violence and incarceration in the Haitian
community, low MCAS scores,  achievement gap among blacks, as a new school
year begins,  Haitian teachers would need to revitalize the Haitian Teachers
Association and make more effort to be accessible and  involved in the Haitian
community and write about their experiences for the sake of the next generations.

Nekita Lamour, an educator in the field of  Bilingual/ESL education  has been
 a member of the Boston Haitian  community for the past three decades.  Her
column appears regularly in the Boston  Haitian Reporter.