#469: Haitian Prejudices: Vedrine replies to Jn-Gilles (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Emmanuel W. Vedrine <evedrine@hotmail.com>


"Speaking a foreign language is a question of practice.  Generally the
teachers that are teaching french don't speak french. That's it! It could be 
more than 14 years and the students would never speak french fluently" 
(Jn-Gilles, Emile)

- Here, Emile only presents one side of the medal without touching the bulk 
of sociolinguistic conflicts in Haiti, lack of teachers preparation and laws 
in Haiti, problems that Haitian schools have been confronting (in term of 
language issu). What are certain laws related to education in Haiti? Are 
there any? And, don't forget that Haiti is not a French-speaking country as 
some Haitians and foreign researchers (with no background in basic research) 
would claim the opposite.

French is never taught as "second language" in Haitian schools. It's 
important to review all the parrot methods (at all levels) to memorize 
everything in French without understand the subject matter (most of time) 
and what cause the failure of Haitian quality schools (from the late 70's) 
and what's worse, some Haitian educators get trapped in the so-called 
"school reform" under Duvalier (beginning the 80's). But, what does really 
school reform imply in general and in the particular case of Haiti where 85% 
of our population is still illiterate (can't read/write in the vernacular 
and second language used in school)?

Let's take for instance "la revolution scolaire de 1968 en France" and see 
some important ingredients from it that can be applied to a real "school 
reform" in Haiti (if ever there there'll be one in the century to come).

"Fizi kout tire lwen"
E.W.Vedrine

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