'Normalistas' protest the teaching of English and computer skills to rural mexican children

[Peter Sayer]

Having worked extensively with normalista teachers in the two states the article mentions, Oaxaca and Michoacan, I'd like to point out that the article distorts more than illuminates the situation of struggle to improve education and political economy of languages in Mexico.  It portrays the rural normalistas as making a shallow argument against including English in the national curriculum, and completely ignores the underlying neoliberal policies and systemic issues that these state teachers unions are resisting.  As in other countries, expanding English instruction in public schools is a complex issue, especially when a move towards more English is perceived as accelerating language shift and loss of indigenous languages.  (This is not to turn a blind to the very real and problems with the unions and normal system either.). Anyway, please take the article with a grain or bucket of salt.  Happy holidays to all.

- peter.-
Peter Sayer, PhD
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics/TESOL
Dept of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
The University of Texas at San Antonio


Francis Hult <francis.hult at englund.lu.se> wrote:

Via lgpolicy...


'Normalistas' fight changes in Mexican education
David Agren, Special for USA TODAY8:11a.m. EST December 9, 2012



    The students have protested the teaching of English and computer
skills to rural children

MORELIA, Mexico — College student Eduardo Díaz considers his
participation in protests to be as much a part of his higher education
as classwork.

For weeks, Díaz and other students who are going to school to become
teachers in rural Mexico occupied the historic center of this colonial
town — along with a bevy of farm animals, a tractor and a foosball
table — to protest attempts to modernize their courses.

Full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/08/mexico-teachers/1748405/
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