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

[Chris]

Peter makes excellent points about the neoliberal and other issues including neocolonialism. The study of bilingualism resulting from educational policies always needs to be questioned and studied. And of course the voices and perspectives of teachers need to be involved and taken seriously. 
Chris Faltis
Dolly and David Fiddyment of Education
University if California, Davis

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 21, 2012, at 12:10 PM, Peter Sayer <peter.sayer at utsa.edu> wrote:

> 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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