Subtractive Lg Education Is a Crime Against Humanity--Africa

Thu May 22 15:19:12 UTC 2008

Dear Dr. Geo-JaJa:  Would you have any insights on this?

Barbara (McCauley) Lovejoy
Generación Floreciente-- "Doing whatever it takes for our Hispanic youth to flourish"
Blog:  www.principlecenteredme.blogspot.com :  Moral/Spiritual Leadership for Multicultural Education
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Read with a child 20 minutes a day--- in any language!> From: dzo at bisharat.net> To: lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu; ELLADVOC at asu.edu> CC: aguilera at mail.h-net.msu.edu; s.cretella at voxhumanitatis.org> Subject: RE: Link to UN's PFII Release: Subtractive Lg Education Is a Crime Against Humanity> Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 11:09:17 -0400> > L2-only or subtractive bilingual education is common in Africa. Sometimes> even where the policy is bilingual, the actual practice is instruction in> L2.> > On the other hand, an important aspect of this - punishment of young> students for speaking their mother tongue in Africa - is something that I> have found it hard to get more current information on (although admittedly I> haven't been researching the question that assiduously). What one hears are> occasional anecdotes, and then retrospectives of people who have been> through all that when younger.> > A question I posed on the Togo-L list regarding punishment for language use> received a repl!
 y from one Togolese who asserted that corporal punishment or> humiliation for use of the mother tongue in school was a thing of the past.> However, we also know that corporal punishment is still rife in schools in> the region (a UN/IRIN report a year or two ago cited examples from Togo, but> not with reference to language). So what is the reality?> > My guess is that whatever the degree of current abuses related to languages> in the classroom, the situations and interests of various parties conspire> in a way to keep it out of public view:> * Children don't have voice to tell us> * Teachers and administrators aren't likely to discuss their own practices> that might be viewed negatively> * Nor are teachers and administrators likely to expose their colleagues> * Parents are often not in a position where they feel they have powerr to> say anything> * The dominant ideologies that it is for the children's own good to learn in> a certain way with regard to language and to be "cor!
 rected" in certain ways> are at the root of the problem> * Observers g
enerally don't notice or perhaps tacitly accept the dominant> ideology> * Organizations involved in development or human rights often do not see> language as a priority issue.> > Personally, it was an indirect remark in passing by a correspondent about> young kids in a school in Tanzania being too scared of being beaten for> speaking their mother tongue to say anything (class was in Swahili) that> catalyzed my seeking more information.> > I also posed the question on H-Africa and got almost no response - a> surprise. I don't think that the question was ill-informed or taboo, but> perhaps the subscribers (which include a lot of kowledgeable and eminent> scholars of Africa, African and otherwise) did not really know anything> about the current situations.> > The Togolese respondant I referred to above certainly was being honest from> her perspective, but likely that experience was mainly urban and among elite> groups whose children grow up with some French as well as Ewe/Mina !
 - so the> French-only system doesn't have the same level of drawbacks as perhaps in> other areas or among other demographics.> > In any event, I am still hoping for a way to find out more about current use> of punishment for speaking the mother tongue in schools of Africa.> > Don Osborn> > > > -----Original Message-----> > From: owner-lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu [mailto:owner-lgpolicy-> > list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of Stan Anonby> > Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 6:34 PM> > To: lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu; ELLADVOC at asu.edu> > Cc: aguilera at mail.h-net.msu.edu> > Subject: Re: Link to UN's PFII Release: Subtractive Lg Education Is a> > Crime Against Humanity> > > > Isn't it kind of heavy on past sins? It would be more interesting to me> > if> > it gave examples of language education crimes going on today.> > > > Stan Anonby> > > > ----- Original Message -----> > From: "Teresa McCarty" <Teresa.McCarty at asu.edu>> > To: <lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu>; <ELLADVOC at a!
 su.edu>> > Cc: <aguilera at MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU>> > Sent: Monday, May 19, 
2008 1:16 PM> > Subject: Link to UN's PFII Release: Subtractive Lg Education Is a Crime> > Against Humanity> > > > > > > Colleagues, I am not sure the attachment "stuck" (probably not> > allowed by> > > the listserv, and thanks to Richard Ruiz for calling it to my> > attention).> > > Here is the link to this document:> > >> > > http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/E_C19_2008_7.pdf> > >> > > Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues> > > Seventh session> > > New York, 21 April -2 May 2008> > > Items 4 and 7 of the provisional agenda> > > ＊> > >> > > Expert paper 1> > > submitted by Lars Anders-Baer. Prepared in cooperation> > > with Ole Henrik-Magga, Robert Dunbar and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas.> > > FORMS OF EDUCATION OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY?> > > Advance Unedited Version> > > United Nations> > > E/C.19/2008/7> > > Economic and Social Council> > > Distr.: General> > > 8 February 2008> > >> > > http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/E_C19_2008_!
 7.pdf> > > ----------------------> > >> > > Original message:> > >> > > Please see the attached expert statement commissioned by the UN's> > > Permanent> > > Forum on Indigenous Issues. It's a very strong statement, basically> > > arguing that subtractive education for Indigenous peoples is> > tantamount to> > > a> > > crime against humanity and should be sanctioned as such under> > > international> > > law. Although the focus is Indigenous peoples, there are clear> > extensions> > > to other minoritized groups.> > >> > > Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, who is one of the coauthors, has urged that> > this> > > document be distributed widely. It will be interesting and important> > to> > > see> > > how the PFII and UN Human Rights Council respond to it.> > >> > > Teresa L. McCarty, Ph.D.> > > Alice Wiley Snell Professor of Education Policy Studies> > > Arizona State University> > > Mary Lou Fulton College of Education> > > Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies> > > Farm!
 er Building 120 - PO Box 872411> > > Tempe, AZ 85287-2411> > > PH: 480
.965.6357 FAX: 480.965-1880> > > Teresa.McCarty at asu.edu> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > 
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