N áhuatl mandatory in public scho ols in Mexico City

Marcos Villaseñor villas at anawak.com
Sat Aug 18 22:25:10 UTC 2007


It was about time to make Nawatl a mandatory subject, I have always  
thought it a disservice for Mexican schools not teach Nawatl, but   
French or English instead, both odious langauges to the Mexican  
Indigenous people.

Totenyo, Totau'ka Mexika

Marcos Villaseñor (Altepeteku'tli)


On Aug 18, 2007, at 2:19 PM, Kier Salmon wrote:

> Having grow up in Mexico and been in Mexican public schools, I  
> shudder to think about the logistics of the problem.  The teachers  
> would be one step ahead of the students all the way.
> I was fully spanish/english bilingual and two of my Secundaria  
> teachers were ok with letting me read in class and letting them get  
> on with trying to pound the language (very inexpertly) into my  
> classmates heads... one decided my brother and I had to perform all  
> the tasks she gave the class; I still remember the day she said,  
> "Mouse; mice, blouse...   "  That one stalemated in La Directora's  
> office.  Now think of the difference linguistically between spanish  
> and nahuatl as opposed to spanish and english (both indo-european  
> based if broadly seperated.).
> One thing I think we will see, however is a much larger support  
> from the population for learning nahuatl.  English and french and  
> german were very resented as signs of Mexico's subordination on the  
> international scene and all my classmates gladly forgot every bit  
> they learned as fast as possible.  There is hope that this would  
> not be the feeling about nahuatl; for the past 20 years "hablar  
> indio" has been much less pejorative than it was in my growing up  
> years.
>
>
> On Aug 18, 2007, at 9:53 AM, Maria Bolivar wrote:
>
>> I am sorry I have been so busy I did not check if the list has  
>> discussed
>> Náhuatl becoming a mandatory subject in all of Mexico City's  
>> Public Schools.
>>
>> I am interested to know how is it they plan to implement that  
>> decree. I
>> truly was not aware of us having so many instructors all ready to  
>> start all
>> those classes for the cycle 2008-2009 when the decree becomes  
>> effective.
>> English is a mandatory subject already. I remember in Zacatecas  
>> there were
>> very few instructors of English and those available did not really  
>> speak
>> English. I know in Mexico City English is mandatory, but the  
>> number of
>> people fluent in English does not surface as it should. I hope the  
>> new
>> measure for Náhuatl does not run the same course. It is wonderful  
>> to dream,
>> but not just in paper. What do you all think?
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Maria Bolivar
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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