Case
Spanish Speaking Teacher teaching English

Mr. Martinez, Colombian native, was hired to teach English in a school. He is majored and has a master degree in English but his accent is present when speaking. Parents have complained about his accent claiming he shouldn't be teaching English because the language is not his native. Mr. Martinez has had success teaching English in his previous school and students loved his class. Because of parents' comments his new students seemed to be biased about his class. Despite his efforts to make the class engaging, Mr. Martinez doesn't seem to make progress. What should Mr. Martinez or the school's administration to mitigate the comments and change parents and students' behavior?

Posted on: 10/03/18 | Views: 779
Solution #1
Top Solution
Administration should definitely be notified about any negative comments. Make sure they are documented every time. If parents have something to say, maybe invite them into the classroom to see how you teach.

I agree with this

23 0
Solution #2
Keep doing what you're doing. This is a fully qualified teacher. School administration should reassure these parents that this teacher is fully qualified, and should have this teacher's back. Race or ethnicity should play no role in determining who teaches what subjects. It is unfair to these students that their parents are acting like this.

I like this solution. He is perfectly qualified and the complaints are probably from parents who don't understand diversity much.

19 0
Solution #3
Mr. Martinez should explain that he is fully capable of teaching english despite having an accent. He is the epitome of "If I can learn it, so can you!". It is no different then someone who only speaks English, teaching English to Spanish speaking people. The school's administration should recognize Mr. Martinez's credibility and applaud him for overcoming the obstacles of the rude comments he has endured. He should also work to make the class respect him and his journey in teaching English.

I am supporting your solution and I like when you say "If I can learn it, so can you". This quotation is true. The parents should have open minded with how Mr. Martinez will teach their kids, I am sure that is an excellent teacher.

4 1
Solution #4
Mr. Martinez should continue working in the school and the administration should support him and talk to the parents. I would suggest also that the school should have an assembly or a guest speaker that will talk about diversity so the students will learn that "being different is beautiful".
2 0
Solution #5
This seems incredibly unfair. Some communities are more xenophobic than others. I think Mr. Martinez could use this gap in understanding as an opportunity to connect not just with his students, but the community as well. He could starts by hosting open house nights in his class. That makes way for an opportunity to see where some of these xenophobic tendencies originate and also an opportunity for him to share his story about learning English.
0 0
Solution #6
They should let the students know that it is unacceptable to judge a teacher based on where they come from. Obviously if he is teaching the course, he has the credentials to be there. They need to be respectful to their superiors and parents have no business getting involved.
0 0
Solution #7
Mr. Martinez is fully qualified, and the School Administration knows this, so the administration should reassure the parents that Mr. Martinez does know what he is doing and is the right fit for this job. Maybe even showing or teaching a lesson in bias would help the students open up, and him explaining that even though he does have an accent and English is his second Language he does have a masters in English, and has been teaching for a while
0 0
Solution #8
Mr. Martinez is a fully qualified teacher, with a masters degree. I think that the parent's in question should have a meeting with administration or sit in on a class so they can get an understanding about how he teaches his class. I think that they may change their opinion about him.
0 0
Solution #9
You should tell the administration about the issues in the class and the comments parents are making as he is a licensed teacher and fully qualified for the position and as such does not deserve to be treated this way
0 0
Solution #10
I do believe it is unfair how parents are treating this case and that administration should make sure that Mr. Martinez knows that they appreciate him and that they have his back, there is no reason for parents to feel that way because it is evident that he is completely capable of educating.
0 0
Solution #11
Notify administration about the negative comments
0 4