Systemic Racism Keeps Native Speakers From Teaching Language
We have plenty of qualified individuals, but our system prevents them from teaching
Everybody’s reaction to the story I’m about to tell is to let out a groan of frustration and disgust. Maybe it should be anger.
My wife was born and educated in Lima, Peru. She is a native Spanish speaker, and she worked as a teacher for ten years until we relocated to the United States. She is now a US citizen and has been working as a family services facilitator in the local school district since 2011.
In 2019, she decided she wanted to get back into teaching. So, we went through the arduous process of getting her degree accredited, and she was issued an emergency license to teach ELL. She was accepted into an accelerated program to earn her teaching credential, and they evaluated her degree.
Upon reviewing her transcripts, their conclusion was that she had the necessary qualifications to teach English but not Spanish.
Huh?
My wife’s degree is in business administration. English is considered a business language in Peru, so she had English classes every semester.
