Chapter 1

I teach in East Orange, NJ, about 80% of my students are of Caribbean or African ancestry or some of them are directly from those countries and have migrated to America with their parents in quest of a better lifestyle. While reading I could invision my students as well as myself among those pages. It is paradoxical in some ways. I as teacher in some situations experience the feeling of inadequacy when I speak to certain people, not because of my vocabulary, but that of my accent. On those occasions I am so self-conscious that I bungle my words and get all nervous. Words I normally pronounce properly I say ineptly. I feel like I am having an out of body experience. I have heard others made fun of, because of their Caribbean accent. Lots of Caribbean people say #3 as tree, and I have heard the jokes. As a result, I find comfort in teaching children of foreign ancestry. I feel they would know where I am coming from if on occasions I go colloquial. I also make them feel proud of their heritage by playing up the positive. For the high percent of Haitian students who are embarassed to let you know of their ancestry I talk of Jean B Du Sable and his contribution to America in particular Chicago. Another great Haitian Toussaint Le`Vature.who worked with William Wilberforce to help free Caribbean slaves. These things make them feel accepted. Each child in my class also does a family tree and we get to find out about each other, and where their great, great grandparents were born.
Ann Marie