Louisiana imports African teachers to save French program

[charlesg]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703460404575244592628745882.html

MAY 24, 2010
African Teachers Come to the Rescue of Cajun Country
Imported Francophones Fortify a Culture; Savoring 'Le Gumbó'
By JOEL MILLMAN

LAFAYETTE, La. — The Acadian Village field trip is a rite of passage for schoolchildren here in Cajun country, a hands-on history lesson at this replica of a town settled by French-speaking refugees from Canada two and a half centuries ago. Nowadays, that history is often taught by newcomers from Africa. Someone like Cyran Hounnou. He teaches seventh grade at the Moss Bluff Middle School near Lake Charles, La., and has been bringing classes here for years. Herding 40 kids through the compound of rickety cabins last month, he slipped easily between English and French. "They had to pledge allegiance to the Queen of England and faire le changement de religion," Mr. Hounnou began his lesson, jabbing the air and frowning with mock anger as students scribbled notes. In Mr. Hounnou's urgent telling, the Anglo-French fight for Canada sounded like clan warfare. "They said, 'Be Protestant, not Catholic,"' Mr. Hounnou, 47, continued. "The Acadians wouldn't. So they were deported. What they called Le Grand Dérangement."

Mr. Hounnou speaks English, French and Spanish, he says, and "about seven" of the 32 tribal languages of Bénin, his West African homeland. This talented teacher and dozens more from West Africa form a veritable French Foreign Legion of imported educators here. They join staff from Canada, Haiti, Belgium and France itself, as Louisiana's present-day Acadians — the "Cajuns" — struggle to preserve a language languishing on the Bayou.

Educationally, it's one of Louisiana's proudest achievements, using French immersion to rescue a culture that teetered near extinction 30 years ago... For decades, it was forbidden to use French in Louisiana's public schools. Many a Cajun family remembers a grandparent who came home from school in tears after being punished for not speaking English, a language few spoke at home. But in the 1960s, Cajuns successfully adapted African-Americans' civil-rights efforts to gain minority status. Benefits included a mandate to teach French in all public schools. Foreign governments — particularly France and Belgium — pitched in, subsidizing their teachers' passage to Louisiana. Initially, there was resistance by some Cajuns to African educators, who were often the first blacks to teach in rural schools. Today's parents take a broader view. "It's expanded his horizons, having an African teacher," says Mrs. Comeaux. Her son is glad to have Mr. Hounnou, too. "He's pretty interesting," 12-year-old Phillip says enthusiastically. "He told us about African culture, like the masks and stuff." Mr. Hounnou also encouraged his students to watch French broadcasts of this year's Winter Olympics, the seventh-grader says.

Native teachers are scarce in the immersion programs. Of the 11 working in the schools of St. Martin Parish — considered Cajun country's epicenter — only one was born in Louisiana. The others are from France, Canada and Belgium. Both Belgians were born in Africa — one in Cameroon, the other in Senegal. A state agency, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or Codofil, handles overseas recruitment. Codofil petitions Washington for temporary work visas to cover 3-year contracts for about 130 imported teachers annually. Top teachers, like Mr. Hounnou, may be asked by their school boards to stay, and eventually earn green cards. Béninois such as Mr. Hounnou, as well as his Malian, Senegalese, Congolese and Togolese colleagues, joke that their work here is practically a mirror image of the young Americans who volunteer for the Peace Corps in their countries. One major difference: Louisiana offers Africans good pay and benefits, and a path to U.S. citizenship. Mr. Hounnou was earning $300 a month in 2000 when he left Benin. Mr. Hounnou says he earns about $43,000 a year in Louisiana...

[SidDithers]

1. Not only Louisiana...

my kids attend a French immersion school here outside Toronto. The majority of their teachers have been Canadian, but we've had 2 who were French African (both from the Congo, I believe), and both were excellent.

Sid

[Swamp Rat]

2. très bien

:kick:

[cbayer]

4. Oui, monsieur Swampy. Tres bien!

:toast:

[cbayer]

3. My son went to a French Immersion program in a public school in New Orleans.

He was speaking french in kindergarten, fairly fluent by 1st grade, talking in his sleep in french by 3rd grade, and he and his classmates passed as French children on a field trip to France in 5th grade. He received both American and French certificates for graduation from elementary school.

One of the issues here is that Cajun french and France french are quite different, and Cajun french is not a written language. My son's teachers were from France and spoke almost no English (and none at all in the classroom).

Anyway, just thought I would share that. Thanks for sharing this story.

:hi:

[applegrove]

5. I went to french immersion school in Ottawa. They say that

teaching kids a second language early is an excellent way of giving your kid a jump start in learning 'concepts' because they lear that apple is just a word in english and not attached anymore to the fruit than the word pomme is.