According to an article on Whdh.com found here http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/12002868057872/nyc-teacher-caught-up-in-spanish-curse-debate/, a spanish teacher from NYC was fined $15,000 and suspended for using the word "cono" in a foreign language class.
The word has multiple meanings to various groups. While it can refer to "female sexual organs" according to the article, it can also have to do with emotions and mean surprise, anger etc. The teacher who is from the Dominican Republic used the word because where he is from, it is accepted and used frequently. It is not deemed offensive in the Dominican Republic.
The fact that the teacher was fined $15,000 and suspended is outrageous. Slang is used in various countries, not just the U.S. and if you're not from that particular country, how can you judge if you're not familiar with the language or culture?
I took spanish from 2nd - 12th grade and even went up to AP. I learned slang words and different meanings of many words in the spanish language. While we didn't curse in class, learning the various meanings of slang words has its upsides. If you travel to the country, don't you want to know what form of verbs to use (Spain/Mexico uses different forms) or various ways to express yourself?
Not only is the teacher now embarassed, but he was also fined essentially (most likely) half of his salary. School systems shouldn't promote foreign language classes if they can't accept what's being taught in them.
When you link something in your blog you should try to make it flow better by not announcing you are going to link something. For this blog, you can make the words "an article on Whdh.com" a link before you post it. This makes your blog look more professional than having a long link thrown in.
ReplyDeleteAs for the content of your blog, I agree that school systems should not be so offended by some of the content of foreign language classes if they are the ones making foreign language classes a requirement for graduation.