As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth

When I read this quote on page 13, it made me feel angry with the teacher. Just because the mother had an accent, the teacher made her feel stupid and not worth her time. The teacher didn't even feel remorse for belittling the mother's concerns for the education needs of her son. As teachers we should educate any student who wants to learn. We should help students understand and apply that knowledge; not leave them behind and pass them to another teacher so we don't have to deal with them. It doesn't matter if the student looks poor or has an accent that isn't standard, we should educate that student because we are educators and we took that job to educate each and every student. Personally I love all types of accents. I would encourage students to keep their accent because it is a trait of who they are. Just because they talk weird or different doesn't make them stupid.