Mr. Harvey is Lovey's English teacher. He's somewhat of a complex character because at first he comes across as a mean man. He talks down to his students and makes them feel bad about the way they talk. He wants them to speak proper English because otherwise he thinks his students sound uneducated and that they'll "go nowhere in life" (Yamanaka 10). Just from reading this, we see that Mr. Harvey wants his students to make something of themselves. In order to do this they need to improve their speech which is why he makes them practice repeatedly. Lovey can sense that he has good motives.
She thinks "that Mr. Harvey doesn't meant to be mean to [them]" (Yamanaka 14). Sometimes when you really want someone to do good and they're not able to perform to the best of their ability, you become frustrated. Mr. Harvey knows that all of his students can speak properly, they don't have to be hindered by their background. They can overcome their use of slang. After all the practice and talks that he gives them, they still continue to use incorrect grammar. This probably really frustrates him and angers him which is why he ends up talking to his students in a hostile manner. It's not that he doesn't like them, he simply doesn't understand why they're not able to pick up proper English. He doesn't know how to properly handle the situation.
Hi Sarahi,
ReplyDeleteYour post has me wondering about intention and whether good intentions justify Mr. Harvey's actions. In some ways, he speaks a truth. In the world Lovey finds herself in, and even in our current world, people have expectations about the language one will speak; we often define intelligence and success through one's ability to communicate standard English. But on the other hand, is it fair that Lovey is made to feel that her language is an improper form of English? Is there a way to honor the language she speaks, while helping her learn English? Why can't she be proficient in both? Perhaps the real issue is that Mr. Harvey hasn't been trained to teach students like Lovey, hence his frustration.
I think of the children in Alexie's story; some will refuse to engage in school because they are given either/or choices, rather than both/and ones.
Thanks for giving me more to think about.
Take care,
Lauren
Hello Sarahi!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that Mr. Harvey is being brutally honest because he is tired of telling them to use proper English, he just has a very strong personality and is not afraid of being honest with his students! However, Lovey did say in the reading that it was the fiftieth time that the professor was telling them to use proper English. I believe that this rough technique does work, but it is a very cold hearted technique and I could personally not talk to my students in that way.
Thanks for reading,
Natalia
I totally agree with you on describing the character of Mr. Harvey. I too think that it must be his frustration that made him become rude towards the students. For most of his student English was a second language and it is always difficult to learn second language. I can tell this from my personal experience as English is second language to me too. It was really tough to learn new language like Mr. Harvey’s student we use to use Pidgin English which made our English teacher really mad. Bottom line is Mr. Harvey may sound rude and he may be mean to his students but his words are strong and he knows how important education is to succeed in this world.
ReplyDeleteI did the same topic and basically wrote the same thing! I said that there were two things I would say to Mr Harvey, "are you serious?" and "good job," I think those were the two... I do know I wanted him to know that I like his enthusiasm to teaching and how much he wanted to help kids but I also wanted to tell him that he is doing it wrong and could potentionaly hurt these kids mentally by degrading them so much they do not want to learn.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
I don't really agree with you. I think that you are giving Mr. Harvey the benefit of the doubt. If he is getting frustrated and doesn't know how to handle the situation then he should take a break from teaching and figure it out. It's not right when you are talking down on the kids and making them feel less of a person.
ReplyDelete