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You admit that you don't know how the statement was composed in Spanish, yet you speak as if it is FACT that the girl was using her personal hair experience to answer the question. Why is there not a question mark behind your statement about the girls interpretation, when their should be? Again, the girl, in her conservation, NEVER mentioned hair or her PERSONAL behavior at gyms. Thus, where are you getting this FACTUAL information about her from? I admitted that the hair thing and culture CAME FROM ME raising the issue of cultural bias (unintended).
Either the sentence as presented in Spanish followed the LOGIC of Spanish grammar rules, or not.
The student responded affirmatively- an incorrect answer. The student argues the sentence was logical- some people don’t like to sweat. She seems to have missed the intent of the quiz- testing her knowledge of the LOGIC of Spanish language rules.
Whether or not she agrees with the gist of the sentence is meaningless.
Either the sentence as presented in Spanish followed the LOGIC of Spanish grammar rules, or not.
The student responded affirmatively- an incorrect answer. The student argues the sentence was logical- some people don’t like to sweat. She seems to have missed the intent of the quiz- testing her knowledge of the LOGIC of Spanish language rules.
Whether or not she agrees with the gist of the sentence is meaningless.
You are making an assumption about what the statement was meant to test. It could have very well been an attempt to test their knowledge of vocabulary. If you don't understand what key words in a sentence mean, in any language, you cannot tell whether the statement being made is logical or illogical.
For example....."people sit in the jua to pumzika". Is the statement logical or illogical? If you don't know what those words mean......then you cannot discern whether the statement is logical or illogical. Yet, you are hell bent on believing the statement was meant to measure the logic of grammar
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 11-14-2019 at 09:59 AM..
You are making an assumption about what the statement was meant to test. It could have very well been an attempt to test their knowledge of vocabulary. If you don't understand what key words in a sentence mean, in any language, you cannot tell whether the statement being made is logical or illogical.
For example....."people sit in the jua to pumzika". Is the statement logical or illogical? If you don't know what those words mean......then you cannot discern whether the statement is logical or illogical.
I wonder if the teacher was trying to say that the sentence 'I go to the gym and try not to sweat' should have the word 'there' at the end ? Or place a period after 'gym' and start a new sentence --- I try not to sweat. If I wrote 'I go to the bathroom and try not to spend too much money' you wouldn't know what the heck I was talking or writing about. Something like that
I wonder if the teacher was trying to say that the sentence 'I go to the gym and try not to sweat' should have the word 'there' at the end ? Or place a period after 'gym' and start a new sentence --- I try not to sweat. If I wrote 'I go to the bathroom and try not to spend too much money' you wouldn't know what the heck I was talking or writing about. Something like that
I many ways....it was not a good question. The teacher should go back and give everyone credit for that question. There is really not right or wrong because its too subjective.
I was visiting a friend, the other day, who has a 15 year old daughter. They are African American. I was was talking with my friend when his daughter came into the room, greeted me, then proceeded to tell her dad how she was furious due to her Spanish teacher saying she had incorrectly answered a question on a recent test. From my understanding of what she said, there was a section of the test called "Logical - Illogical". Statements written in Spanish where the students were supposed to answer whether the statement was logical or illogical. I can only assume that the intent of the exercise was to test the students ability to comprehend what they were reading, and not measure their ability at logic (otherwise it would be a logic class....I would assume).
Anyway, the question was, she said, "I go to the gym and try not to sweat". The daughter answered, "Logical". The teacher said her answer was wrong. In MY opinion, this was a culturally biased question, not by intent, but by the natural tendency of anyone to project their culture as the standard.
The truth is, that in the African American culture, women don't often like to sweat because of their hair. Yes, they go to the gym and try not to work up a sweat because they can ruin expensive hairdos. Black women spend a lot of money on their hair and they don't want to have to wash their hair frequently....which would be the tendency if you sweated a lot. The same thing would be true if the teachers question was "Going to the pool and not trying to get your hair wet". To many black women that is LOGICAL. They don't want to get their hair wet.
Finally, the teacher said that most of the other students answered it correctly and would not accept her plea that she understood the statement and that it was logical in her mind. However, she was the only African American in the class.
In your opinion....was this culturally biased? I am not asking if its racism. To me, its just a person creating questions projected from scenarios based upon their culture.
That has nothing at all to do with "cultural bias". I don't like sweating, either. I think it's gross. Sweat is right up there with snot as one of the grossest things I can think of that comes out of humans. I don't go to the gym to try not to sweat, I go to the gym to get a workout. The point of going to the gym is to workout, no matter how you do it, slow walk on the treadmill or sweating like a stuck pig over an open fire. No one says, "I go to the gym and try not to sweat".
The "going to the pool and not getting your hair wet" is not something specific to black women. True blondes also don't like getting their hair wet because it turns green in the chlorine. Other females don't want to get their hair wet for a variety of reasons. Swim caps are not just sold to black women.
That has nothing at all to do with "cultural bias". I don't like sweating, either. I think it's gross. Sweat is right up there with snot as one of the grossest things I can think of that comes out of humans. I don't go to the gym to try not to sweat, I go to the gym to get a workout. The point of going to the gym is to workout, no matter how you do it, slow walk on the treadmill or sweating like a stuck pig over an open fire. No one says, "I go to the gym and try not to sweat".
The "going to the pool and not getting your hair wet" is not something specific to black women. True blondes also don't like getting their hair wet because it turns green in the chlorine. Other females don't want to get their hair wet for a variety of reasons. Swim caps are not just sold to black women.
Saying something is cultural is not saying that something is EXCLUSIVE to that culture You are not disproving cultural bias by suggesting that you practice the behavior and are not part of the said culture.
I wonder if the teacher was trying to say that the sentence 'I go to the gym and try not to sweat' should have the word 'there' at the end ? Or place a period after 'gym' and start a new sentence --- I try not to sweat. If I wrote 'I go to the bathroom and try not to spend too much money' you wouldn't know what the heck I was talking or writing about. Something like that
This was a quiz in Spanish class about the application of the logic of Spanish grammar in a variety of sentences. Sounds like this student may have missed the entire point of the exercise which was simple, does the sentence follow the logic of Spanish grammar rules, or not- absolutely nothing to do with whether the reader agreed with the statement, or not.
This was a quiz in Spanish class about the application of the logic of Spanish grammar in a variety of sentences. Sounds like this student may have missed the entire point of the exercise which was simple, does the sentence follow the logic of Spanish grammar rules, or not- absolutely nothing to do with whether the reader agreed with the statement, or not.
Were/are YOU the teacher in question
You cannot be so definitive about the intent of the question without having been the person who created the question? If you are not the teacher, then you are sounding crazy. You have no way of demonstrating that such is the case.
That has nothing at all to do with "cultural bias". I don't like sweating, either. I think it's gross. Sweat is right up there with snot as one of the grossest things I can think of that comes out of humans. I don't go to the gym to try not to sweat, I go to the gym to get a workout. The point of going to the gym is to workout, no matter how you do it, slow walk on the treadmill or sweating like a stuck pig over an open fire. No one says, "I go to the gym and try not to sweat".
The "going to the pool and not getting your hair wet" is not something specific to black women. True blondes also don't like getting their hair wet because it turns green in the chlorine. Other females don't want to get their hair wet for a variety of reasons. Swim caps are not just sold to black women.
Sweat has nothing to do with whether the sentence construction adhered to the logic of Spanish grammar rules.
This student missed the point of the exercise and got hung up on sweat.
There is an emphasis on teaching secondary language from the basis of the logic of that language’s grammar rules which is the opposite of how we all learn our primary language.
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You are not disproving cultural bias by suggesting that you practice the behavior and are not part of the said culture.
