Voice for Cape Verde

NEA Today, Feb 1999

Innovator

Carol Stahl

Job:

Third grade teacher in transitional bilingual education, Gilmore School, Brockton, Massachusetts

Bright Idea:

Stahl grew up speaking English with her parents and Cape Verde Creole with her grandmother-until the first grade, when a Portuguese student told her that Creole was "not a real language."

"I was devastated," says Stahl. "From that day on, I didn't speak Creole. And I lost that part of my life."

At the Gilmore School, almost half the students are immigrants from Cape Verde, an island nation and former Portuguese colony off the west coast of Africa. Many speak only Cape Verde Creole, a non-standardized, non-written language.

Stahl is working to make sure these students can function and compete in English while maintaining respect for their Cape Verde heritage.

Stahl uses her own handmade materials to allow the Cape Verdian children to see simple phrases and words written both in Creole and English-a big challenge, since she has to generate all the written materials for her classroom.

"When children see their language in print, they have a sense that it's important," says Stahl. "They gain an understanding of written language.

"When they develop that in their first language," she adds, "they can transfer those skills and learn English quickly."

Impact:

The Cape Verdian community is gaining a stronger voice. Adults now work in the community as translators, and one guidance counselor at the Gilmore School is Cape Verdian.

For More: Contact Carol Stahl at 63 Vesey St., Brockton, MA 02401 or by E-mail at cstahl@massed.net.