Seventh Grader Suspended For Speaking Menominee In Classroom

Is America so afraid of bilingualism that languages other than English are being downright banned from classrooms? A seventh grader in Shawano, Wisconsin might have to agree.

At the end of January, Miranda Washinawatok, a seventh grader at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is operated by the Diocese of Green Bay who speaks both English and Menominee, was suspended from playing in a basketball game for saying “I love you” in Menominee in her classroom.

According to Tanaes Washinawatok, the mother of the suspended girl:

On January 19 I was told by Miranda she was being benched from playing that night. I found out at 4:20 and we were back at school at 6:30 pm so I could get to the bottom of why she could not play. Miranda kept saying she was only told by her assistant coach she was being benched because two teachers said she had a bad attitude. I wanted to know what she did to make them say she had a bad attitude.

Miranda’s bad attitude, according to her teacher, was teaching another student how to say a few words in the Menominee language: posoh, which means “hello” and ketapanan, which means “I love you.”

The teacher who called Miranda out on speaking in a language other than English defends her actions, arguing, “How do I know you are not saying something bad?”

In response, Miranda told the Shawano Leader, “We would have translated what the words meant if she asked. I want to be able to talk in Menominee because it’s part of my culture; I like to express that.”

Tanaes Washinawatok reports that a generic letter of apology was sent out by the school. However, she believes that such a generic apology is “not enough.”

In a world in which most people speak two or more languages, Americans are known for their few of other languages. This seventh grader’s encounter with her teacher proves that point.

Do you think the school overstepped in suspending the seventh grader?