Posted by:
Brother Of Jerry
(
)
Date: June 23, 2021 01:47AM
There was an op-ed in the SLTrib yesterday that brought up an issue I had never thought of. I guess it was a case of not recognizing privilege for what it was, and just thinking that's the way the world is.
I don't know the full details, because I didn't participate, but apparently an RM from a foreign language mission could take a course or two at BYU, and upon passing the course(s) purchase a minor in that language for a nominal fee. Apparently the same sort of "opportunity" is available to RMs at other Utah universities.
Here's the catch: if you happened to be raised in a family/culture where your foreign mission language was a language you were already fluent in, then this program is not available to you. You can test out of intro courses in the language, but you don't receive credit for the courses you test out of, and you can't "buy" a minor.
Further, if you are in a program that has a foreign language requirement, then your native language doesn't count toward that requirement. If you come to BYU bilingual, you have to pass courses learning a third language. English-only missionaries who buy the language credits don't have to do that.
There are other ramifications. The bilingual, or foreign language only student has to compete for scholarships and grades (often tied to scholarship eligibility) against the English speaking RMs who were able to purchase basically a semester of high grades without having to do much work except for going on a foreign mission.
The privilege part is why do basically white American Mormon RMs (the overwhelming majority of the people who qualify for this program), get credits that will get them out of college sooner, enhance their eligibility for scholarships, show up on their transcripts, while students who learned the same languages, often more proficiently, by other means, not have the option to participate in this program? Yeah, I know - not pure racism, but a mixture of religious and racial privilege.
Stikes me as a very good point. Either bilingual students, whether RM or not, should be eligible for the program, or both groups should be able to test out of intro courses in the language, but receive no credit for those courses, they just don't have to take them. Both groups should be held to the same standard.
[I think it is possible to challenge a course for credit, but even though I taught college for a number of years, I had students skip courses, but nobody ever challenged one for credit that I knew of, so I don't know exactly how that works. Embarrassing ignorance. :( ] Hopefully some of y'all can fill in the details of how that program works.