Janine Lei Oliveros

I never gave much thought to the importance of my accent until I decided to leave my country and venture into teaching in another Southeast Asian nation. I still remember that May afternoon when one of my co-teachers, a citizen of Tajikistan and a close friend of mine, told me about a conversation he had had with the principal when recommending me for the vice principal position. The principal explicitly commented: ‘Teacher Janine will never be promoted as a vice principal because of her Filipino accent.’ For the first time in my life, I questioned myself and asked: What...