CNN 2010-05-28

Would a guy like the governor of California be allowed to teach Arizona kids how to learn English? Arnold (Schwarzenegger)'s Austrian accent is as thick as his biceps but his English seems to be just fine. How about Paula Deen? Her accent's as thick as three melted sticks of butter in a frying pan.

It seems just wrong to judge a teacher by his or her accent as to judge on their hair or skin color. Their accents reflect who they are and where they came from. What's more important -- what teachers say or how they say it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC HANSON, KCCI REPORTER (voice-over): When your whole world is shaken before age 12, escapes are simple and rare, especially for girls. You see, boys near the epicenter of Haiti's earthquake don't let a flat basketball derail a good time. But girls, their green pigtails stay on the sidelines, until a Division One women's coach shows up --

AMY STEPHENS, DRAKE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH: I might be just as nervous as they are.

HANSON: -- and convinces 40 young Haitians to trade their green dresses for bulldog blue.

STEPHENS: Put your arms out in front and if they can touch someone, they're too close.

HANSON: Even though they can't understand a word she's saying.

STEPHENS: One, two, three -- oh.

STEPHENS: We're making the number eight around our legs.

HANSON: Once ball handling became comedic, the coach used to precision decided 1 she might as well turn them loose --

STEPHENS: OK. Lay-ups. We're doing right-handed lay-ups.

HANSON: -- on the baskets they'd been eyeing.

STEPHENS: Yes. Oh, almost.

HANSON: Air balls, there were plenty until baskets started falling. And when they did, 6th grade girls became 6th grade girls.

STEPHENS: That's the beauty of the age group. It doesn't matter if you're Haitians or Americans. When you get excited and you high five all of a sudden it really breaks down -- it breaks down barriers.

ISAAC FILS, HAITIAN COACH: They're just so happy about playing. They're playing, so they feel very, very happy. You know, so they're enjoying themselves, you know.

HANSON: Suddenly, the boys were the jealous ones.

ANDIE HATFIELD CLUBB, ATHLETIC 2 DIRECTOR, DRAKE UNIVERSITY: This is a group of girls who they said, don't play basketball.

HANSON: And the girls burdened with adult-sized problems discovered it's OK to play.

CLUBB: Their joy, their excitement -- just to watch them playing. They're playing just like 5th and 6th graders play. It's hard to believe, especially when you look behind them and they're living in these tents and there is rubble 3 from the earthquake. It's overwhelming 4.

FILS: So when they play, they forget about the awful earthquake that happened in Haiti. Sport is very, very good for them to make them forget some things like the earthquake. It's a good thing. You know.