Thread: Schools speak out on English woes

Schools speak out on English woes
Web Posted: 07/14/2005 12:00 AM CDT

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/stateg ... 75553.html

Gary Scharrer
Express-News Austin Bureau

AUSTIN â€â€

QUOTE : "It's just that they have too many deficiencies by the time they reach (the high school level) because they are not coming from reading and writing households or, maybe, not reading and writing in English households," she said.

Well, why don't we start by stopping. Stop putting all of our official forms in so many languages, thus sending the message to newcomers to America that you don't need to bother to learn English. Stay put, we will come to you!

Millions of Hispanic parents decide to speak to the kids in Spanish at home in order to preserve their native language. Maybe it would be better to start reading to their children in English in order to help both the parent and the child to learn English. It is the language of the United States of America. When you chose to come to America, language should be something which was considered that would be a part of assimilation to your new country.

When these kids go to take Spanish in school, THEN is the right time to help their children to learn Spanish, and undoubtedly they would probably make A's in their Spanish classes.

Stop being so stubborn on the issue and make the effort. As the article says it is lack of fluency in English which is holding these kids back. Make the effort, Mom and Dad. Do it for your child as well as for the country which has opened it's doors to you to become an American.

Elected officials, stop providing papers in every language under the sun. Put it in English. Allow people to reach out to Americans for help in learning the language. Put some "motivation" behind this.

Every newsletter from my school is about 6 pages thick. WHY. It's copied in at least 3 different languages. Come on!! Use the money right. Educate the children. Don't hold them back by "accommodating" their parents. When people from Europe immigrated to America in the past, do you think they had papers in their foreign languages??? Of course not. They were anxious to learn the language of this country.

When I hear senators, congressmen, mayors, principals jabbering off in Spanish....I always say to myself....you are encouraging a divided America, sending the wrong message....and frankly making a fool of yourselves as to your ignorance on how this harms children of immigrants, as well as English speaking children. I will never vote for a candidate who does that. If I want leaders who speak Spanish, I'll move to a Spanish speaking country. Wake Up America