Saturday Forum

A California Reader Says Charge Immigrants For English Instruction!; etc.

From: Pat Maple (e-mail him)

Re: Joe Guzzardi’s Column: Lodi School Budget Deficit Tied Directly To Immigration
http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/100122_vfl.htm

I spent 14 years on school boards and saw little progress in the language assimilation of many, if not most, of the Hispanic children. The English as a Second Language and English language earner system that is presently used in our school system does not work.

Since the students aren’t learning, the answer is to make them pay at least a modest fee to take the burden off the taxpayer. Non-English speaking parents should also be mandated to English classes

The consequences of Hispanic K-12 students not mastering English is dire. In a conversation with a Board member from the Fresno District, he mentioned that the school is being taken over by the state because of so-called fiscal irresponsibility.

In reality, my source identified unfunded mandates like ELL, ESL and other Hispanic related programs such as gang mediation that led to its near bankruptcy. Fresno spent well over $150 million per year educating the Hispanic population. And each year the test scores were worse and the budget crisis deeper.

California cannot educate students from hundreds of cultures. It’s nuts to pretend it can. Which is easier: catering to immigrants’ individual needs or insisting the immigrants assimilate?

Talking about getting immigrants out of those ever present shadows is one thing but doing something about it is another. The best way for them to come out is to learn English.

Maple, a roofer, lives in the San Joaquin Valley.

http://www.vdare.com/letters/tl_013010.htm#b1

(go to other links within the original letter at the source link above)