i read this article about how the Oklahoma tribes are asking that legislators to NOT support the ENglish only bill. something about how they have indian languages being taught in certain schools to preserve their native language and this bill may affect that...??? I don't know sounds strange to me. basically the bill would require that all state documents be provided in English only and not have to be printed in other languages (well, not like they print them in Indian languages or any of the other languages in OKlahoma, just Spanish). Having an English only policiy unites this state because if we are all able to speak the same language we can better understand one another. having a bunch of different languages only separates us. I guess they see this as an anti immigrant bill, but I have to say if you choose to live in a country where another language is spoken then learn the language! THe state has not been providinig anything in Indian languages so I am suspect about the fuss by the Indian nation against the bill. Only thing I can think of is they are afraid of losing a bunch of mexican workers of something, but I'm pretty sure the casinos only hire native americans with an Indian card.
Of course you can probably guess I'm completely for English only. THe Indian nation says that Oklahoma is not open to diversity, that's the dumbest thing I ever heard, this bill has nothing to do with accepting diversity. It's about uniting us under one langues regardless of who is joing the "melting pot" , If cultures live separately and never learn to communicate in one common language then how is that considered "melting in".English only is needed here desparately. ANd while we're at it huge penalties for the people hiring them. if there were no jobs there would not illegal immigrants coming to this country. My dream would be that Illegale immigrants quit finding work, and they would stay in Mexico and through force or democracy , demand changes be made in their own country to improve economy, jobs, government etc....
4 comments:
I am for English only in schools. I see that it is important for culture to be maintained... languages... etc., but that can be done at home. I know from my mom's experiences, she teaches at a middle school in an area that is 98% hispanic. In the elementary school the teachers teach in Spanish, so the kids know Spanish and are getting instruction in their native language, which can help so the kid may perform better, but when the standardized tests are in English and you can't use a translator and you don't know English well there is a problem. I am against it.
Then when they get to middle school the teachers speak English only, they are faced with kids who only read at a 2nd-3rd grade level, lots of kids without real knowledge of English. The parents and administrators expect the teachers to perform miracles and have the kids up to speed.
The teachers, while they are great, and many are miracle workers, they can't bring the kids up 5 levels in a year, so the school does really bad on standardized tests and falls under NCLB sanctions, so the state can come in and take it over, which will probably happen at my mom's school next year, so basically that's why I'm English only.
English only worked for this country through our whole history. I have no idea why we'd want to abandon it now. Studies have also shown that English-only instruction is an indicator for improved financial success later in life.
Obviously people can speak Spanish at home. I don't think anyone thinks that individuals being bilingual is a bad thing in a global economy. But the idea that not everyone should learn English is really a shame.
I also agree that the biggest issue in this whole mess is Mexico's corrupt government and society. It is a great country with lots of resources, but the top 2% of society continues to ensure that nothing changes for the vast majority of Mexicans. I wish we would focus more on getting Mexico to reform itself. That's the biggest issue of all -- this country almost medieval in social stratification that's still ripe with corruption and bribery.
Obviously the U.S. is far from ideal either, if anyone tries to accuse me of implying it is. It isn't.
I gotta disagree here. America does not have a national language, and I don't think we should have one. Multiple languages have always been spoken here, and I don't think we need to run away from that. Providing some government documents in other languages could make things better for new immigrants who have not yet had the time to master English. Saying to somebody, "well if you don't speak English, then you're screwed" doesn't seem like the best thing to me. We want to encourage immigrants to learn English and make it easier for them to integrate, and it sounds to me like this bill would make it harder.
As for schools, I agree that all children need to learn English. But I don't believe that English only schools are the best way to teach immigrants the language. Some of my friends who taught young kids who didn't speak English often said that they felt their hands were incredibly tied by not being able to use other languages to facilitate the learning process. One of my friends actually had a problem while student teaching. She was with early elementary students, and she had to give the parents some homework instructions. The parents did not speak English. My friend spoke spanish, but she was forbidden to speak spanish to the parents by school policy. So the loser here is the student because they lose out on the chance for the parents to help.
I think that all kids should be learning multiple languages beginning in elementary school. Nearly every other advanced nation has mandatory foreign language instruction. It's a global economy and we need to prepare a global workforce.
There's my 2 cents. Have at me. :)
I hate that metaphor, “melting pot”. It’s disgusting and demeaning. It bothers me when people attach a cutesy phrase to something, just to make it sound better. Phrases like “ethnic cleansing”, or “internment camps”, because calling it what it really is wouldn’t sit well with many people. But okay, a “melting pot”, lets go with that. What happens when you mix all the colors of the rainbow into a nice big pot? It turns black! No color what so ever; just a big mess of depressing nothingness.
We are supposedly living in a society that respects and appreciates the things that make us different. The reality is most people have this, “assimilate or get the hell out!” mentality. I am a 3rd generation American and I grew up in a house where I didn’t learn how to speak English until I started school. I have aunts, uncles and grandparents that still do not speak English, and may never learn.
It takes courage and conviction to hold onto one’s culture when it would clearly be easier to give it up and become like everybody else. If somebody wants to take on that kind of struggle and heartache from not learning English, lucky for them they came to a country that allows them to do so. It’s not anybody’s place to tell these people that they have to change. They are Americans, and by refusing to change they demonstrate their patriotism.
sorry about the verbal diarhea.
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