I think you should be required to speak english in classes. Outside of class, generally I think it should be okay to not speak english. But I can understand if there are repeated threats or dangers, you could ban another language.
English is not the official language of the United States, but it is the silver bullet to get ahead. If you don't speak English, you're fucked, plain and simple. I applaud the principal for doing something unpopular for the betterment of the kids. Here is the money quote for me: I couldn't disagree with this sentiment more strongly. Speak whatever you wish in your home or outside the school grounds. Hell, three of my four grandparents spoke a language different than English when they were at home, but when they were at school, English was all they spoke. It is the language of assimilation in the United States. Keep speaking Spanish, and you limit your future options.
I think you make a valid point, and perhaps the principal would fair better if they gave statistics about "children who struggle with english are X times more likely to fail a school level."
Yes, I'm sure the principal tried to ban a language because he was worried about the kids opportunities for the future. This is fucking nutballs.
How stupid of her. However, as someone who has to listen to people speak spanish all the time I must say it is very annoying.
Freedom of Speech is not limited to one language, hence the word Freedom. I was required to take a semester of Spanish in the eighth grade. As for learning English, what better way than to have it explained to you by a friend who speaks your native Spanish?
She was rightfully terminated. There is an obvious campaign to intimidate the kids and Hispanic school district employees. People in Chinatown speak Chinese and thrive. It's bullshit that one must speak English outside the home to thrive. If you care about the kids' education, then they can be taught physics or math or history , etc., in whatever language makes sense. If the schools want to require English as a 2nd language, like MARIS' year of Spanish example, then fine. This principal wanted to ban Spanish on campus, period. The norm of the community is to speak Spanish. It shouldn't be surprising that the kids speak freely in the lunch room or playground.
I agree that the children should be taught English. However, banning Spanish is not the way to go about it. My five year old has been in a Chinese immersion program for the last three years. They have not banned English on campus in order to get the kids to speak Mandarin yet have a hugely successful program. The percentage of English taught in class is raised every year where kindergarten is almost entirely Mandarin and fifth grade it is an even split. Testing results show that not only do they pick up a second language but outperform the kids only taught English by the end of elementary. Agree that this was the money quote. You are not going to get results by merely banning Spanish. It is a lazy policy that has been shown not to work.
I do not agree with this. Waiting till middle school or later, then only teaching for a year and one hour at a time is a horrible way to ensure kids can speak a second language. Starting at the kindergarten level or earlier yields drastically better results.
This is a different issue, but what I hate is that it is almost a requirement to be bilingual in order to land some jobs.
This is sort of true, and sort of misleading. Many of the jobs that stay open, are the bilingual jobs. But the majority of state and federal jobs are not required to be bi-lingual. Those are just the hardest to fill or the newest openings.
True, but in the near-future, Chinese will be the international language. I believe that American schools should require children to speak only Chinese in school. If they want to get ethnic at home and speak American, it's okay what they do with their private time.
