Bill would exempt English learners from exam [Closing that ``achievement gap'' is a top priority..]

WCBS880 ^

[DainBramage]

English learners are usually referred to as students ain't they?.

[AQGeiger]

The measure comes as all Hispanics not just immigrants and other minorities on average are performing more poorly than average white and Asian students in New York schools. Closing that ``achievement gap'' is a top priority of the state Board of Regents, which has sought to provide additional academic help for minority students.

This is pretty funny....the proponents of this measure are attempting to close the "achievement gap" by simply eradicating the standard!

Everybody succeeds if there is no possibility of failure.

[mewzilla]

They've already dumbed down the Regents requirements to the point of uselessness. A NYS state HS diploma is no longer even worth the paper it's printed on.

[umgud]

It is wrong to give anybody a diploma or any other recognition without meeting the standards for such. Using this logic, maybe we ought to issue them a medical license because they are at a disadvantage. This is insane.

[gargoyle]

...This is depressing...

...Datzaaiitt,nommsaainnn,wehaaangin,,,

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Yes, we wouldn't want to prevent all of those late bloomers from attending classes-upon completion of their regents requirements-at Hostos Community College.

Okay, so they'll have to spend an extra four to five years on their course load in order to earn a baccalaureate, but that's life, isn't it?

By the way, when does one become "fluent enough" in the English language to be able to communicate on a twelfth grade level?

I just don't seem to be fluent "enough" to grasp this tricky concept. Perhaps some of my fellow FReepers, who are conversant "enough" in English, can clarify Mr. Rivera's remarks for me.

P.S. RICHARD MILLS SUCKS!

That's all.

[nothingnew]

Did mr. rivera say all this in English or Spanish?

FMCDH(BITS)

[cyborg]

big mistake

[Congressman Billybob]

Like most Americans, I am descended from families that came here from other countries. My father's mother was brought here from Germany when she was 2. My mother's mother'd family came from France. (One family was seeking economic opportunity; the other was fleeing religious persecution.)

The point, of course, is that two of the four families that I come from spoke little or no English when they came here. They quickly learned that success in America means learning English. It is a simple equation -- learn how live in America by learning its language and culture.

These fools in the New York legislature are dumb as a hoe handle, as they say hereabouts. Did I miss anything?

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Three Americans: Ronald Reagan, George Soros, Aurel deHollan."

If you haven't already joined the anti-CFR effort, please click here.

[Max Combined]

"The measure comes as all Hispanics not just immigrants and other minorities on average are performing more poorly than average white and Asian students in New York schools."

Same as all other schools everywhere.

[FITZ]

They just give them the tests in Spanish here --- they're not expected to learn English --- but they still don't do too well on the tests even in Spanish --- but then they get moved to "special ed" and are exempt from taking any tests.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Look, don't sell the test short, it may be telling us that these kids, (especially those in country 5 years or less) will have great trouble finding work, will become welfare users or worse turn to crime. Of course if they can work in dad's business OK, otherwise, up the english to the immersion level and they will be fine in one year. (Ref, California immersion program.) See, I could learn spanish well enough to pass the professioncy test in Mexico in one year if all I had to do was study spanish. Equalmente.

[cyborg]

Pulik skools aren't what they used to be... keeping kids stupid makes a lot of money. Unfortunately, keeping black and hispanic kids stupid is real easy to do thanks to the liberal soft bigotry of low expectations,the unions, the school administrations too busy lining their pockets, family instability,etc.

They never both to find out about black children being homeschooled, in private schools,etc. Never.

[FITZ]

The really sad thing is --- a young child can become fluent in English very quickly if allowed. Asian kids are encouraged to learn English so they do well --- it's common to see foreigners from non-hispanic countries speak English to their children to encourage them to learn it but very rare to hear foreigners from hispanic countries speak English to their children. The children whose parents do so though learn English very quickly.

[PLK]

Great idea - less and less assimilation into American culture. It's working so well in France ... let's go for it, too!!!!! </sarcasm>

[FITZ]

See how great it's working here:

Texas third-graders scored better than the state predicted on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills reading test, as 89 percent passed the English version and 82 percent passed the Spanish version, the Texas Education Agency said Tuesday.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/education/stories/school031903.html

[The Scourge of Yazid]

English immersion works, pure and simple.

It's been proven time and time again, with empirical evidence, not just pointless academic studies.

When Congressman Herman Badillo introduced federal legislation years ago to address the needs of "Hispanic" students, he was not trying to foster a subculture of semi-literate, disenfranchised youths.

He was trying to redress a problem that he saw in the young Puerto Rican students going to public school in places like Washington Heights and the South Bronx, who were not succeeding academically.

The whole concept of bilingual education has been distorted beyond belief by a group of leftist scholars and the racial grievance industry.

[FITZ]

"he was not trying to foster a subculture of semi-literate, disenfranchised youths."

Well they have solutions for that --- just more of the same if they make it to college:

Finding a Hispanic instructor at the head of a class is all the inspiration Westsider Claudia Gomez needs to get through college, especially if the instructor is a woman.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/education/stories/school030303.html

(of course you have to understand that this college also has a 65% remediation rate, low rate of graduating students -- something like 25% after 6 years. Guess we need to just hand out degrees just to be really fair)

[FITZ]

As far as immersion -- of course it works. It works well for adults which is why businessmen will pay big money for a 3 week immersion course and quickly learn a foreign language. Anyone can go to Mexico and take a Spanish class taught in Spanish, speak only to the natives -- don't socialize with other Americans --- and within 3 months will be quite fluent in Spanish. Immersion and of course a little will to learn are all it takes. What doesn't work is to spend one hour a day, 5 days a week half-heartedly learning a couple words here and there and spending the rest of the time in your native language --- you'll never learn --- but that's the point in bilingual ed.