Posted on 10/06/2005 6:20:04 AM PDT by DogBarkTree
A recent Mexican Independence Day assembly at Larkin High may have taken cultural sensitivity one step too far, a Larkin parent said this week.
Robert Bedard said his son was reprimanded when he declined to stand for the Mexican National Anthem during a ceremony at the west Elgin school last month.
His 17-year-old son, a senior in the process of enlisting, feared honoring another nation’s anthem might jeopardize his military status. Sitting down cost him a trip to the office.
Bedard questioned this week whether the scales of cultural diversity may have tilted out of balance.
“I am concerned that the Mexican Americans have unfairly monopolized the teaching of cultural awareness at this school,” said Bedard, a lieutenant with the Elgin fire department. “At least that’s the perspective of a parent. I’d love to be corrected.”
School leaders sought to do just that.
Just as Latino students orchestrated an assembly for Mexican Independence Day, officials said, black students host an assembly commemorating black history month in February.
“If we were teaching one culture’s history over another, then we have an issue,” school board President Ken Kaczynski said Wednesday. “But I don’t think that’s the case.”
The history lesson followed a maelstrom of controversy last spring when a Larkin student wrote an essay lamenting the celebration of Mexican holidays in American schools.
The teen faulted Mexican students, saying they shouldn’t have lowered the American flag in favor of a Mexican flag on Sept. 16, 2004.
Larkin officials later said the American flag was raised again before class began. No students ever were found responsible.
“Of the ethnic groups at Larkin,” Principal Richard Webb said, “the Hispanic group is growing at the most increased rate and of that Hispanic group, the vast majority of students are Mexican-American.”
Of the 2,550 students enrolled at Larkin last year, 38.4æpercent were Latino. Nearly a quarter of students were new to English. Information for the current school year is not yet available.
Four years earlier, 20 percent of the school’s 2,029 students were Latino, according to the 2000 school report card. Some 10 percent of students spoke English as a second language.
As the school grows more diverse, cultural assemblies will follow, Bedard said. But they should take care to represent a range of cultures, including the homegrown one.
“If they have an assembly, I would be happy if they will not try to force students to honor patriotic elements of another culture unless they also honor our flag, our anthem as well,” Bedard said. “It’s just respect for both cultures.”
I reminded the principal that a sure way to destroy America is to teach multiculturalism and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture and language. No nation can survive tension, conflict and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. Bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy.
Canada, Belgium, Malaysia and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. France has their hands full with the Basques, Corsicans and Bretons and Pakistan and Cyprus have divided.
While these liberals preach that they're simply making newcomers to this country "feel at home", they're in fact promoting divided loyalties. Let's starts celebrating unity, not diversity by honoring the same flag, singing the same anthem and speaking the same language.
The melting pot metaphor has been replaced with the salad bowl metaphor where all are encouraged to keep their own language and culture to insure we have various culture subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans emhasizing our similarities.
Yes, I thought of the Hockey-analogy as well. But here's the other side of that analogy: Though up to half the players of any NHL matchup may be Canadian, we only play the Canadian anthem when a Canadian-based team is playing. I think I'm right about that, but it may vary by the arena.
I think our local AHL team (Hershey Bears) always plays the Canadian anthem regardless of who is playing.
My daughter teaches high school and says that the Mexican students will not recite - or even stand up out of courtesy for - the pledge of allegiance.
Don't try to talk sense to them, they're on their three-minutes hate.
SD
Yes, that's correct. The point here is that we are not at war with Mexico, they are an ally. There is no reason a boy should fear jeopardizing his military enlistment by respecting the national anthem of an ally.
Now, if there are other underlying tensions going on, that's different. But his excuse is BS.
SD
The boy should have told the principal to bend over so he could show him where to store the Mexican flag!
Growing up in San Diego, it was always fun to listen to folks in Mexican restuarants tyring to order shrip (cammarones) and ordering bastards.
What fries with that?
http://www.freedominion.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45189
In support of your post, I offer the following thread on F/D.
My biggest problem was the reprimand. Courtesy is one thing, requiring the kid to honor another country's anthem and flag in our own country or face punishment is beyond the pale.
Try enforcing mandates that a child stand and honor our own flag and anthem, or Pledge of Allegiance, and see how willing these school administrators are, not to mention how quickly the ACLU would be on site.
Reminds me of the flap of a couple of years ago - Linda Ronstadt had booked at a casino in Las Vegas and the venue was clearly marked as featureing her album music from "Mas Canciones" and "Canciones de Mi Padre".
Folks stormed out demanding a refund because she was singing something other than rock. Spare me. I'm sorry, but how stupid can folks get?
(And yes, I am aware of the 2004 Alladin incident.)
That said, any music you are not used to sounds strange. I am just now getting my head around the whole Zydeco/Cajun thing - cool stuff for the most part.
It wasn't a matter of courtesy if not standing in honor of their flag and anthem got the young man a reprimand. It then became a requirement.
It's a shame that they are not just American. I am sick of hyphenated Americans. Our culture and unity is being systematically destroyed. See my tag line
He should have thrown baggies full of urine. That's acceptable isn't it?
My goodness, our forefathers must be rolling in their graves. It's not the vision they had for Canada. When immigrants come to this country, they must recognise and abide by our laws and values, not us theirs. The exact opposite is the fact in some other countries. You go there, you must abide by their laws and values. I respect that just as others should respect what was and still should be Canadian laws and values.
Good grief. If you substitute "US" for "Canada", our fears and concerns are identical. Thanks for the link.
Rgr that...
This sh-t has been going on in public schools for years. I know that in many public schools in South Florida they play the "black national anthem" ("lift every voice") during black history month.
A school should, of course, be able to "require" courtesy. As you note, this should apply to our own flag as well.
SD
I think they also invented the plastic bag piss bomb - this is a staple at Mexican sporting events where access to restrooms is limited or non-existent
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