Posted on 02/16/2007 4:07:28 AM PST by ajolympian2004
Chris Romer is a freshman Colorado Senator. He's a bright fellow with a degree from Stanford in economics and more than 20 years of experience in the private sector as a public finance investment banker, specializing in municipal and state budgets. The son of former Gov. Roy Romer, he has a good political pedigree. He describes himself as a "lifelong Democrat," but I don't necessarily hold that against him. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat. Romer was awarded a seat on the Education Committee. Since Colorado governments - at all levels, combined - spend more money on education by a wide margin than on any other governmental activity, this is an important post.
Romer's first legislative effort was to sponsor a perfectly sensible bill, Senate Bill 73, that would require Colorado public schools to "adopt English language competency as a graduation requirement for high school students" starting in 2012. Whatever else students might learn in our public schools - from algebra, to Jay Bennish's anti-capitalist "geography," to multiculturalism - who could disagree that English language proficiency is the single most essential area for opening up opportunities to success in our society? This is especially true, today, with so many more students entering our schools with a first language other than English. Most of us would imagine that after 13 years of K-12 education, this is an achievable task.
Well, silly us. As a rookie politician, Romer was quickly instructed as to the error of his ways by veteran Senate Democrats. More specifically, by a squad of veteran Democrats who were put in the Senate by the teachers' unions to do their bidding. As the Rocky Mountain News reported, "Democrats, many of them retired teachers, gave freshman Democratic Senator Chris Romer a tongue-lashing."
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
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Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA. He can be reached by e-mail at mikerosen@850koa.com.
Mike Rosen recently subbed for Rush Limbaugh a few weeks ago.
The education/teachers unions come about as close to communism as you can get.
The fact that they oppose English proficiency is completely expected from groups like these.
Mr Romer goes to Denver?
At moments like this I am ashamed to be a teacher. Nevertheless, I will teach as if Mr. Romer's proposal is a commonly accepted practice.
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