Posted on 03/19/2014 10:05:24 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
HEMPSTEAD - The Hempstead school board won't renew the contract of a principal who instructed her students not to speak Spanish, in a rapidly-evolving district where more than half of the students, like many Texas schools, are now Hispanic.
Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacey was placed on paid administrative leave in December after reportedly announcing, via intercom, that students were not to speak Spanish on the school's campus. The Hispanic population of the rural area, roughly 50 miles northwest of Houston, is growing quickly, and Latino advocates say that it's important to allow Spanish in public schools.
"When you start banning aspects of ethnicity or cultural identity," says Augustin Pinedo, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens Region 18, "it sends the message that the child is not wanted: 'We don't want your color. We don't want your kind.' They then tend to drop out early."
Such fast growth is pervasive in Texas, says Steve Murdock, a professor at Rice University and director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas. Half of all Texas public-school students are now Hispanic, he notes. "When you look at issues related to education in Texas, to a great extent, you're looking at the education of Hispanic children."
Similar growth patterns, he says, hold true for the rest of the United States: "It's not just Texas."
Civil rights advocates say Lacey's suspension may have set off a campaign to intimidate Hispanics, including the district's superintendent, Delma Flores-Smith. They are calling for the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate possible civil rights violations. An FBI spokesman would not confirm an investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Trying to help them assimilate into American society...she then gets fired.
Crazy world we live in.
Like they told the kids in Astoria NY not to speak greek back in the day?
Failure to speak english is a design for failure.
It actually sends a message that English is the language of the United States and you had better learn it. And speaking Spanish outside the classroom instead of practicing English is not the way to do it.
We certainly don’t want students to become proficient in English. It might affect their test scores. If we were ever to “solve” the education problem (much like poverty and globul climate change), liberals would be out of business.
Liberals need dependents (or subjects) to ignorantly keep hands out in servitude of masters. Else they have no need for their masters and would exist and prosper by their own merit.
Time for a new school board.
The quickest way to learn a new language is through immersion.
This principal was trying to help the Hispanic kids learn English. Not to disparage Spanish in any way.
I have known Hispanic immigrant families who did the same thing at home. One young lady told me her dad would ream into them if he heard Spanish being spoken in the home.
Oh hell! Mexicans don’t even speak proper Spanish.
“Mexicans don’t even speak proper Spanish.”
****
The majority of Mexicans can’t read or write the language either. They speak the Spanish version of ebonics and are functional illiterates.
Absolutely correct. I once did some research on the "black" specific journals, TV shows, etc. and gave up after more than 5 pages of entries. The same can be said for Hispanic and Asian. The 9th Circus has even upheld that children cannot wear the American flag on May 5th.
NO, you raving bigot, it tells them that they are living in the USA and not in Mexico, or some point further south. At least that's what it should tell them.
Here in Atlanta my friend’s dad would rail her if she picked up ebonics.
His favorite saying was “there IS an R in four and is NOT one in idea.” Haha
A means to the end of protecting teacher numbers?
I feed bad for some of the kids who know NO English and get no help at home, but there’s no faster way to learn English than immersion. Immersion with an American student mentor might be the best outcome possible.
Give me some Brazilians any day. They know how to speak proper Portuguese.
And they know how to read floor plans in English.
Some of the best wood flooring guys I've had were Brazilian. I never let them know I understood every word they said! Even when they were cursing me out about my flooring designs. Which was often!
They really hated when I threw in some parquet inlays.
“When you start banning aspects of ethnicity or cultural identity,” says Augustin Pinedo, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens Region 18, “it sends the message that the child is not wanted: ‘We don’t want your color. We don’t want your kind.’ They then tend to drop out early.”
It actually sends the exact opposite message.
And of course the characterization as banning is not honest.
I’d say Augustin Piñedo has a conflict of interest.
well, since more than half speak spanish lets require all the students to speak spanish.
If this crap continues we will see colleges conduct all classes in spanish so that these diverse students can exercise their cultural pride throughout their education.
Let’s start with spanish only and english only high schools.
Texas.....lol
Where are all those over inflated Texas egos?
Is it not clear the incremental take over of the U.S., right down to our language is well underway?
Texas will be a blue state soon. Demographics are destiny.
I’ll tell you a PC nightmare... A young member of my extended family (by marriage) was born in Russia came here while in grade school. The school system wanted to put him in an ‘English as second language’ type class. And since the only one available was a class taught in Spanish, that’s where he wound up... It messed up his education... and made his life more difficult until he got out of it some time and struggle later.
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