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School tells teachers to speak English only
Arizona Republic ^ | August 19, 2002 | Maggie Galehouse

Posted on 08/19/2002 9:57:14 AM PDT by 4America

Edited on 05/07/2004 5:21:02 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Teachers at PT Coe Elementary are shocked by Principal Lesa Thomas' request to keep Spanish out of their playground, cafeteria and hallways.

The K-5 school is part of the Isaac Elementary School District, where the student population is 95 percent Hispanic.


(Excerpt) Read more at azcentral.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Free Republic; Front Page News; Government; Mexico; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: aboutdamntime; assimilation; englishlanguage; hispanics; illegalimmigrants; immigration; schools; unitedstates
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To: 4America
English Only, English First BUMP!
41 posted on 08/20/2002 8:04:52 PM PDT by Hoppean
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To: RonF
They didn't teach my German immigrant ancestors in German -- only in English. And they turned out just fine. And what's more, they immigrated LEGALLY to this country, didn't believe they were "entitled" to taxpayer-subsidized German instruction, didn't expect special privileges and didn't demand handouts. Wonder why?
42 posted on 08/21/2002 4:22:25 AM PDT by MissouriForBush
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To: Myrean
I don't even see where this should be an issue. You come to our country, you adapt to US!
43 posted on 08/21/2002 4:53:12 AM PDT by Lilly
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To: glc1173@aol.com
re: Post 30

Now that's just simplistic beauty!
44 posted on 08/21/2002 5:04:48 AM PDT by Lilly
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To: Hila
By the time they're in third grade, these kids typically speak English as well as you or I. They are thoroughly bi-lingual, able to converse without accent, and including idioms, in either language.

My point isn't about what the kids should be taught in school, though. It is that a school principal has no business telling a teacher or anyone else what language they might use. That's just silly, silly, and past ridiculous.

45 posted on 08/21/2002 6:09:13 AM PDT by Illbay
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To: MissouriForBush
They didn't teach my German immigrant ancestors in German -- only in English.

They haven't been here long, then. Entire communities in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas were established where German was the language used every day, including in the schools.

In fact, it was so typical that in the 1740s Ben Franklin complained about the Germans who came here but wouldn't assimilate, predicting that it would lead to the destruction of society, yaddayadda.

46 posted on 08/21/2002 6:12:00 AM PDT by Illbay
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To: Lilly
You come to our country, you adapt to US!

So what are you suggesting? Should we set up a "language Gestapo" charged with rooting out insidious Spanish use wherever it might cower and hide?

Some of you people REALLY take the cake.

47 posted on 08/21/2002 6:13:23 AM PDT by Illbay
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To: 4America
"The goal is to model good English for the kids. We believe the more we model the sooner the students will learn English and the sooner they'll be successful."

Bump for common sense!

48 posted on 08/21/2002 6:17:08 AM PDT by missycocopuffs
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To: 4America
I don't see how kids can be stopped from conversing with each in Spanish on the playground or in the hallways or what have you.

For safety reasons it does make sense to have at least a few bilingual teachers on staff.

But above it does make sense to take the immersion approach to English instruction. And that means using it in all official settings - when conversing with teachers or principals, in the classroom, and so forth.

In the end, it's what's best for the children. If their English is poor, their prospects for success will be so as well.

49 posted on 08/21/2002 6:22:09 AM PDT by The Iguana
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Comment #50 Removed by Moderator

To: MissouriForBush
Because when your immigrant ancestors came to the U.S., they hadn't been told that the reason they were poor was because of the U.S., and they expected that they'd have to learn the language and get a job if they were to survive.

Having said that, plenty of illegal aliens come in to the U.S. to work. Go on a business trip. Stay in a hotel, look out the windows of the business you're meeting at in the morning and watch the guys doing the outdoor maintenance, have lunch at McDonalds (I love trying to make myself understood through the speaker in the drive-in lane), have dinner in any decent restaurant and peek in the kitchen, and you'll be surrounded by illegal aliens doing all the jobs that "Americans won't do". They're working.

However, they didn't cross an ocean. They want to be able to go back and forth from their own country to the U.S., taking advantage of the U.S. while still remaining tied to Mexico, et. al. They haven't cut the cord and committed themselves to considering the U.S.A. as their country, to be supported and defended. This is what makes them, and their actions, different from your ancestors and their actions.
51 posted on 08/21/2002 8:39:49 AM PDT by RonF
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To: glc1173@aol.com
"Principals required teachers to not let kids wear hats in class. The principal of the other local high school banned baggy shorts."

My local high school, in the Chicago suburbs and an excellent school in a relatively upscale economic area that's about 90% white, had to put out a letter about their dress code recently. The old dress code, unfortunately, depended on the parents being in possession of common sense. That didn't work, so they had to make a few things clear. I paraphrase (quotes are for clarity on what's me and what's in the letter):

"Your kid's clothing cannot advertise products or substances your kid can't legally own or consume.

Clothing is to cover your kid's abdomen completely.

Underwear as appropriate to both sexes is to be a) worn, and b) not externally visible.

No hats, except for yamulkas (sp?), hijabs, or other established religious headgear.

Clothing is to be untorn and opaque.

No cleavage.

Pants are to come down to ankles.

Violations of these dress codes will get your kid sent home with no prior warnings. You child will not be re-admitted to school until they are dressed decently, and stay that way. You'll be responsible for being contactable at work or wherever else you are during the day, and for transporting your kid home. They'll be held in the principal's office until you come pick them up.

Please note that this has been mailed out well in advance of the back-to-school sales, for a reason. Parental statements such as "That's all the clothing the stores have", or "That's all the clothing my kid has" will be ignored."

My experience with the school's administration is that these rules will be enforced, and if you don't like it, go ahead and sue. It's a good school, and the principal intends it to remain that way.
52 posted on 08/21/2002 8:55:20 AM PDT by RonF
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To: 4America
But, but, but, if they can keep e-speaking e-Spanish they can get rewarding jobs as food clerks in any airport.
53 posted on 08/21/2002 9:01:30 AM PDT by N. Theknow
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To: RonF
I guess because here in Kalifornia, Mexican immigrants are treated as if they have no IQ, they can't possibly learn like the Vietnamese or Russian children! Maybe it is all in higher IQ, as Kalifornia would have us believe!
54 posted on 08/21/2002 10:04:20 AM PDT by Terridan
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To: Myrean
Yes, and the children will be all the better for it. My grandparents spoke Italian in their household but they spoke English everywhere else. No one should forget their background and they should all be proud of it as were my grandparents. My dad spoke Italian too but he used to remind his parents to speak English as well. English is the language here and it should be upheld. Period!
55 posted on 08/21/2002 11:02:46 AM PDT by cubreporter
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To: RonF
Because outside of their little ghettoes they ran into a fierce WASP establishment that had a dim view of foreign cultures. I know my family is part of that German second wave and ol' gramps still was a bit bitter over the WASPs treatment of his volk. I think Hitler changed his mind though and he realized America was best overall.
56 posted on 08/21/2002 11:08:12 AM PDT by junta
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To: 4America
Hopefully we can get this type of deal going in California.

This used to be the deal in California. During the 1950s and 60s lots of kids from Yugoslavia and Italy, some from Japan, some from Mexico, were taught English by English-speaking teachers. There was an immersion class usually lasting a month or so, or however long it took for the individual kids to learn enough English to participate in regular classes.

Guess what? They all did it successfully. They wanted to learn English. They were happy to be in this country and they wanted to be American. I still know some of them to this day, and they may still have a trace of an accent, but are fluent in English and in their native language. This didn't cost the taxpayers a cent extra. No one argued about it because it was the right way to do it.

Now the sheer numbers of immigrants here in California, legal and especially illegal, are costing the taxpayers a fortune.

57 posted on 08/21/2002 1:29:44 PM PDT by janetgreen
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To: Illbay
you people

YOU people? Uh-oh, the political correctness police will get ya...

58 posted on 08/21/2002 1:32:05 PM PDT by janetgreen
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To: 4America
Principal Lesa Thomas you are this week's heroine!
That's a gutsy stand to take in PC America.
Do we have an address and/or(e-mail) to encourage her?
59 posted on 08/21/2002 4:08:11 PM PDT by apackof2
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To: RonF
Sorry, but many of the illegal aliens I have seen in the USA have NOT been hard at work doing the jobs Americans won't do. They're not all as noble as you seem to think.
60 posted on 08/22/2002 6:14:04 AM PDT by MissouriForBush
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