¿Habla Español? Your kids may soon

The Skagit Valley Herald ^ | 12/01/2003 | Steve Howie

[MontN]

¿Habla Español? Your kids may soon
By STEVE HOWIE

MOUNT VERNON — The school district is studying the possibility of converting one or more of its six elementary schools into dual language programs where the day is divided between lessons in Spanish and English for all students.

"Research says that's the best delivery model," Superintendent Mack Armstrong said. "Then the question is, Why wouldn't we do it?"

...

Armstrong's enthusiasm for the idea follows a visit to the district two weeks ago by Richard Gomez, bilingual education director for the state education department in Olympia.

In the last three years, Gomez has spearheaded efforts to create 17 dual language schools in the state, primarily in eastern Washington. In his previous job in Texas, he helped establish 50 of the schools.

Click here for the whole enchilada...

[FITZ]

I've been to Mexico and seen their elderly beggers all over the streets, begging outside churches after Mass and in the markets. Lots of little kids out begging too ---- it's not the big family values people somehow came to believe as that stereotype.

[riri]

Lots of little kids out begging too ---- it's not the big family values people somehow came to believe as that stereotype

Getting off a tour bus once in Chetzinitza (sorry about the spelling) the kids are standing around begging as usual. Once little boy says to me "10 pesos for my co*k" He was about 8 years old. I'll never forget it.

[FITZ]

Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

From the Story of the Tower of Babel --- only in our case it's not the Lord, it's the Government.

[FITZ]

Americans did pretty well with one common language in the past --- we succeeded over multi-language countries like Belgium and India. Now they're insisting we must have separate groups of people speaking their own language, keeping their own cultural ways. Can't have unity.

[Lexinom]

I think you've hit the nail on the head, Jude. Why Spanish? Why because we're rewarding millions of illegals of course. It seems that alone would be reason enough to NOT recognize their language: why should I or my kids so admire a culture that breaks our laws as to spend the time and effort to learn their language?

Some one astutely pointed out earlier in the thread that the type of studies one pursues will dictate the languages that would be most profitable. I would have less of an issue learning Hindi (a native language of many in my line of work), or Russian. EITHER WAY: The gov't shouldn't pick the language for us.

[ClintonBeGone]

¿Es usted mi amigo?

[ZULU]

WHY is it that liberals continue to believe that Hispanics are dumber than Germans, Italians, Poles, Chinese, etc, who emigrated to this country in large numbers and had no problem learning English??

Can anybody answer that??

This bilingual stuff is utter garbage.

[Xenalyte]

"Research says that's the best delivery model," Superintendent Mack Armstrong said. "Then the question is, Why wouldn't we do it?"

What research would that be, exactly, Mack my man?

[Xenalyte]

But when I was a kid in Houston, Spanish language instruction started at the third grade as a required subject. I'm not sure how many years were required in junior high and high school, but there was a requirement.

Bacon and I got out of high school in Fort Bend in 1986. Spanish wasn't even offered until eighth grade. Two years of foreign language were required for high-school graduation, but you could pick from Spanish (the choice of the sensible), French (the choice of chicks who thought it'd be trendy - oh, yeah, and Bacon for some inexplicable reason), German (the choice of those who wanted to sell gummy bears for a fundraiser), and Latin (the choice of about three kids who wanted a teacher who slept through class).

[Cathryn Crawford]

¿Es usted mi amigo?

LOL. Si, si, amigo.

[RightWingAtheist]

Santayana school, actually. Herbert Spencer is to sociobiology what Lamarck was to evolution-right path, wrong direction :-)

[PJ-Comix]

Español es cerca de Latin. Italiano es màs cerca.

No. Ironicamente español es mas cerca a latino.

[Protagoras]

we need to continue to educate our students in the govenment schools in English only.

Abolish government schools and the problem disappears.

[PJ-Comix]

I learned Spanish when a boy in Puerto Rico. Picked it up incredibly fast. I think it was only a matter of weeks before I had the accent down really good. The only thing that gave me problems was pronunciation of the double "r." I still remember the day I suddenly was able to do the double "r" tongue roll. I later forgot most of my Spanish when I came back to the mainland but the accent stayed with me. However, I have since relearned Spanish by watching the hot chix on Primer Impacto.

BTW, I do notice that most "gringos" do have trouble correctly pronouncing the Spanish r's whether double r or single r. And now matter how good the accent, most "gringos" just can't get that letter r pronounced right. One exception is Jeb Bush who prounces his Spanishm casi perfectamente.

[PJ-Comix]

Why Spanish?

Because any gringo guy is going to have a great time with a horde of hot Spanish speaking chix in South Florida. I know Spanish and, as a result, I am sort of their personal Gringo Pet. Hee! Hee!

[PJ-Comix]

Chinese, Japanese, or German or others for International trade.

Chinese frightens me. Madarin in the north of China is completely different that the Cantonese dialect. And if you don't pronounce your words perfectly, they are meaningless. However, I do know of smattering of Japanese which does seem to make sense to me. Arigato domo!

[Clemenza]

Uh, US trade with Latin America dwarfs that of most other parts of the world. Clemenza made a very good living in international finance in that part of the world before he returned to school.

Its a shame that most middle 'murcans only see Spanish spoken by dishwashers. There are still plenty of opportunities to make a good living in Latin America, particularly as our economies grow more intergrated.

Spanish and Chinese are great languages for international business. Since it appears that the closest thing the Euro-peons will have to an international language is English, you may be safe there, but you should still learn the language of the country you intend to do business in. German remains highly useful, but Frog-glais is only useful if you want to work for Accor or order Onion Soup in a French restaurant.

[Clemenza]

My attitude has always been that I don't give Un culo del rato' what language people speak or whether or not we have unity. I only have a problem with people who tell me that I OWE them something, whether bilingual education, shoes for the kids or prescription drugs. In my nabe, I hear people speaking Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Greek. If they can't understand me, I won't shop in their stores (unless they have REALLY good falafel or dim sum, where sign language usually suffices). Besides, I'd much rather hear the lilt of a foreign language than the ghetto slang that 90% of the kids in NYC use, regardless of ethnicity.

[ought-six]

"You are talking about second-generation Mexicans - really, Americans born to Mexican immigrant parents. Huge difference."

Nope, I'm talking about Mexicans from Mexico who have come here, in way too many instances, illegally. I think it's interesting, too, to see you label "Americans born to Mexican immigrant parents" as second-generation Mexicans. Everyone else would call them first-generation Americans. According to your description, they will always be "Mexicans," of one generation or another. That is EXACTLY what the La Raza and Aztlan fanatics preach.

[ought-six]

"I've been to Mexico and seen their elderly beggers all over the streets, begging outside churches after Mass and in the markets. Lots of little kids out begging too ---- it's not the big family values people somehow came to believe as that stereotype."

Yup, that stereotype is a myth put forth by latino activists to somehow show how wonderful their culture is (one knows they're in trouble when one has to manufacture one's history). The only culture I know of that has any respect for their elders is the Asian culture, and not all of those, either! Japan and China seem to have a good deal of respect for their old ones, but I have not seen that so such among the Koreans.