Posted on 12/30/2003 7:27:17 PM PST by 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...
(Excerpt) Read more at skagitvalleyherald.com ...
You may be right.
I studied for 6 years, and got straight A's in school. A couple of years later I went to Mexico for the first time and was mortified to realize that I couldn't speak one intelligible sentence, and if I managed that (after rehearsing it to myself for 15 minutes) I couldn't understand the answer.
I put it on myself to go back and relearn all that I had supposedly learned, working my way back through some of the same textbooks I studied in high school, and then through some more advanced ones from the library. But the important thing is that I made a couple of trips to Mexico alone and forced myself to function in the language.
Later I convinced my company I was fluent and they sent me to South America where I understood precisely nothing (small differences in accent and cadence are enormous when your command of the language is tenuous) but I isolated myself from my American colleagues and surrounded myself with my own team of non-English speakers. It took several months but eventually it kicked in. When it finally did I was glad I had spent all those years studying grammar, but study alone couldn't get me there, you are right, I had to go and live it.
Most of the other Americans never got there because they associated mainly with each other, or with english-speaking people. This also meant that they never really knew what was going on, they only thought they did...
I was fortunate to go on from there to work several more jobs in Latin America, and did some technical training there, which also helped, there is nothing like being on your feet 8 hours a day, day after day, month after month, talking and thinking on your feet, to drill it into your head.
I also eventually went to night school and studied some literature, which makes a big difference as well...
My claim to fame is that people will ask me if I'm from (pick a neighboring Spanish speaking country)... the point being that my accent is hard to place... But of course if my Spanish was as perfect as I want it to be, no one would even comment... And anyway maybe they're just being polite...
I have some dealings now in my present life with immigrants whose precise legal status I am too polite to question... but knowing these people personally, and having lived in Mexico I see things a little differently than some do. I don't disagree with the need to control the borders, I am a hawk on immigration issues, but I have no personal animosity against the people personally, in fact the people I know, I like.
I never hide my conservative opinions from anyone, it is sad to say that most of the people I talk to have never heard our side of most issues. This is true whether in Mexico or anywhere else in Latin America, their news is identical to ours, which is to say that they have never heard our side of any issue explained. And when they hear it, its like a light goes on. Well, sometimes. Sometimes they just dismiss it, saying that would never work in our country...
It angers me that since I have been in this country the left continues to do everything possible to turn the US into just another third world cesspool. Multiculturalism isn't about respecting other cultures, it is about destroying ours.
We have turned from a nation open to immigration willing to admit people who will assimilate, to a nation open to colonization admitting people who have no interest in becoming Americans.
The nihilistic scumbags of the left want to commit western culture and society to tghe path of suicide and want to drag the rest of us along for the ride.
The great shame of it all, is that the golf playing country clubbers of the RNC and the Multi-nationalist corporatists are conspiring to achieve this end. All with global "free trade" and amnesty for millions who never "earned" entry into this country.
You can only stretch a rubber band so far and I fear the snapping point looms on the horizon. Like the Balkans we are becoming we may soon find that the various groups will resort to arms to displace the others. All in the name of a policy of divide and conquer so the left wing elites can consolidate their hold on power and the delusional republican elites go along for the ride thinking they will share in it.
I am glad In have no children, I would fear for their future once I left this life.
I have dealings with some I know are illegals and I don't have any personal animosity against them either. I actually don't distinguish all that much between legal and illegal immigrants because around here some of the legals are worst than some of the illegals. I live in an area that is becoming less and less English speaking, more and more welfare dependent and there are some things I think are dangerous to this country and our unity as a people. America became strong as a country when we took the melting-pot approach and had a common language so we could speak with one another. Even back then foreign languages were studied --- Latin or Greek were required in many high schools because they are the classic languages --- but the American people aimed for a common language.
As far as the government --- the most it should do is encourage A foreign language be studied --- but drop the pushing of one particular one. The public schools have enough problem teaching math and reading --- they really don't need to take on something else they aren't likely to do so well.
I would expect nothing less from someone with your perspective.
In order to keep America strong, we need to continue to educate our students in the govenment schools in English only.In light of the history of American public schools, this statement is simply ludicrous. English in the government schools has not kept America strong because various government edicts have prevented certain topics from even being discussed in English and have mandated that other doctrines be promulgated in English. Control, in English, over the public school curriculum has also dropped many important things down the memory hole. So English in government schools has served neither to preserve the cultural heritage of the United States nor to protect it from a deliberate assault--using the English language--started by The Gang of Twenty-seven back in 1913.
Solamente un idiota no sabría que él había hecho una privada broma.
Español es la lengua hablada por los obvios.
Incluso un idiota lo sabe.
That's absolutely depressing because I am starting my 4th semester of Spanish and stuggle mightily with listening comprehension of native speakers. I'm worse at speaking. But I do well on grammar and vocab tests. For dummies like me, it will take several years to become halfway fluent.
The fact that it's Spanish is what's causing people to think twice here.
A. Trilingual
Q. What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
A. Bilingual
Q. What do you call a person who speaks only one language?
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A. An American.
Yes, you certainly do!
I have not read the whole thread yet, but speaking Spanish is not the problem. Bilingual Americans can use their language skills to promote American principles and conservative ideas.
This is what I hope my daughter will do someday. Growing up in a Latino/gringo neighborhood, where she could not understand half the conversations going on around her, and hearing me lament that with five years of Spanish I still never became fluent, she decided to become a Spanish major at Georgetown's Faculty of Language and Linguistics, spent time in Spain, Honduras, Mexico, and the DR, and speaks like a native. I am so proud of her ability and hope she will use it for patriotic purposes one day.
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