Whoa.... Calm down everyone, I for one can attest to the fact that they still teach math, English, spelling etc. and it is harder than ever. My 3rd grader brings home her work every night! She goes to a totally integrated school with students of all ethnic backgrounds and I see her work daily, and a whole packet of work weekly! I went to racially and ethnically mixed schools, Spanish was taught as an elective which I gladly studied 9th thru 12 grade and it did not hurt me one bit! I wish I remembered more and spoke it better to this day, esp. now that I am married to a Puerto Rican and in an environment at work where if I were bi-lingual I could better communicate with my customers. And they always appreciate my efforts to communicate no matter how botched my spanish. Being bi-lingual is a gift and also you get paid a little more if you have multiple languages. That other crap the schools teach that IC mentioned would not be tolerated if parents would get involved and fight the "system" but unfortunately that would go against the grain, and would be politically incorrect...so just remember to re-teach your children at home. And Janie any time your neice complains about being taught Spanish just remind her that different languages are fun and so interesting! Many of the words in our language came from a mix of all languages, greek, latin, etc....
I'm all in favor of children learning any language they want - I do not like the fact that Spanish is crammed down everyone's throat.
They have no choice.
Parents?? They are too busy in their own little world to care about their kids enough to try to fight for what is right. They'd rather keep their heads in the sand and only pop them out long enough to get a lawyer to sue the school for some strange reason.
I take care of 2 little ones - 4th and 1st grade - I see their paperwork on a daily basis. I help with homework, correct homework and try to broaden what that piece of paper is about. Sad. No books. I taught for years - today - they don't teach. Their pay raises, perks and tenure is more important. Once tenured - you don't have to care anymore - you're set till retirement.
The problem - school boards. Get rid of them. Make the principal responsible for the education. It will save the taxpayers tons of money. The school board does nothing but get paid.
I just wish we could go back to the fifties!
They have no choice.
Parents?? They are too busy in their own little world to care about their kids enough to try to fight for what is right. They'd rather keep their heads in the sand and only pop them out long enough to get a lawyer to sue the school for some strange reason.
I take care of 2 little ones - 4th and 1st grade - I see their paperwork on a daily basis. I help with homework, correct homework and try to broaden what that piece of paper is about. Sad. No books. I taught for years - today - they don't teach. Their pay raises, perks and tenure is more important. Once tenured - you don't have to care anymore - you're set till retirement.
The problem - school boards. Get rid of them. Make the principal responsible for the education. It will save the taxpayers tons of money. The school board does nothing but get paid.
I just wish we could go back to the fifties!
[QUOTE=And Janie any time your neice complains about being taught Spanish just remind her that different languages are fun and so interesting! Many of the words in our language came from a mix of all languages, greek, latin, etc....[/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]
Jon's two nieces go to a private Christian school.
She will get over the class. She is just grumbling right now lol.
Jon's two nieces go to a private Christian school.
She will get over the class. She is just grumbling right now lol.
I think there is a misperception about classes called "English as a Second Language". These are classes taught to immigrants who come here- whose first language is another... so that they can learn the English that all of us here hope they learn. Most times among those in an "ESL" course speak not a lick of English, so these classes are an excellent resource.
I am so glad America is the true melting-pot that it is. I cannot imagine what our nation would be like without all the various cultural influences. I prefer to live in smaller, rural areas- but one thing I love about big cities is all the big ethnic neighborhoods, with the different accents, the unique music, and the diverse foods.
Some folks seem to fear or mis-trust folks who show any evidence of being "foreign". I myself have never understood this, as I've always been drawn to the different, the unique, the exotic...
I do however wish that immigrants of today leaned more toward the direction those of the past did- toward more successful integration. I mean- I don't want them to become "pale clones" like me- I respect and celebrate their cultural heritage- America wouldn't be the same without it- BUT I like the idea of us being more united- more "together" and scrapping this whole "African-American", "Mexican-American", Italian-American", "Swedish-American" thing... And flying the flag of another nation OVER the stars & stripes? NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.
I LIKE DIVERSITY, but I expect GOOD BEHAVIOR, too.
I am so glad America is the true melting-pot that it is. I cannot imagine what our nation would be like without all the various cultural influences. I prefer to live in smaller, rural areas- but one thing I love about big cities is all the big ethnic neighborhoods, with the different accents, the unique music, and the diverse foods.
Some folks seem to fear or mis-trust folks who show any evidence of being "foreign". I myself have never understood this, as I've always been drawn to the different, the unique, the exotic...
I do however wish that immigrants of today leaned more toward the direction those of the past did- toward more successful integration. I mean- I don't want them to become "pale clones" like me- I respect and celebrate their cultural heritage- America wouldn't be the same without it- BUT I like the idea of us being more united- more "together" and scrapping this whole "African-American", "Mexican-American", Italian-American", "Swedish-American" thing... And flying the flag of another nation OVER the stars & stripes? NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.
I LIKE DIVERSITY, but I expect GOOD BEHAVIOR, too.
This sort of debate has been raging for a few hundred years. When all the Irish came as indentured servants people hated them. The Irish are going to take us over they said. They propagated many unfair stereotypes and it took the Irish a long time to “melt” into America. The same thing happened with the Germans and the Italians, Asians etc, etc. We have many words already in American English that they don’t use in Brittan and that’s because we adopted words and phrases from other cultures. So now it’s Mexicans and after that it will be something else. It’s hard right now because they aren’t integrated yet but in 100 years they will all be speaking English with a few Mexican words thrown in. They will all be integrated and we will be angry about those dang people from Bora Bora who are coming in by the truck load.