[quote=KIBU]
Regarding what FLU said: Until the United States changes it’s official language from English or officially is bilingual, anything but the English language is/should be an “optional” language, at the sole discretion of the individual/family/or parent.
I don’t know what the fuss about “learn English” that I always hear about. It shows me how insecure some Americans are (aside from using it as a way to claim victim or just being uninformed).
I am an immigrant. First priority for immigrants is to survive. You have to adapt, relearn everything and learning English is part of the process to survive in this country that all immigrants I have known all do. However, immigrants are here from newly born to 100 years old person and no one can expect everyone to have the same proficiency in English. Come on, every immigrant I know would be proud to know English. My dad was shy when he could speak English a little, but he taught himself to read English enough to read newspaper. I was proud at one time to realize that I no longer had problem communicating with others. I am still reminded by people to improve my English though, it’s like a game that you will never win. Learning English is part of immigrant’s survival tool. Probably, it’s the blame game and insecurity that keep the “learn English” drumming to go on.
[/quote]
It’s not part of the blame game, it’s the fact of life, that emigrate to a foreign place, with a foreign soil, there is an official language which is the common language everyone who interacts with for which countless governmental dollars should be directed into. Especially in America, where there is so much cultural diversity, the U.S. government cannot possible spend all the financial/social resources to put every language/culture program through school. Nor would our kids tolerate having to learn every possible language/culture in depth. Nor would parents (inclusive) wants our kids to have our educators “force” us to teach our kids several foreign cultures/languages, etc.
It might be convenient for you/your family/your interest/your kids to learn Spanish, or to spend an X number of class days accommodating other culture’s holidays/celebrations in a PUBLIC school on PUBLIC school time/dollars, rather than educators spending time/resources/dollars to teach the 3 r’s adequately, but that’s certainly not what other parents would want, when our public schools can’t even teach the 3 r’s right.
All this cultural hoopla belongs in one place: at home or on personal time…Again, for the very same reason, I’m sure you would object if all the sudden educators wanted to start teaching about God to your kids, say Shitoism.
As much as I would like my kid to learn Chinese for her benefit, having a public school force Mandarin or have a day in which kids can’t where necklaces with a cross on a day to recognize some Buddha holiday or not allowing kids to wear a shirt with a U.S. flag the day Mao overran the Nationalist party, I’m sorry, is something our PUBLIC educators is overstepping their boundary.
(Not to mention, if Mandarin was a mandatory language for PUBLIC schools, most kids would probably flunk out, including me if I were a kid).
You want a school mandatory (insert your foreign language here) or mandatory (insert your foreign culture) here program school? Find a charter/private school where it’s belongs. Folks that attend charter/private schools are doing so by choice, and explicitly choosing to participate with a specific program.
Side note: folks always ask why asian parents are so picky about schools. This is exactly why. Teach the damn 3r’s right rather then spend countless time/resources on everything else and not even get the 3r’s right. I haven’t researched this, but I’m curious what the school’s API ranking is. I’d say if it has time with this sort of B.S., it’s probably not doing a very good job education kids.
