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Location: The Frenchie Farm, Where We Grow 'em Big!
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After I started pre-school, my parents were advised that the family had to know english to achieve the American dream. My mom knew little and my father knew where the bathroom was. All I knew was tagalog (pronounced ta-ga-lug.... not tag-a-lug(irritating)). But I did learn english. Read alot of books. And went to UH for premed after 8 years in military service.
My view as a former immigrant is that you assimulate to the country you live in and live accordingly by their rules.
I lived in Japan for a year and knew Japanese with relative ease. I know how to find the bathroom in the subway system!!!!!
Last edited by brikag; 03-22-2007 at 02:28 PM..
Reason: grammical error
I am sure teaching my kids spanish will just open a whole new world to them...give me a break.
The fact is that these issues prove that we no longer have democracy here, just a dictatorship. No choice is not a democracy....And I dont care what the rest of the world is doing in their country since I LIVE HERE. I someone agrees what other countrys are doing, then you should move there, not turn the usa into one of these countries.
Democracy - majority rule...
If you don't agree with this process - don't let the door hit you on the way out!
But, I'll give you a Break...and a tip - Economics dictates whether or not you live in a Democratic society and unless you add to your skill sets - a whole new world will NOT be open to you. And no one cares about whether or not you keep up.
Being in the minority is not a Bad thing - take my word for it.
Right, BUT, they should be able to choose the language they want to learn.
I don't know what kind of school district you reside within, but most school districts can't afford a single dual immersion program, let alone dual immersion programs in multiple languages. Besides, how much demand is there for Italian/Mandarin/German teachers throughout the better part of the country?
The Italian program at my school, which was actually independently funded by the Italian consulate in Southern California, was eventually cut because there wasn't enough demand/Italian-American kids wanting to learn.
Spanish is spoken by over 400 million people worldwide (much more than German or Italian) and is prevelent in many metropolitan areas in the United States. It makes the most sense for it to be the initial target language in a dual immersion program.
No, I disagree. The two languages that would best propel one into the future with success would be English and Mandarin, languages of international commerce, with English reigning as lingua franca. (interesting etymology: French was once in the same position as English is now for international commerce and diplomacy.) Languages in education should be tools of success in the U.S., not militant demands from illegals. Don't you want students to be able to achieve success dealing with all parts of the world? Former Peace Corps. workers I knew from college who learned languages of the far East are very glad to using them now in their corporate work.
Brikag, I salute you as the best example of my neighbors here in L.A.
1. Someone said "ugly american attitude" and it all about me
Actually it the opposite, its about our kids and their future in THIS country.
2. Majority rule, democracy...who is the majority, illegals, democracy, is this school giving tax payers a choice not to learn Spanish by force?
we live in America not mexico.
When "majority rules" is all that matters then we should start ignoring the law to pay taxes since "majority" doesnt want to pay them...
No, I disagree. The two languages that would best propel one into the future with success would be English and Mandarin, languages of international commerce, with English reigning as lingua franca. (interesting etymology: French was once in the same position as English is now for international commerce and diplomacy.) Languages in education should be tools of success in the U.S., not militant demands from illegals. Don't you want students to be able to achieve success dealing with all parts of the world? Former Peace Corps. workers I knew from college who learned languages of the far East are very glad to using them now in their corporate work.
Brikag, I salute you as the best example of my neighbors here in L.A.
It's all relative when anyone considers the benefits of a given second language. Sure, Mandarin is spoken by the sheer largest amount of people (875M native), but they are concentrated primarily within China, then Asia, and much smaller communities in the United States. French is the lingua franca in former French colonies, which include the Caribbean, various parts of West Africa, and former trade routes in India/Southeast Asia-- but only accounts for about 125M (350M including L2 learners) native speakers. Then there's Arabic, which is most relavent in current U.S. foreign relations, and is spoken by about 400M in almost 20 states. How about Hindi or Portuguese, spoken by 350M and 225M respectively, surely they are widely spoken and influential somewhere. And, for the record, German accounts for 125M total speakers, Italian accounts for 60M total, and Russian for 250M total.
The point is that Spanish accounts for about the same amount of native speakers as English (though not as many L2 learners), is most relavent aside from English in North America, and represents Hispanics that account for 12% of the U.S. population. Simply stated, the majority of American students won't encounter Mandarin, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese or German in their time in the U.S.; many won't even encounter Spanish, but it's logically, and currently, more represented than any other foreign language.
1. Someone said "ugly american attitude" and it all about me
Actually it the opposite, its about our kids and their future in THIS country.
2. Majority rule, democracy...who is the majority, illegals, democracy, is this school giving tax payers a choice not to learn Spanish by force?
we live in America not mexico.
When "majority rules" is all that matters then we should start ignoring the law to pay taxes since "majority" doesnt want to pay them...
Right on!!!!!!!!!!
To those I believe two posters that have a problem with being proud to be AN AMERICAN I have a few french words I'd like to say to you...
But I digress - the person who told me to calm down - I say - would you have told Dr Martin Luther King to calm down? Rosa Parks?
America is about standing up for what you believe & having the freedom to do so! I don't have kids, but if I did you bet your sweet ass I would be involved to protest my children HAVING to learn spanish!!!!! And yes mountainboomer - you missed the WHOLE POINT of this post!!! Maybe where YOU live it is not mandatory. The original poster's point is that it IS mandatory that they learn SPANISH!!!
Why is it that people like you are against your own country and all it stands for, and anyone that speaks out is somehow closed minded, racist, or selfish???!!!
Do you know what our military has, is & will always fight for???!!! OUR FREEDOM!!! Do you know what that means? We are FREE to protest! We are FREE to vote! We are AMERICANS proud & strong and for some reason there seems to be a covert government agenda to form a North American Union! (Which I believe is underway...) So if I am happy - as I would have to guess 90% of AMERICANS (this does NOT include ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!) - being our own seperate country - a country that we FOUGHT the Brittish to HAVE - you think that I'm just a closed minded racist? I should just "calm down" - relax, have a beer - Hitler's a nice guy really...??????!!!! - and not speak out??!! If there were more people like you, we'd all be speaking German & Japanese right now! Actually, by now we'd all be bowing to mecca!!!!
If you truly feel the way you do, then feel truly free to move to another country - say maybe the European Union - and report back to US! (pun intended) Until then, sit back & watch the rest of us fight for what we believe. Go smoke a joint, grow your hair, & carry picket signs - IN IRAQ! Or MEXICO! See how long you last - LITERALLY!!!!!! Nuff said.
English isn't in as much danger as the boys that cry wolf would like you to believe.
Now that we've covered that point, learning a foreign language IS NOT A BAD THING. I was forced to study Earth Science for a horrendous two years in middle and high school. Why should I be forced to learn about volcanic rocks, how will that benefit ME? Right, it hasn't yet and it's not likely it will in the future. Every student is forced to learn something invaluable according to their desired career path, that's life. How being able to communicate with twice as many people, potentially earning more income due to proficiency/fluency, and having opportunities to investigate international issues from a non-English speaking viewpoint is a bad thing, is truly beyond me.
If there's something to protest about American schools, it should be the overwhelming lack of arts education, and the fact that American schools trail behind first and second world nations in the maths and sciences; two topics that go unnoticed because mandatory Spanish is a hot button topic. And it's proven that children instructed properly in a foreign language and in music will do better in all aspects of school, especially math.
1.Preferring English is not about it being a superior language.(Actually it is an annoying language with multiple exceptions to every phonics rule) It's about unity and national identity. History shows that a common language is very important to a country.
2.Also, if I go overseas to a country, I don't expect that country to cater to me. I expect to have learn at least some of the language to get around successfully.
3.Another point; Immigrants have been coming to this country for hundreds of years and they all learned english. Vice-versa and we wouldn't be here today.
4. Indians are coming to this country in large numbers also, but we don't see stuff printed in Hindi. As a matter of fact, english is the unifying language and business language in India, which has hundreds of languages and dialects.
It really is odd that America has catered to a single population this much. And inappropriate, in my opinion.
It really is odd that America has catered to a single population this much. And inappropriate, in my opinion.
Funny now wouldnt that make our government racist or prejudice?
I am not against the CHOICE to learn another language, I am against it being FORCED with spanish.
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All I knew was tagalog (pronounced ta-ga-lug.... not tag-a-lug(irritating)). But I did learn english. Read alot of books. And went to UH for premed after 8 years in military service.
ummm
) So if I am happy - as I would have to guess 90% of AMERICANS (this does NOT include ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!) - being our own seperate country - a country that we FOUGHT the Brittish to HAVE - you think that I'm just a closed minded racist? I should just "calm down" - relax, have a beer - Hitler's a nice guy really...??????!!!! - and not speak out??!! If there were more people like you, we'd all be speaking German & Japanese right now! Actually, by now we'd all be bowing to mecca!!!!
