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Parents protest test in English :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education — It might help if they let the kids speak English in public once in a while.
During a news conference Tuesday at the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, about two dozen Latino parents charged that the test mandate is “unfair,’’ “anti-immigrant’’ and “anti-bilingual education.’’
“This is a way of attacking children who don’t understand the language,’’ said Martinez, who is pushing a resolution to delay the test for a year.
Previously, Illinois kids in bilingual education programs for less than three years took an alternative state test in English.
But last October federal education officials ruled that test did not meet federal No Child Left Behind standards. They ordered Illinois bilingual education students who have been in public schools for more than a year to take the same tests native English speakers take, starting March 3.
Speaking through a Spanish-English translator, parent Erika Soto said her third-grade daughter is “very smart, but because of this test, she is going to be labeled a failure. So how is she going to feel?’’
The Lingua Franca of the business world is currently English, so if you don’t know it, you’ll be at a disadvantage. I’m not sure about the immigration laws, but i think it used to be that, as a condition of naturalized citizenship, knowledge of the English language was required. So, an English test are not anti-immigration, but might be anti-illegal immigration.
More crap from the ” wa!! I’m being discriminated agaisnt, change the rules for me ” crowd.
No wonder immigrants are so unpopular. This says to me that they really don’t want to be part of this country, unlike the immigrants of the past. Its a big fuck you to this country and all it stands for. And the sad part is there are some in this country that think we should bend over backwards for those who could care less about us.
“Speaking through a Spanish-English translator, parent Erika Soto said her third-grade daughter is ‘very smart, but because of this test, she is going to be labeled a failure. So how is she going to feel?’”
Most likely she will feel like her failure of a mother.
Well this is absolutely preposterous! How would your 3rd grader feel when she is taking a test, in English, in her home country of Mexico.
What…? She’s taking in America… uhmm yeh, she needs to learn English, thats what we speak here.
Immigrants who want to assimilate, come on in. Those who don’t, don’t bother.
Oh hell, this is nothing.
You ought to be very happy you’re not dealing with the French in Quebec.
Another ‘success’ story for NCLB. I can’t wait until a new administration fills the DOE with sensible people rather than demagogues.
Has it been shown that any of these kids are illegal immigrants????
We might want to recall the history immigration around the turn of the last century, and how those German, Polish, Italian, and French communities fairly quickly became American communities. It takes a generation to switch native languages.
Kids are learning English! I wonder how many of you would be ready to take a physics (or other) exam in Russian after one year of taking this language in public school?
Me not understand why cannot use other language in usa. Me thinks this supposed to be land of the free.
I agree that this is preposterous and that it will only add to the anti-immigrant, not to mention anti-public school rhetoric.
But a few things come to mind. First of all,
#2 should be aware that immigrants of the past did NOT necessarily learn English. My great grandmother arrived in 1912, lived in the Lower East Side Jewish Ghetto, later moved to Los Angeles, and died in 1958 without ever becoming fluent in English. She was not alone. In fact, it was quite common for the women who either didn’t work in the outside world or did menial work among those with whom they could communicate. The men, who went out into the business world learned English.
As for the mother in this case, well, she is not far off base from most parents these days who will make damned near any excuse for their kids. I don’t condone it, but is is not extraordinary or even uncommon, and it is not limited to immigrants or ethnic minorities.
As far as so called bi-lingual education goes, it might be a good idea for say 6 months. After that, most kids I’ve ever run across will have learned enough English to do just fine.
I find it absurd that immigrants come to a country and demand ant rights or privileges. They should be grateful for the opportunities afforded them. If I went to Mexico and did the same thing I would probably get shot.
Suck it up or get out.
If this kid were born in the US, then they should at least be able to pass an english test. Maybe they can’t speak perfect english, but not being able to pass a test just means they either could care less or their parents sure could care less if they do or not.
It’s one thing if a 20 something year old moves from Mexico to the USA. It might take awhile to learn english and even after a year, they might have a long way to go.
But this kid is in the third grade…. So either they are illegal or this 8-10 year old kid born in the US never learned to speak english.
If a white US born kid around 8-10 years old can’t speak english properly or pass an english test, they would be put in special classes and/or called nasty things by other classmates and maybe even some adults. Heck US kids are called stupid when compared to other countries in Science and Math.
If this were a black US born kid around 8-10 years old people would be blaming the parents or lack thereof, they’d be calling the kid ghetto or gangsta or wanting to speak ebonics, or whatever or they’d blame the teachers and the school for not being up to par in educational standards.
Yet since this mother can’t speak english, it’s unfair that her 8-10 year old kid in the USA can’t pass an english test? Give me a break. Talk about double or triple standards.
#11 – AMEN! My grandparents sought a better life in this country when they came here from Sweden as teenagers. They so wanted to be good American citizens, that not only did they learn English by simply not speaking Swedish anymore, they changed their names to “more American-sounding” names – he, from Gustaf to Carl, and she, from Johanna to Agnes. They studied diligently, helped each other and became naturalized citizens. THEN, they got married. They were proud people, and I was/am proud of their accomplishments.
As a foreigner outside the US, and as an immigrant in the country where I live now, I think it is ridiculous that immigrants think this is unfair.
At around 6 years old, my wife went to live to the US and barely spoke any English. She got teased for it, yes. But she picked it up and now speaks better English than most “gringos”!
In my view, I have a great advantage if I learn the country’s language and have another language or two in addition to that.
I went to live in Austria when I was 11 and barely spoke German. I went to public school, got set back a year but eventually I did fine… I didn’t get my feelings hurt (at least not long term!). Also, I did better in English class than all the other kids, plus I could insult my classmates in Spanish, my native language!
A few years ago, I was appalled to see a Salvadorian (someone from El Salvador) going through the CITIZENS section of immigration at LAX and the immigration officer had to take the guy’s finger and place it on the fingerprint reader because the CITIZEN did not understand ONE word of English… WTF?!
Immigrants, get over yourselves! Learn the language or go back where you came from! (Or rather, COME back where you came from!)
#14 – Bert (where you been hiding?) Dawg –
That’s what is the normal, to-be-expected behavior of people who want to sincerely and gratefully integrate themselves into a new culture; consideration and effort expended to make their presence in the new culture as unobtrusive as possible to the natives – who, in turn, are more than willing to extend a hand to those who recognize their duties and responsibilities.
Now it’s being taught, before you leave your wonderful homeland, how to extract the maximum from the US taxpayers with the least effort while staying loyal to your culture and people.
¡Salto sobre el gravy train!
If the child is in Gr.3 then she should have already had 2 ½ yrs of English schooling. If she is a recent immigrant then she is either here illegally or she lied when she filled out the immigration forms. English is required to immigrate except under certain circumstances.
If the family wants to pretend they are legal, then learn English.
When they pay taxes, then they are allowed to complain
“she is going to be labeled a failure. So how is she going to feel?”
Hopefully the label will be written in english so she won’t realize she’s a zero…
Well they passed a friggin law to allow spanish to be in schools. So they have to sleep in their own bed of crap now.
Idiots. They should have made english the official language and let it be.
Cursor_
Where is the law that you have to speak or read English?
Immigrants for decadess haven’t learned English. Before WWII there were large populations of people born in the USA that only spoke German.
From the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website:
Applicants for naturalization must be able to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language. Applicants exempt from this requirement are those who on the date of filing:
*have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 15 years or more and are over 55 years of age;
*have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 20 years or more and are over 50 years of age; or
*have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects the applicant’s ability to learn English.
Usted es un fracaso. Tu hija es un fracaso.
Have a nice day 🙂
…about two dozen Latino parents charged that the test mandate is “unfair,’’ “anti-immigrant’’ and “anti-bilingual education.’’…
Gee, doesn’t “bilingual” mean the kid is supposed to speak two languages?
Gee, doesn’t “bi-lingual education” mean the education should be occurring in two languages and not just one?
I came to this country when I was 13 years old. I am now 23. Perhaps, my English will never be as good as a native speaker, but I’m glad I put the effort to learn the language. It has opened a whole other world in my brain, two different ways to think. It has given me an education. It has given me a good job. It has given me good friends. And above all it has in some sense made me a part of the U.S.
The thing I have noticed is that most of you assume that you need to become a citizen to get entry into the U.S. This is false. A family or a person can apply for “legal residency” and there is no explicit requirement that you have to know English. A legal resident or alien is not a citizen.
After 5 years in the country a resident alien is granted the opportunity to become a citizen. This is where the language requirement comes into place.
The problem is that for most of the immigrants whether legal or illegal, learning English is the least of their concerns. Work comes first, and in most cases the types of work that these people fill are so menial that they could go for decades without ever saying a single word.
What I don’t agree is that they are now demanding for services in Spanish. The parents have an excuse: work. The children do not.
Pedro, agree 100%.
If they don’t want to learn english, go home. This is reality.
Joseph, your english is good. The thing is, if someone is trying to learn the language, most people will give them the benefit of doubt and work with them to assure they are communicating.
A desire to not communicate in English makes a person seem suspicious these days. I live in Texas and it seems that the Hispanics who work at learning English, end up running their own businesses and being much more successful in a few short years, while others, tend to cut grass for decades.
It’s really sad.
Pedro, estoy totalmente de acuerdo contigo.
Just trying to learn the language is all it takes. In any country I travel to I try to learn key phrases like “One Beer Please” and necessarily “Where is the Bathroom?”
I have found people the world over to be quite kind–including France and even the Baronial Open Homes in England. Funny how those poor titled folk in England cant hide their distaste in having to talk to anyone beneath them. All they want is my money, but they have to give directions to the bathroom—and I didn’t even have to go–haw, haw.
Erika Soto’s daughter can feel bad, and she can also feel like she can learn English or shake her ass on back down to Mexico.