Free Republic

The Boston Fire Department’s new second in command was hailed as the city’s first Latino chief when he was hired last year, but the veteran firefighter doesn’t speak Spanish, the Herald has learned.

On a sweltering August morning, in a classroom overlooking New York's Hudson River, a group of 3-year-olds are rolling sticky rice balls in chocolate sprinkles, as a teacher guides them completely in Mandarin. This is just one toddler learning game at the total--immersion language summer camp run by the primary school Bilingual Buds, which offers a year-round curriculum in Mandarin as well as Spanish (at a New Jersey campus) for kids as young as 2. Bilingualism, of course, can be a leg up for college admission and a r�sum� burnisher. But a growing body of research now offers a further...

When Mayor Julián Castro visits Mexico next month, it will come as no surprise to see his chief of staff, Robbie Greenblum, close at hand. Greenblum has earned the mayor's trust, but there might be another reason to have him nearby: He speaks fluent Spanish; Castro does not. The mayor, who has taken informal Spanish lessons while in office and understands most of what he hears, represents a generation of Latino elected officials whose parents were discouraged from speaking Spanish in school. Many didn't master it themselves. In Mexican diplomatic circles, Castro's limitations shouldn't hinder him. Many of those he'll...

Why should Canada’s single-language masses accept rule by their bilingual betters? After two years, my campaign to rid the nation of its “human rights” commissions doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. So, in a spirit of rapprochement, let me try a new tack. Given that there seems to be insufficient actionable racism, sexism, homophobia and Islamophobia to justify the budgets of the “human rights” regime, how about a new ground for complaint? Unilinguaphobia. As we know, every job that matters in Canada is bilingual, from her viceregal eminence in Rideau Hall down to the village postmistress in Pakenham, Ont. The...

In 1998, Californians voted to pass Proposition 227, the “English for the Children Act,” and dismantle the state’s bilingual-education industry. The results, according to California’s education establishment, were not supposed to look like this: button-cute Hispanic pupils at a Santa Ana elementary school boasting about their English skills to a visitor. Those same pupils cheerfully calling out to their principal on their way to lunch: “Hi, Miss Champion!” A statewide increase in English proficiency among all Hispanic students. Instead, warned legions of educrats, eliminating bilingual education in California would demoralize Hispanic students and widen the achievement gap. Unless Hispanic children...

Bilingual Education Was Wrong, Lee Kuan Yew Says Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on Tuesday admitted that Singapore's insistence on bilingual education has been wrong. The father of current Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee now holds the honorary title of minister mentor and was prime minister from 1959 to 1990, and senior minister from 1990 to 2004. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, Lee made the country strictly English-speaking for the subsequent 19 years. But with the rise of China as a powerhouse in the global community, Lee hoped to make the country bilingual, having...

CBS News is reporting that McAllen is the most multilingual city in the United States, according to the latest census data. The Census Bureau Tuesday released its American Community Survey results, which charts a range of social, economic and housing data in U.S. metropolitan areas. CBS reported that the running survey, which is different from the traditional once-a-decade census, tracks three years worth of data. The latest figures cover 2006 to 2008. Among the findings: • McAllen, Texas has the highest percentage of people age 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home - 84.2 percent...

Pinnacle Bank is closing this week what was known as its Latino branch at 13th and E, because it failed to attract the numbers the bank was hoping for. “It was an experiment,” said Pinnacle President Mark Hesser. “It was a new concept at the time it was opened. (June 2006) As far as I know it was the first branch to have 100 percent bilingual employees in Nebraska.” All employees will be retained and will work at other Pinnacle locations, he said. “We found out with the downtown location and others, we could serve that community easily,” Hesser said....

Exclusive: Has Illegal Immigration’s Effect on Education Become the ‘Third Rail’ of Politics? Vincent Gioia Traditionally, Social Security has been the “third rail” of politics but we now have another third rail – illegal immigration and education. Politicians step all over themselves asking for more and more money to be spent on education; ignoring the fact that money alone does not make for a good public education. Another thing we are not allowed to mention in a discussion about public education quality and costs is the impact of illegal immigration; otherwise we are labeled “racists.” The United States has the...

13 Million Illegal Immigrants Living in the United States March 8, 2009 FAIRUS.org How Many Illegal Immigrants? Illegal Immigrant Problems & Statistics FAIR estimates that in 2007 the illegal immigrant population is above 13 million persons. Government and academic estimates indicate that as of 2006 there were 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated the illegal immigrant population at 10 million as of November 2004. It is difficult to have an exact figure because the illegal nature of their presence prevents any enumeration, but the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 8.7...

I have a cousin in 8th grade who's taking a "sampler" class in which she's taught the minimum basics of Spanish, French, and German. The point is to give her a better grasp of languages so that she can choose which class to take for her mandatory language requirements in Highschool. I believe that the highschool she'll go to also has Russian and Latin in addition. Do folks here feel that Spanish would be a bad idea, politically/culturally? Her parents consider it somewhat gauche, and there's also a concern that encouraging kids to learn Spanish would delay assimilation of US...

Ingrid Ocampo said her autistic son waited a year for services from the Philadelphia School District because she does not speak English and couldn't understand the district's forms and policies. Irma Zamora, another public school parent, expressed concern about signing permission slips printed in a language she can't read. ---snip--- "We want to know how our kids are doing in math, how they're doing in social sciences. We want to know how the school is organized," said Zamora, addressing district officials through a translator. "We want you to know that we are the same quality whether we speak English or...

"...Getting to the bottom of evolution...Genetic study investigates the origin of the anus...research is opening a lively debate on the origin of the anus...Today, two evolutionary biologists have published genetic evidence in Nature1 that they claim refutes the leading theory of anal evolution..."

After years of pleading with the Elgin Area U-46 school board for middle school dual-language opportunities, a group of Channing Elementary parents are in panic mode. “We’re nervous for our sixth-graders,” said Kristen Webb. “After seven years of dual language study, there are no programs in place for them when they head to middle school.” Channing’s dual language program, unique among U-46 schools, was established seven years ago, splitting a select group of students’ school days and subjects, between Spanish and English. Currently, officials said, there are two dual language kindergarten classes, two each in first and second grades, one...

Minority students have become the minority in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District.

AUSTIN — Put young children who struggle with English in a classroom with English-speaking students and teach in two languages. Soon, both groups of children will become bilingual and bi-literate with the youngsters helping each other develop two languages, say supporters of such dual-language immersion. But others are balking at the experiment that Texas lawmakers approved this spring, contending it's turning children into guinea pigs. With House Bill 2814, legislators created a six-year pilot program that will test a dual-language program in up to 10 Texas public school districts and 30 campuses. English was not the first language of more...

Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich released the following statement today on YouTube in English and in Spanish.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney is now officially a flip-flopper in two languages. This revelation comes courtesy of the New Hampshire Union Leader and Boston Phoenix blogger David Bernstein. “A week ago, in response to a question during an interview with New Hampshire Union Leader editors and a reporter, Mitt Romney said, ‘English needs to be the language that is spoken in America. We cannot be a bilingual nation like Canada.’ ” “Five days later, a Romney news release announced that the campaign had ‘launched its first Spanish radio ad,’ ” the Union-Leader points out. The kicker: The ad ends with...

A `really big step' for Spanish TAKS tests in Texas More questions will be developed in students' native language By JENNIFER RADCLIFFE Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle To take the interactive version of last year's third-grade reading TAKS in Spanish or any other released TAKS test, visit www.tea.state.tx.us/ student.assessment/resources/release/ As nearly 50,000 students sit down this testing season to tackle the Spanish-language version of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge of Skills, they'll be answering a record number of questions developed in their native language. That's a marked change for Texas' standardized test, which for a decade relied exclusively on so-called "transadapted"...

DALLAS -- As the only Spanish-speaking staffer in his division, Dallas city employee Norman Herrera takes at least one call a day from a resident en español. The questions range from where to pay a parking ticket to how to get trash pick up on a day other than Thursday. "We get those calls in English all the time. When you get those in Spanish, you want to answer them," said Herrera, a special assistant to the Dallas mayor. "If we can't communicate with them ... I don't think we're doing our job." Demand for bilingual employees like Herrera is...

OTTAWA (Reuters) - People who are fully bilingual and speak both languages every day for most of their lives can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years compared with those who only know one language, Canadian scientists said on Friday. Researchers said the extra effort involved in using more than one language appeared to boost blood supply to the brain and ensure nerve connections remained healthy -- two factors thought to help fight off dementia. "We are pretty dazzled by the results," Professor Ellen Bialystok of Toronto's York University said in a statement.

HURST -- In the fourth grade, Mady Escamilla moved from Mexico to the United States. At home, her mother spoke only Spanish. At school, Mady struggled to learn English while adjusting to a new country. Now, the 13-year-old is enrolled in Advanced Placement Spanish at Hurst Junior High. She hopes to earn college credit, attend a university and get a degree in photography or psychology, things her parents never did. "It gives us a big advantage," Escamilla said of the class. "We all work hard and want the same things." Hundreds of native Spanish-speaking Texas middle schoolers are taking AP...

Austin area school, government and emergency services are influenced by non-English speakers.Spanish tops the list of languages other than English spoken in the Austin area, followed by Asian languages like Vietnamese and Korean. But Urdu also can be heard in Austin, along with Dutch in Round Rock and Russian in Hays County. It's a language smorgasbord prevalent throughout the state and the country. About 6 million Texans older than age 5 spoke a language other than English in 2000, and of those, about 2.7 million spoke English less than "very well," the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. In 14 million U.S....

PHOENIX -- Some Arizonans are lashing out at the state's campaign finance agency for its bilingual candidate pamphlet, which critics call an affront both for reasons of language and cost. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission received 17 letters and faxes critical of the pamphlet mailed to all voters' households before the primary election, and a commission aide said dozens more people telephoned the commission's Phoenix office to complain. The criticism of the bilingual pamphlet, mailed to 1.6 million Arizona households, comes at a time of increased debate concerning illegal immigration and several months before Arizonans vote on a legislative referendum...

FOREST PARK, Ga. - On his first day of school, 5-year-old Al-Khafid Sharrieff Muhammad came home to tell his mom he didn't understand what anyone was saying in class. Just as she was second-guessing sending her child to Georgia's first dual language public school, he grinned and started rattling off all the Spanish words he learned. "Do you know what a nino is? It's me," Rashida Muhammad recalled Al-Khafid as saying. While the country is divided over the role of immigrants and the importance of a national language, some English- and Spanish-speaking parents in this Atlanta suburb are bypassing the...

When the Census Bureau released its American Community Survey analyzing demographic trends among U.S. households last week, the Washington Post and the New York Times, the flagship newspapers of the Eastern liberal establishment, celebrated the news with front-page stories. The Census Bureau’s data confirmed that the U.S. continues to be inundated by a flood of immigrants both legal and illegal (a distinction the bureau does not even make). One Nation The top-of-the-page headline in the Post said: “Area Immigrants Top 1 Million.” The Times’ front-page headline read: “New Data Shows Immigrants’ Growth and Reach.” “Last year, one in five people...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he believes full immersion is the best approach to teaching English and will not support a Senate bill that would force the state Board of Education to approve bilingual textbooks in California classrooms. "I learned English by immersion, and believe in my heart that full immersion is the best method of teaching language that exists," he wrote this week to Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. The letter, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, is in response to a bill by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Whittier, which would require the board to approve bilingual textbooks. "I...

-New employee benefit intended to improve service for Spanish speakers- At Austin's Municipal Court, it seems that every other customer that Terry Moreno helps is a Spanish speaker, she said. "That's a majority of our job a lot of the time," said Moreno, a motions clerk who often works at the front window of the court. "We have to speak Spanish because our customers speak Spanish. . . . There's a barrier if you can't explain to them what they need to know." But at this point, Moreno does not get rewarded for the critical skills she brings to the...

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Students who are learning English as a second language could soon have to take the regular state English exam. The federal government has informed New York State that some of its testing methods don't comply with the No Child Left Behind law. The finding applies to tests given to students with disabilities and those with limited proficiency in English. Richard Mills, the state education commissioner, was notified of the finding in a letter from Henry Johnson, the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. The state could lose one-point-two million dollars if the problem isn't...

Cross posted at Iowans for RomneyMany people wonder about Mitt Romney's stance or experience with the "hot-button" issue of illegal immigraton As an intro, below is Gov. Romney's experience with Massachusetts "English Immersion " Program which 68% of voters supported to end "Biligual Education" in the state schools: bostonherald.com, 7-16-03 “Watered Down English Immersion Law Incurs Governor's Wrath” BOSTON, MA - After the Massachusetts legislature carved out exemptions to a voter-approved English-immersion law for immigrants, Governor Mitt Romney called their action an act of "unfathomable arrogance" and vowed to oust legislators who backed the move. An overwhelming 68% percent of...

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The library system in this suburban Atlanta county says no mas - it won't buy any more thrillers, romance novels or other works of adult fiction in Spanish. The decision has angered Hispanic leaders and thrust Gwinnett County - where one out of six residents is Hispanic - into the nation's immigration debate. Last week, the library board in this fast-growing county of 700,000 people eliminated the $3,000 that had been set aside to buy Spanish-language fiction in the coming fiscal year. It offered no explanation, but the chairman said such book purchases would lead readers...

President Bush has outlined what sounds like a middle ground for immigration. (I know I may have lost half of you, but give me a chance.) In my (not so humble) opinion, here's the pluses" 1. There's an immediate move to plug the holes. 2. The National Guard will be more likely to check the drug cartels in Mexican Army uniforms that the local police and even the Border Patrol. 3. There's a promise to end to the "catch and release" debacle 4. There's a tiered system of settling who stays and who goes and under what circumstances. 5. The...

Texas Pre-Kindergarten Limited English Proficient (LEP) Pilot Program The following applications have been preliminarily selected to receive a grant for the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Pilot Program. Revised 4/12/06 Contacts: Carlos Garza(Funding) Discretionary Grants Phone: (512) 463-9269 carlos.garza@tea.state.tx.us Roberto Manzo (Program) Office Education Initiatives Phone: (512) 936-6060 roberto.manzo@tea.state.tx.us Program Description: The purpose of the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Pilot Program is: To implement multi-age programs serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds that assure that English language learning children receive appropriate activities to enter school prepared to succeed. The pilot program must provide many opportunities for the...

From: "CNY Latino - Hugo" To: "Jon Alvarez" Subject: Pidiendo ayuda, por favor... Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 13:42:43 -0400 Hi: I have prepared this generic note, to selected people that have frequent communication with my monthly “bilingual” publication, and that also I think they might have influences and/or connections with business owners, key people in large organizations, distinguished people, or simply know "somebody" that could help us keep the CNY Latino newspaper alive... We are going through some financial difficulties; advertisement (the ONLY source of income for this publication) has been very low for the last four months (4...

The state Board of Education on Monday approved options for textbooks to be used in classrooms through 2014, but rejected pleas from bilingual education advocates who wanted to include textbooks that address the needs of English learners while teaching California's curriculum. Critics of the current options for schools - including Assemblywomen Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, and Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles - wanted the board to also let schools use textbooks they said would help non-English speakers with vocabulary while learning basic subject matter. Instead, the board voted 6-4 to adopt the recommendations of its curriculum committee, leaving English-as-a-second-language instruction separate...

Imagine taking a teaching position with no training at one of the worst urban schools in Philadelphia. Now imagine that the building was crumbling and rat infested, your 6th grade class was struggling with illiteracy, you had no textbooks, curriculum or guidance, and violence and obscenities were daily phenomena. Christina Asquith doesn’t have to imagine those things; she lived them. In 1999, with burning questions about why inner-city Philadelphia schools (and those in other cities) were failing, Asquith joined the ranks and became a teacher with no formal training at a time when the schools were desperate for them. Before...

With the increasing importance of bilingualism in South Florida, some parent leaders in Broward County are pushing for Spanish to be taught to every elementary school student. Is this a good idea?

AUSTIN - The State Board of Education plans to discuss English-immersion instruction as a possible alternative to the bilingual programs in place in Texas schools. Supporters of both methods of teaching English are expected to speak at the board's meeting next week. The 15-member elected board oversees the state's public schools. In bilingual classes, students are taught in their native languages while they are learning English. In immersion programs, the students receive all or most of their instruction in English. Proponents of immersion programs say they capitalize on the ability of young students' brains to absorb a new language. But...

Texas education officials are ready to hear pros and cons of English immersion AUSTIN - The State Board of Education will consider the controversial topic of English-immersion instruction as an alternative to the state's bilingual programs at its meeting next week. The board has invited a California school superintendent and a representative of a conservative East Coast think tank to speak Feb. 9, opening a debate that could extend to the Legislature. In traditional bilingual classes, students are taught in their native languages while they are learning English. In immersion programs, the students receive all or most of their instruction...

PHOENIX — Republican officeholders critical of a federal judge's decision to fine the state heavily if it doesn't improve programs for students learning English are pointing a finger of blame at illegal immigration. The judge's order in a 13-year-old lawsuit would impose daily fines starting at $500,000 and rising to $2 million on the state if the Legislature fails to adequately fund programs for an estimated 160,000 children attending Arizona public schools. Arizona has become the busiest entry point on the southern border for illegal immigrants, and concerns related to illegal immigration are being increasingly voiced in connection with public-policy...

An Interview with Christina Asquith: About “The Emergency Teacher” Tuesday, November 8, 2005 EducationNews.org Suzi Cottrell Michael F. Shaughnessy Eastern New Mexico University Portales, New Mexico 1) You have recently written a book about “The Emergency Teachers” What prompted you to write this book? Literature is a powerful teaching tool. When I started my first year teaching in a low-income, urban school, I searched for books by other new teachers to use as a model for myself. But I couldn’t find anything that was realistic and written by a teacher. So, when my year ended, and I had learned so...

Court rules English-only petitions in SoCal recall were unfair Associated Press SANTA ANA, Calif. - Petitions used for the 2003 recall of a Latino Santa Ana school trustee should have been printed in Spanish as well as English, an appellate court has ruled. The trustee, Nativio V. Lopez, had come under fire for seeking exemptions to the state's English-only instruction requirements and was partly blamed for the district's lack of new school construction. He was recalled by 71 percent of voters. The decision Wednesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could be used to force election officials throughout...

Church leaders to discuss role in immigration Leonard MartinezEl Paso Times A Catholic cardinal, 17 bishops from the United States and Mexico, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and the Mexican foreign minister will meet in El Paso next week in what is being described as a historic meeting about the church’s spiritual, moral and legal obligation toward immigrants. The conference, the first of its kind along the U.S.-Mexico border, will include 150 diocesan staff members from the two countries and will feature a variety of workshops on treating immigrants and fulfilling their religious needs. “As members of a universal church, we...

ACADEMIC freedom -- and quality -- suffered a blow this week when writer Richard Rodriguez announced that he will not speak at a California State University East Bay commencement Saturday. He doesn't want to endure a ceremony boycotted by some students. So reasonable minds won't get to hear what Rodriguez has to say because unreasonable mouths won the day. "He believes in assimilation and rejection of one's own cultural identity, " student and bilingual teacher Leah Perez complained to The Chronicle. That's a ridiculous assertion. Rodriguez does not reject his identity. The more accurate charge would be that he is...

Writer Richard Rodriguez, invited to speak at the California State University East Bay commencement in Hayward on Saturday, has decided to withdraw from the program after some graduating students threatened to boycott the event. Rodriguez, author of the acclaimed memoir "Hunger of Memory," drew criticism from some students for his views against bilingual education and affirmative action...

MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - The refusal of authorities of the Crimean autonomy (Ukraine) to distribute official information in Russian contradicts the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, said State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) deputy Konstantin Zatulin. "This is a direct violation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The charter allows to use, for instance, the Russian language alongside with the official Ukrainian language in the regions with the dominating Russian population," he said. "Crimean residents may seek protection of their interests in European institutions." "Everyone, including Ukrainians and Tatars, speaks...

Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no liability insurance..... and have an accident... Enter MEXICO illegally. Never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense. Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors. Demand free bilingual local government forms, bulletins, etc. Procreate abundantly. Deflect any criticism of this allegedly irresponsible reproductive behavior with, "It is a cultural United States thing. You would not understand, pal." Keep your American identity strong. Fly Old Glory from your rooftop, or proudly display it...

A legislative panel Wednesday refused to confirm Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's renomination of Reed Hastings to the state Board of Education after an emotional debate that exposed lingering divisions over bilingual education. On a 2-2 vote - with the two Democrats on the five-member Senate Rules Committee voting in opposition and the third abstaining - the panel declined to confirm Hastings to a new four-year term. Hastings, a Democrat, was appointed to the Board of Education by Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 2000, and renominated last year by Schwarzenegger, a Republican. But as board president in 2002, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Senate committee Wednesday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointment of a state Board of Education member who became embroiled in the debate over bilingual education. The Senate Rules Committee deadlocked 2-2 over Schwarzenegger's nomination of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Reed Hastings for another term on the board. He needed at least three votes from the five-member committee. Hastings, a Democratic Party campaign donor, was originally appointed to the board by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000. He was reappointed by Schwarzenegger, a Republican, last year. But Hastings ran into opposition from Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, and bilingual education groups...

I don’t fit the profile of someone who worries about uncontrolled immigration. My parents are immigrants, I know that immigrants have contributed mightily to America, and I’m no American flag waver. I am ashamed, for example, of America’s international hubris, environmental callousness, obscene materialism, declining ethical standards, and unconscionable disparity between rich and poor. So, I never was particularly concerned about uncontrolled immigration. I was additionally reassured because the media was reporting research that found illegal immigration to be a net plus for the US, for example, the ubiquitous assertions that we need illegals because they do the work that...