Aug. 08, 2002 - 22:26 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Integrity

A man who was once a governor of Colorado had a few words to say today about bilingual education. He is a man who I respect greatly. Didn't and probably don't always agree with him but respect him I do.

He says, "I signed the original bilingual education bill in Colorado and believed in its goal, which was to more effectively teach Spanish-speaking students English." He further says, "It is said because it is an advantage for an individual to be bilingual that it is also an asset for a society to be bilingual. I suggest however, that while it might be a blessing for an individual to be bilingual, It is a curse for a society to be so."

His article is in The Rocky Mountain News of August 8. It goes on at length making some good points, valid ones I think. One thing he discusses is the possible Balkanization of our society by being bilingual. I think that Quebec in Canada is somewhat Balkanized with bad feelings beween the Quebecois and the rest of the Canadians. Long story there I know. But, even so.

Of course I am an antique now, but grew up when emigration to this country happened frequently. People who came here learned English because it was the language of commerce, education and society as a whole. Some old folks who came here never learned English but I think were supported by the young of the family who learned English as fast as they could.

The claim that English should be the language of the land because we were the 'first' settlers is skewed a bit I think. We weren't the first settlers, the many different "Indian" tribes had the land already settled to their satisfaction. The people from Europe came in overwhelming numbers and most of the early ones, the ones who came from England, set up an English speaking society. And it ran that way for a century or two.

In recent years the influx of people who speak some form of Spanish has increased greatly.

To my way of thinking, the course should be to teach young people their three (simple) 'R's in Spanish to keep them up with their age/grade, but having a great amount of time during their school day being taught English. It seems to me that a child could be taught enough English by maybe second grade that they could go into the next grade perfecting their English much as kids who were born into an English speaking family.

The aim I think should be to make them able to communicate with the world at large in English. I see no reason that people should be kept from conversing in their native language among the folks who understand it. But after bringing a child up to speed I think that child should continue their education using English.

So, for a grade or two teachers proficient in the two languages would be needed in elementary schools, along with classrooms. I also know how reluctant taxpayers are to pay one cent more for education than they are forced to. But I think those reluctant ones would eventually see that in all ways we would have a more tightly banded society then.

To look at it from a different angle, if I were to move to one of the Slavic countries to live, Serbia for instance. How in the world could I ever have the gall to expect the Serbs to learn English to speak just to me, or a group of us ?

I also remember the important documents that made us a nation were written in English and so studied by us in school. However I see no reason why those papers shouldn't be printed in all languages for people to read. I would almost feel sure they have already.

So to be brief (yeah riiight) I think that in two grades little children can be taught enough English to go into our English speaking society and join the rest of the pupils.

Of course there is room for discussion and negotiation. But my feeling is that we would be wasting the time of all of us, English and Spanish speaking people, to teach Spanish to all pupils in the schools through the grades. The time for a young person to begin to learn a foreign language is, in my idea, late middle school or early high school.

Trying to think on the fly, as usual. Considering that many of the people coming to our country have other languages than Spanish that maybe teachers fluent in the language of the pupils should bring them to English speaking and understanding as rapidly as possible. Which might indicate that maybe the first two or three grades should be taught in special schools by teachers who know the language of the pupil or pupils and bring them into the English language.

Back to the start of this verbiage, I highly admire and respect Ex-Governor Lamm for having the open honesty to change his mind in public, even writing a column. I feel that he is a man of great Integrity . . . . . . . .

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