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I sat in the office of my employer watching as he thoughtfully scratched his head. "Fleas?" I said jokingly.
"Yes, I am pleased. I am very pleased with you."
I was momentarily taken aback by the totally unexpected comment. As the light finally seeped through my brain, I laughingly explained my original comment. Language confusion between friends can often be fun and a source of remembered mirth in future conversations. However, more often than not, language confusion leads to misunderstanding and division. After all, how many people truly understand each other, even when they speak the same language?
In all the posturing over language being the basis of a person's cultural heritage, we have lost track of why the United States of America needs a national language. A common language tears down cultural barriers and brings people together as a unit. It is the thread that binds people together as a nation.
Our ancestors showed remarkable foresight when they chose not to make this country bilingual. They realized that we would need the glue of language to hold us together. Of course, if they had opted for a bilingual nation, the other language would be German. Most people do not realize that one in four Americans has German ancestry. This is double other ethnic groups. If anyone doubts how the results of this action would have changed our country, we can look at Canada's struggle to keep French-speaking Quebec from splitting into its own country.
We do not have a defined national or even state policy on how to handle non-English speaking students in our school system. As a result, it is left to each school district to decide which method to use. One popular method is to teach the students in their native tongue until they become proficient in English. A second popular method is to use a translator in the classroom, distracting both the teacher and the students.
The attempt by schools to teach students in their own language has resulted in watering down our educational system. Today's diploma no longer represents the achievement of a known level of proficiency. One school system in the San Francisco Bay Area is attempting to teach in seventy-six different languages. Often students from rural areas of other countries do not know how to read and write their native language. The solution of the school system is to teach them first in their native tongue and then in English. What other country would go to this extreme? It is no wonder that our schools are graduating students without even the most rudimentary skills.
In a San Francisco school district, they allow students to take classes in their native language until they can pass the English proficiency test. If they do not want to leave the perceived safety of these classes, they do not become proficient in English. This is a no win situation. We are forced to pay for the dual education and the student graduates without learning the language he needs to succeed in this country.
This situation is also affecting the English-speaking student. Teaching is often slowed so that students deficient in English can understand the material. In addition, teachers grade papers for "content" rather than form. California schools use a curve to assign grades. If the whole class does poorly, it takes fewer correct answers to receive a specific grade. Students, like most of the human race, will perform to the level expected of them. It does not take a student long to figure out which classes do not require a high test score for a high grade.
In our attempt at equality, they do not require teachers to be proficient in the English language. I have dropped college classes because the teacher was difficult to understand. When I was in grade and high school in Arizona, they required good grammar in every class. California only requires good grammar in English classes. In all other classes, they grade papers only for content. The nonverbal message to students is that English grammar is only important in English classes.
When a student enters our school system, they should give the student a crash course in English and a defined time limit to become proficient. The student could then be placed into regular classes without adversely affecting the rest of the student body. The message we are currently sending is that the non-English speaking student is not bright enough to learn English without spoon-fed help. This message is wrong; students will perform to the level expected of them.
Citizens should view Learning English as simply another skill, not a slap at ones heritage. This is no different from learning how to dress to succeed in business, or learning which fork to use at the dinner table.
Learning the language of your country is a concrete demonstration of the desire to become a fully participating citizen of the country. Refusing to learn the language sends the message that one is willing to accept all the benefits of citizenship but none of the responsibility. This attitude alienates those willing to take on the responsibility of citizenship.
Author, James Baldwin, made the following observation. "The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land."
We spend an inordinate amount of money on printing official documents in languages other than English. A person must be proficient in English to become a citizen of the United States. Why then do we print ballots in languages other than English? This money would be better spent on more classes in English for non-English speaking persons. Often classes that teach English as a second language have a long waiting list.
When a crime has been committed, police detectives' advocate to "follow the money." In other words, find out who stands to gain from the result of the criminal action. This is good advice in other situations. Often I see people advocating more bilingual services. My first reaction is to wonder why that person has an interest in keeping some of our population operating as second class citizens. Is it because their livelihood is dependent on a segment of the population not being able to participate in the American dream? Is it simply racism? Or, is it simply easier to identify those we wish to subjugate by letting them think that learning English is not necessary? Becoming proficient in English is necessary. The only way for a person to take full advantage of the economic opportunity in the United States is to learn to use English.
Nothing better illustrates the "follow the money" philosophy than the dispute in Oakland, California over the recognition of Black English as a second language. It should be obvious to anyone that the only reason for their action was to obtain additional government funds designated for bilingual education.
At the time I wrote this article, thirty states had passed laws declaring English their official language. Mikhail Gorbachev said it best when he observed, "Though representatives from many ethnic groups came together in the United States, English became their common language. Apparently this was a natural choice. One can only imagine what would have happened if members of each nation moving to the United States had spoken only their own tongues and refused to learn English." If anyone doubts the wisdom of this observation, just consider the chaos in nations such as the Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. It is time we take a close look at what has made this country great. We are a melting pot and the sauce bubbling around us is our bond of a common language.
President Theodore Roosevelt, expressed the feelings of many today when he said, "Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country." We offer every citizen an educational and economic opportunity that is unsurpassed anywhere else in the civilized world. It is time that we stand up and say "Yes we expect you to learn and use English." This is not Pakistan, or Mexico, or Afghanistan, or a hundred other countries from which our people have escaped. This is the United States of America and as citizens of this great country, we speak English. I for one, do not want to be a hyphenated American. My family has been melting here for more than 300 years and no form has enough room to write English-German-French-Irish-Scottish-Native American. When asked for my ethnic background, I always check other and write in American.
Congress has attempted to make English our National Language and has failed. It seems ludicrous to many Americans that this should even be necessary. Yet apparently we require it. To that I can only say, do the legislation and let us get on with the business of keeping this country the greatest democracy on earth.
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