Iowa: Protest of language test gets student suspended

[Harold Schiffman]

 Forwarded From: edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu


Des Moines Register



Protest of language test gets student suspended



A Storm Lake teenager was suspended from school this week because she
refused to take a test for students who are not fluent in English.



Lori Phanachone, the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants from Laos, says
she proved her grasp of English in other ways. The Storm Lake High
School senior has a near-perfect grade-point average and acceptance
letters from two Iowa colleges.



But because she listed Lao as her first language on a school
registration form, Phanachone said administrators forced her to take a
test for students who lack basic English skills.



"I'm all for help where it's needed, but for you to generalize
everyone who speaks a second language, that's so degrading," said
Phanachone, 18, who also might miss her school prom and track season.



Full story:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090306/NEWS02/903060369/-1/ENT05/Protest+of+language+test+gets+student+suspended





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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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