[HERITAGE-LIST] RESPONSE TO Request for assistance: Proposed opinion piece RE: immigration debate

[Scott G. McGINNIS]

Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 09:59:38 -0500
From: "Titrud Elisabeth Civ ECPD/IOS" 
<Elisabeth.Titrud at MAXWELL.AF.MIL> 


Hola
In response to some of your questions, there have been many 
good articles in TESOL about getting the word out on this 
rich and culturalresource of first hand knowledge we have in 
American classrooms.  As instructors of ELL's, at the local 
level we can provide staff development with all staff and 
faculty to share some of the strengths and weakness of our 
international students (academic content and socio-culture 
environments for them, the classroom and their home
environment.  We can also do articles for the newspapers and 
invite them to attend and celebrate contributions our 
international students make in the classroom.  Trying
to get the message out that one of American's strengths has 
been the diversity of cultures.   One issue was what was to 
be the official language.  Imagine if our French or German 
founding fathers had won, we would not be speaking English 
now.     Everyone wanted to ensure they were represented and 
it was that diversity that contributed to a system with 
checks and balances;   As a Hispanic American I am sadden by 
the myopic, shortsighted outlook of immigration.  It reflects 
a homogenous groupthink that is obviously not diverse.  
Worse, they are not willing to test their reality about how 
the initial cost far outweighs the benefits.  By enabling all 
people to develop to the best of their potential in an 
environment that embraces that growth we have become
competitive and remain competitive against other countries.  
It is scary to think that I live in a culture where we no 
longer value the individual as well as the diversity they 
bring to the table of thought!
Chao,
Elisabeth Titrud, Linguist; Education Liaison
International Officers School
Maxwell Air Force Base, 36112
(334) 953-8742

-----Original Message-----
From: Heritage List [mailto:HERITAGE-LIST at LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] 
On Behalf Of
Scott G. McGINNIS
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 10:54 AM
To: HERITAGE-LIST at LISTSERV.UMD.EDU
Subject: [HERITAGE-LIST] Request for assistance: Proposed 
opinion piece
RE: immigration debate

Hola a todos, 

I'm thinking of writing an opinion piece (not sure for where 
or for whom yet!!) on what we as language teachers could and 
should be doing to stem the linguistic and cultural racism 
that is underlying the immigration debate. 

I don't want to deal with the legal vs. illegal immigration 
issue, but I do want to address the fact that our country is 
enriched by all the language and cultures that are here, and 
that we should celebrate them and use them as resources to 
expand our own learning and our own experiences. 

It's getting harder and harder for me to just sit by while I 
see some of this xenophobia reflected in the news, and 
obviously it ultimately affects us and our students. 

Any comments anyone would like to make? And if so, can I 
quote you when I write the article? If you prefer to reply 
offline, you can e-mail me at rkunstadter at yahoo.com. 

Gracias,

Ruth Kunstadter
rkunstadter at yahoo.com