[lg policy] America is truly becoming Teddy Roosevelt's feared ‘polyglot boarding house’

Wed Mar 28 14:28:03 UTC 2018

 America is truly becoming Teddy Roosevelt's feared ‘polyglot boarding
house’
Geary Foertsch
March 27, 2018
<http://www.capegazette.com/sites/capegazette/files/2018/03/field/image/web-foertsch.jpg>

In a recent Cape Gazette I read the eye-opening article, "Gov. Carney
offers plan for English language learners."

The governor said that in the last 20 years, the number of students who do
not speak English when they start school has increased by 433 percent.

A look at Department of Education statistics shows that statewide Hispanic
enrollment in Pre-K to 12 has accelerated from 18,148 in 2012-13 to 23,875
in 2017-18 school year.

That's a 26 percent increase, while black students decreased 3.6 percent
and whites declined 9 percent in that period.

During the longer 2008-17 term, Hispanic student population exploded by
about 90 percent.

Principal Heather Cramer said, "Now, we have 805 students going to North
Georgetown (elementary) and 521 (65 percent) of them are English language
learners."

And, of those 521 students, it was reported that 61 percent speak Spanish
as their first language, but many others speak languages like Haitian or
Creole and do not yet speak English.

Then, Olinda Coverdale, an English as a Second Language teacher at Cape
Henlopen School District, said ELL (English language learners) students
need help with content in classes and grade levels they were placed in,
mostly due to age rather than ability or prior education.

In other words, these students who can't speak English well, or at all, are
being advanced by age and not achievement!

On the opposite page to the article was an advertisement from the Cape
Henlopen School District for a parents meeting offering a "Spanish
Immersion Program" to be available at all five elementary schools next year.

A picture in the ad featured a young Caucasian boy reading a Spanish primer
showing a picture of corn with the caption, "Yo veo maiz" (I see corn).
But, notably, no Latino kids were pictured with an English primer. This all
comes after the news last August that Cape High's students' English reading
proficiency on the 2017 SAT's was only 50 percent which was a 6 percent
drop from last year and below the state average (53 percent). Moreover, 80
percent did not achieve proficiency in the essay portion.

So, in light of these mediocre SAT scores and students who can't speak
English, the obvious question is: Why isn't the focus on English immersion
at all levels to improve "proficiency" instead of Spanish?

After contacting the Delaware Department of Education, I was advised that:

"Language acquisition research shows that two-way immersion programs can be
of great benefit to English learners as it helps them to build literacy in
their native language, which then helps them transfer these literacy skills
much more quickly into English. Cape has been very thoughtful in the design
of its immersion programs as ways to help address the needs of English
learners."

Further information on the DOE website from the Association of Two-Way and
Dual Language Education offers a clue to the overall strategy to: "create
and support powerful programs and services designed to promote
multilingualism, multiculturalism, academic success, and global readiness
as defining features of transformative education."

Compare that to the cultural imperatives earlier in our history in which
the English language had always been considered the first step to
assimilation into American life.

Remember President Theodore Roosevelt's words: "We have room for but one
language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that
the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and American nationality,
not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house."

Or, President Lyndon Johnson, the scion of the progressive left, who upon
the signing of the 1965 Immigration Act assured us that, "The days of
unlimited immigration are past." I can almost see him smirking.

Today, it's apparent that we live in an almost post-American era where the
intent of the elites is to transform America into a
multicultural-multilingual society. As an example, one of my insurance
companies offers 16 different language interpreters available free of
charge to policy holders. Remember when not long ago the ideas of the
melting pot, Americanization and a shared national identity were the
standard themes.

Now, we have constant messages promoting: diversity as our strength, rather
than merit; open borders even though that would be disastrous with our
welfare system magnet; and sanctuary cities that have become the
fashionable, new urban renewal program.

The prior policy of immigrants assimilating into American culture is now
reversed to require American citizens to assimilate Third World cultures.

It seems that America is truly becoming Teddy Roosevelt's feared "polyglot
boarding house."

*Geary Foertsch lives in Rehoboth and writes from a libertarian perspective
to promote economic liberty, non-cronyism free markets, small government
and a non-intervention foreign policy. He can be contacted at
gearyfoertsch at yahoo.com <gearyfoertsch at yahoo.com>.*

-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 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/

-------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20180328/0d23c1aa/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list