Suspended for speaking Spanish in the hallway at school?

[Babar]

Working on Capitol Hill I come across many letters from people supporting English as the official language of the country.

Agree with them or not, there comes a point where things go too far.

Printing government brochures in one language only is one thing.

Suspending students for speaking a different language in the hallway with their friends is entirely another thing.

This almost smells fascist. What are we coming to?

KANSAS CITY, Kan., Dec. 8 -- Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what got him suspended from school.

"It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "
 
But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.

Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."

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[Babar]

Suspended for speaking Spanish in the hallway at school?

[Rocky]

Thats ridiculous. Teachers are like most professions, they try to use their power to make up for the deficiencies.

[mikevalla]

So.... Spanish class should be banned?  Or better yet, fire the teachers whenever they use any foreign words, be it cliche or not; that oughta show them.

[Rocky]

No more tacos or lefsa for school lunch!

[Babar]

There are so many things wrong with this.

I can list a few:

1) How and when did freedom of speech become so weakened that you're required to speak only English? Like I said, printing government brochures in only one language is one thing; mandating that only one language be spoken by everyone (and policing it, too!) is entirely another.

2) What's next? Theoretically, if this is ok, can police also ticket you for speaking Afrikaans or Farsi as you walk down the street?

It's almost unbelievable. Soon they'll start suspending students for speaking improper English.

[Texmaster]

Let me state first off that there was probably a better way to handle this than suspension.

However, this isn't the first time this kid has clashed with the school over this.   Before, he was doing it in class and teachers said it was disruptive because the teachers were not able to understand what the students were talking about.

Now there is validation in that request and the kid broke it anyway.   So lets not act like this kid is innocent.   He knew it was a sore point for teachers and he decided to do it anyway.

And take a look at his answer "It's just natural for me to speak to them in Spanish," Zach said. "Some of them don't speak English that well, and it is easier for them."  

I would submit telling these kids to speak English in school on school ground is extreemly important if they want to move ahead in the US.   Kids who can't speak English as well as he can as he stated, need the practice.   It severly limits their opportunities in the US if their English skills are lacking.

Since the people that have spoken so far are not from border states so its understandable that some of you don't know just how bad it can get going to stores or asking for help from people who refuse or pretend not to speak English.

Its simply insulting I believe to speak another langauage, any langauge in a school or business where it is widly accepted that English is the common language we share here in the US.

Rubio said the other youths in his son's case were not disciplined because "they complied," by not speaking Spanish.

So they obeyed the teachers and he didn't.   Doesn't take a genius to figure out why he was diciplined.

[Rocky]

I am from a border state. And we have a school here K-12 that is strictly Spanish.

And limited learning of new things because the teachers are to old or to underqualified to learn it, isnt helping anything.

[Reflex]

The idea that English is the only language of importance in this nation is primarily held by whites with little experience in ethnic communities.  We are a nation of immigrants and most of them have thier own communities, cultures, even economies.  In Seattle there is a Chinatown, if you can't speak Chinese, there is little point to going there as many of the people speak ONLY Chinese.  And they do just fine, there is a market and economy for them as their customers are also primarily Chinese.  The same is true in the hispanic community, and in the mid-west with some of the Etrian and Ethiopian communities.

The primary language in this country has evolved quite a bit since its founding, had we chosen when we were first born the national language would likely have been German as there were more German speakers than English.  After the Lousiana Purchase, the primary language would have been most likely French, and after the annexation of Texas and California, Spanish would have been in the running.  With the continued integration of multiple cultures I see no real pressing need to establish a national language that may not meet the needs of the future residents of this nation.  The only reason to do so is to satisfy a person's ego that they set how things are to be for future generations as kind of an assault on the different culture that will exist in time.  That argument is an ego one, and I have no interest in it.  If my decendents speak primarily Spanish or Chinese so be it, perhaps they will learn things English never could have taught them(different languages embody different social, spiritual and emotional concepts that do not necessarily exist in other languages).

As for this case, its rediculous.  I could see them asking him not to speak Spanish in the classroom(although I have to say I am not sure that rule could be enforced), but in the hallway with his friends, no way.

[Rocky]

"aside from it being bigoted and unconstitutional, it's ludicrous to think that laws need to be created to help protect the language of Shakespeare." "

[Timster]

I think it's a case where the teacher has no idea what the kids are saying, and that scares them.  We had German, Spanish, Swedish, and Japanese exchange students in our school, and anyone who spoke their language was going to use it during break or lunch.

I can understand that in the classroom where it can be distracting or defiant, because these students can speak English clearly.  Outside of class, let them do what they want.

[fall-apart]

Originally posted by: Rocky

Thats ridiculous. Teachers are like most professions, they try to use their power to make up for the deficiencies.

Thanks, Rocky...

Anyway, since I'm a foreign-language teacher, this seems especially ludicrous...  teacher needs to be slapped upside the head for sending the kid to the principal (and failing to learn at least some rudimentary Spanish, if kids in that school routinely speak it), and the principal should've known better than to send a kid home for something as minor as that.  I can see if the kid was swearing at the teacher in another language, but chatting with friends? Come on...

[Rocky]

Heh, sorry fall apart. But im only talking about teachers with deficiencies, not you

And I said most professions, mine especially.

[powder]

No mames whey, that teacher should be fired.  Here in Southern Cali I speak some Spanish almost every day it's just a way of life.

[ric]

Originally posted by: Texmaster

Rubio said the other youths in his son's case were not disciplined because "they complied," by not speaking Spanish.

So they obeyed the teachers and he didn't.   Doesn't take a genius to figure out why he was diciplined.

Agreed. Rules must be obeyed. Management must be obeyed


Roc -- First, you are given a warning, usually for first infractions... Now, If you continue to disrupt the site and complain, Admins will have no option but to ban you fully from the whole f***ing site...... or am I wrong??

[Reflex]

ric - Why must the teen comply when he was not in class?  Its public property last I checked.

[lightprocess]

Apparently this rule was exclusive to this particular school, not the district. The student was only suspended for 1 1/2 days until the rule was repealed by the district.

[Timster]

Regardless the length of suspension, the fact it was repealed right away proves how silly it was.

[Rocky]

Hopefully a group of parents get together and go talk to the teacher thats involved. Seems pretty ridiculous this ever happened.

[Mefistofeles]

The primary language in this country has evolved quite a bit since its founding

Well its been English for a very long time.  However if a critical mass stops speaking English then we will have problems.  Societies were people do not  speak the same language are a disaster waiting to happen.  

Even in Iraq where people speak arabic sectarian differences that are comparaitively minor compared to the differences that we have here in the states are bringing that country to the brink of civil war.

However regarding the No Spanish policy I wonder what the school's official policies were.  On the face of it even if the school had an explicit "no Spanish" policy it seems highly unlikely that a student would be expelled upon the first violation.

I think the more there is far more to this case than meets the eye.   Again the most important thing would be the official policy that the student violated and the guidelines for punishing students.  

As far as the administration is concerned I would hope that they have very specific and clear guidelines for action and that they were followed.

[Clipperjay]

On this one I think it's funny that Zach can speak perfect English!
So it is not clear cut he proberly spoke Spanish to P*ss the guy off and that's the real thing none of the other Spanish kids was disruptive so this is a clear case of the kid pushing his luck, not fascists or impeding on freedom of speech!
The Spanish was the catalysts, but his defiance was the suspension.
I would have clipped his ear for being cheeky instead of suspension, but hell I own a collapsible base ball bat!

[lightprocess]

If anything, being multi-lingual is where we should be heading.

[mikevalla]

Originally posted by: Clipperjay

On this one I think it's funny that Zach can speak perfect English!

So it is not clear cut he proberly spoke Spanish to P*ss the guy off and that's the real thing none of the other Spanish kids was disruptive so this is a clear case of the kid pushing his luck, not fascists or impeding on freedom of speech!

The Spanish was the catalysts, but his defiance was the suspension.

I would have clipped his ear for being cheeky instead of suspension, but hell I own a collapsible base ball bat!

EH?  Have you ever talked to a bi-lingual person in a tongue other than English?  They tend to respond back in the same language.  You know- translate, and then assume that the otherperson has a stronger grasp of that language, and then talk back in that language, etc..

[Clipperjay]

Mikevalla
I' am multi lingual my friend I speak three languages and mother tongue is not English to me by the way!
My point is that it's not wrong or right to speak in other languages to each other. My point was that this kid was disciplined for rules that were broken and if he did this in such a cocky way that's why he ended up in trouble. Suspension was too extreme in this case because I can only assume he did it to prove a point about chatting to his friends in Spanish. So please do not misinterpret the way I said that statement I grew up in a school with 800 white kids I was the only ethnic kid at 11 so I have a good grasp at what goes on at school because I was single out all the time.
But justice prevails and the judgment was over turned so he pushed his luck to prove a point the teacher suspended him to prove a point and here we are discussing that they all proved a point? Haaaaaa!

[fall-apart]

Hopefully a group of parents get together and go talk to the teacher thats involved.

Preferably in Spanish...