Sunday, August 17, 2008

A lot wrong going on here...

There is so much wrong with this story. Parents of Hispanic speaking students at a Wichita, Kansas Catholic elementary school sued because they didn't like the school's "English only" policy.

If you don't like something about your kids' private school--there is a reasonable reaction--placing your kids in a different educational institution.

Bu the parents of these students chose to sue.

First the good, from the Wichita Eagle:

The Rev. Thomas Leland, St. Anne's pastor, said that English was the "common ground" for all the students and teachers.

"As long as we have a common ground, that is where we have to meet," Leland testified Friday.

Great point.

However, the school messed up big time:

School officials said Adam (Silva), who now attends a public school, had been asked to leave St. Anne after he tried to sit with other Spanish-speaking students at lunch.

Administrators said that defied a rule that required the Hispanic children to sit with white children at lunch, a rule (federal judge J. Thomas) Marten said was only applied to one ethnic group.

Back to the students, and I assume, their parents:

The Spanish-speaking students said they felt harassed and ostracized by being prohibited from speaking a language common in their family and culture.

It's an American school in the United States and English is our de facto common language. It should be the nation's official language. Besides, name one school where kids aren't teased.

And now I move on to spank the Wichita Eagle:

School officials testified that English-speaking students (emphasis mine) at St. Anne's middle school were intimidated by hearing their peers speak in a language they didn't understand.

Why not refer to them "non-Spanish speaking" students? Please toss out your politically-correct style book.

And classes at that school are conducted in which language?

Like the Iran-Iraq war, this is a conflict both sides--and the Eagle as well--deserved to lose.

But for the legal record, the school prevailed in court

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