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From: hjl2@haven.uchicago.edu (Han-Joo Lee)
Subject: Re: Diversity & Creativity  [1]
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References: <4a2ful$q0q@aimnet1.aimnet.com> <4a5hqt$9k4@newsbf02.news.aol.com> <naila.204.00153662@moreira.mv.com> <hjl2-0812950354430001@ntcs-ip7.uchicago.edu> <4afhms$4of@pith.uoregon.edu> <naila.211.00150EF0@moreira.mv.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 00:12:37 GMT
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In article <naila.211.00150EF0@moreira.mv.com>, naila@moreira.mv.com
(Naila F Moreira) wrote:


> 
> I disagree that diversity, by itself, constitutes a contribution.  As I've 
> said before, what's in a person's brain matters, not what color their skin is 
> or what language they speak.  Again, _acceptance_ of diversity is what 
> matters -- we musn't wind up rejecting someone with valuable simply because 
> they are different.  I refuse to believe that an immigrant who sneaks
into the 
> U.S. and then takes advantage of welfare and medical systems is a
contribution 
> to our system just because he is "different" and contributes to "cultural 
> diversity."  He (or she) will be a contribution when he learns English,
gets a 
> job, and stops riding on other people's backs.  Not that I don't believe that 
> many of these people deserve a better life than what they've had -- many come 
> from oppressive countries -- but there are also many who arrive here not 
> wanting to assimilate the culture or even the work ethic, and wind up
leeching 
> off the resources of this country.  
> 
> Yes, we must accept that to a certain degree -- it's impossible to eradicate 
> without resorting to cruel and racist practices.  However!  We should
not tell 
> someone they are a contribution just because they are coloured differently.  
> Why condone laziness, ignorance, and pride?  As my father said in another 
> post, deeds -- not accents or cultural differences or whatever else -- are 
> what matter. That's how you measure the someone's worth -- by their own
> individual worth, not by their cultural ties.  
> 
> All this does relate back to education.   If we constantly feed the pride of 
> students whose parents don't encourage them to learn English and assimilate 
> the culture, if we spoonfeed them by telling them they are a contribution 
> no matter how little they do to help forward this country, fearing to "hurt 
> their feelings," we will turn out a generation of lazy ignorants who believe 
> they are always in the right.   After all, how do exchange students make it 
> through an academic year with only a limited grip on the language?  Ask any, 
> and they will tell you that after total immersion they were quite fluent 
> within a year.  And these are high school students, whose learning pace has 
> slightly slowed -- an elementary school student will pick up the
language at a 
> far faster rate.  A student who starts out knowing little of the
language must 
> certainly start at a lower academic level, but this does not mean he or she 
> cannot catch up.  There are plenty of students who came to this country in 
> their twenties for college, knowing no English, and entering colleges where 
> ESL programs did not exist.  They survived!  Not only did they survive, but a 
> good portion of them became (and are becoming) leaders in their fields.
> 
> I  believe in encouragement and acceptance of students who have language 
> difficulties.  But I also believe in pushing these students to learn English 
> quickly, which would involve only limited ESL training and much more
immersion.
> As soon as they have a grip on the basics of English, they should be
placed in 
> an ordinary English class.  The necessity of learning English at that point 
> will be sufficient encouragement -- as well, of course, as the tolerance of 
> the other students and the teacher.
> 
> Naila

I still have problems with some of the implications of your various
points.  But I don't want to nick pick right now.  Instead let's stick to
the original argument of bilingual education.  You and I are in agreement
over the need for all students to learn English.  Nothing I have said
suggests otherwise.  But your insistence on tatal immersion really lacks
any sense of reality.  A child's education does not begin at the elementry
school level but rather at his birth.  An immigrant family hasn't got the
resource nor the ability to prepare their children with English background
needed for them to compete against the children who grew up in English
speaking families since birth.  (I am not implying that the immigrants are
somehow less competent parents but simply stating the reality of today's
immigrant families in the US.  You must agree that the immigrants have a
heavy burden to meet their immediate  economic needs and more often than
not hasn't got the mental nor physical reserve to improve their English
beyond some jargons needed for what usually are low level jobs which
require long hours, let alone educate their children.)  So what I am
suggesting is that when a kid realizes that he is not as good as his
fellow school mates, he would be quite discouraged and probably lose
interest in learning entirely which will compound the problem as the years
go by.  I mean most kids are already apprehensive just to go to school
away from home for the first time and add to this the cultural and
language barrier... well you get the point.  So implement bilingual
education to remove some of these obstacles.  Surely if you force these
children into your total "immersion", they would eventually learn English
if anything by shear force of "osmosis", but the end result will be a
large segment of society that is self-defeatist that remains on the
outskirts of the society.  Frankly by then it would not want to contribute
to the society nor can it even if it wants to.  Why create another social
debacle which will require a far greater resource to correct when we can
prevent it by implementing the bilingual programs now. (Just look at all
the mess with the affirmative action) 

Another thing.  Your point about exchange students and foreign students
proves my point precisely.  The difference with these students is that
they have a great desire to learn.  They are selected breed who are
emotionally mature and ambitious enongh to take risks to come to a foreign
country to take advantages of great learning institutions of this
nation.   See what a great difference it makes when a young person is
willing to learn.  They grasp English in a short time and as you aptly
point out, go on to succeed in their respective fields.  It is this
ambition to learn we need to foster in the minds of the young immigrant
children.   Then, trust me, these kids will clamor to learn English.  And
please don't say, "They did it without any special programs so why can't
the children of immigrants?"  The reason should be obvious to most readers
of this thread.     

Gotta run. See ya

HL
