Ah-Nold says "Turn off Spanish TV"

[Ghoulish Delight]

The next week's worth of coverage summarized:

There's some validity to his statement. It was said in a very stupid way.

[blueerica]

Well, there is no "official" language of the United States - it's just unofficially and primarily English. However, since classes are generally taught in English, some kids are falling behind because they're not getting important language skills early on in life, making many subjects difficult to comprehend - or so my elementary school teacher aunt tells me.

On the flipside, I think English speaking kids need to start watching Spanish-TV. With something like half the world's population speaking Spanish, it's a handy one to pick up.

[blueerica]

One of the other things that's surprised me about the people I've met who came from Spanish-only homes never learned to write in Spanish.

[Prudence]

I think some parents put their kids in a difficult situation. They want their homes to be an oasis of wherever they came from. They want the comforts of familiar media, familiar foods, familiar values, and familiar culture. The kids have to straddle two worlds, which is inevitable for any first generation American, but isn't easy. And it isn't made any easier by parents who try to keep the home as familiar/old country as possible, rather than try to ease the transition for their kids.

I understand that it's difficult for adults to pick up a language, but they're here. In this country. And presumably no one held guns to the heads and forced them to move here. The governator's comments might have been a bit glib, but I agree with his point.

If you want your kids to succeed academically, in this country, give them the best environment you can. Make sure they listen to English-language media. Not to the exclusion of the parents' language, but English should be a presence in the home as well, not just something the kids hear at school.

If it's more important that your kids grow up like they would have in the country you left - well, perhaps you shouldn't have left. You can't have it both ways. The paradigm is the melting pot of assimilation, not little oil beads of insularity in our national waters.

Compounding this is an attitude that schools are supposed to do it all. Apparently there's no role for parents any more, save banker and chauffeur. Schools are supposed to teach the basics, the extra-curriculars, self-control, "life skill", social mores, cultural values tailored for each individual child according to the whims of the parents -- all carried out by people subject to public opinion as either altruists who don't need to make a decent salary or incompetents who teach because they can't "do."

[Morrigoon]

In answer to the question as to why we "need" one language in the country, let's go ahead and look at Canada. Specifically, let's look at Quebec and their constant attempts to break away from the rest of Canada. Now ask me again why the United States of America needs one universal language.

[Jughead P. Jones]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

In answer to the question as to why we "need" one language in the country, let's go ahead and look at Canada. Specifically, let's look at Quebec and their constant attempts to break away from the rest of Canada. Now ask me again why the United States of America needs one universal language.

I do agree that I'm not a huge endorser of Quebec breaking free from Canada by any means due to language concerns, but, as far as my knowledge goes, there have only been two referendums on the subject of Quebec's separation from the rest of Canada. (in 1980 and 1995, of which it was decided not to separate, albeit by a really, REALLY slim margin.)

I'd offer more thoughts about this subject, but I'd have to create a new post on that, since it has nothing to do with Arnold Schwartzenegger (unless he was French-Canadian in a past life or something. )

[katiesue]

But I think the point the Governator was trying to make was not about learning a second language to use on your vacation, but that if you're going to live in a place where that is the primary language you should expose yourself to the new language as much as possible to learn it.