Re: OT: Looks Like I'm Voting For A Demmy.....

"Sri Krsna" <vze3drf7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:47B4D3EB.4030908@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I wouldn't say it's practically nothing, but I suppose relative to other
segments of state or national budget, it pales in comparison. As far as
ESL classes are concerned, I'm not sure of what you have in mind, but in
Chinatowns and even within my own community, such classes are offered on a
volunteer basis, mostly church based or sponsored initiavives. I actually
know several people who volunteer in Chinatown teaching ESL classes and
all the churches that my parents have attended have offered both ESL
classes for the new arrival to the US as well as Korean language classes
for the US born.

Now, I can't say I know the inner working details of the Latino community
other than casual exposure to them, but given that they're predominently
Catholics who attend mass, I'd wager that such social services are already
in place and if not, it'd not take all that much effort to institute such
social services. This is a bit of a departure from the subject at hand,
but immigrant churches tend to play a huge role in US life and only a part
of this due to one's search for God. It's actually the epicenter or a
gateway of so many opportunities and free services.

I was actually thinking of the focus on ESL within the public school system.
The idea, of course, is to get them up to speed in english so that they can
then be taught other subjects in english. I don't consider that a very
efficient strategy, but that's probably another subject for another time.


And I also have no problem with English being the "official language". I
don't think it should be a requirement for citizenship or entry, however,
nor do I feel that it's an essential component to being "American" --
which was the main point of my reply. But if government business is
conducted strictly in English, I don't necessarily have a problem with
that.

And that's my point. For the most part government business is conducted in
English as far the federal governement is concerned. So are many social
services including even attaining medical care. Further, for
clarification's sake, though entry into the US should have no such
requirement, learning basic English should be requirement for citizenship.
If we require prospective citizens to bear arms for this country and learn
some basic facts about US history, I don't see that there's such a problem
with requiring them to learn basic English.
<snip>

As you might have guessed, I don't favor requiring them to perform military
service or pass a history exam either. [Especially when you consider that
many american-born citizens aren't able to regurgitate those same history
lessons; and the accuracy of some of those so-called "facts" are often
subject to debate anyway...] I think it's probably more important to make
sure they don't have an extensive criminal past, major health issues,
and...well...that they are who we think they are ($1 to Denny Green).


.

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