Post by RPankn on Dec 6, 2005 18:13:16 GMT -5
By CARMEN CARDINAL
Kansan Staff Writer
Kansas City, Kan., resident Lorenzo Rubio is upset that his son, Zach, was suspended from the Turner School District's Endeaver School for two days.
He is even more upset that the reason Zach was suspended was not for fighting or causing trouble, but for speaking Spanish at lunchtime with his friends.
"My son called me on Monday and said he had been suspended for speaking Spanish," Rubio said. "I could not believe it. I went to the school and spoke to Mrs. (Jennifer) Watts and asked her if this was school policy. She told me, 'no,' but said 'We are not in Mexico, we are not in Germany.'" [She does know they speak German in Germany, not Spanish; or does she?]
Watts refused to comment to The Kansan.
However, Bart Swartz, executive director of certified personnel for Turner, said Superintendent Bobby Allen was apprised of the situation immediately and met with Rubio.
"As soon as the superintendent found out the student was suspended, the superintendent notified the student that he could come back to school," Swartz said. "We do not stand behind suspending students for speaking foreign languages."
Zach and a friend were told not to speak Spanish in the lunch area on Monday. As he left to go to his class, he started speaking Spanish again to his friend and was told again not to speak Spanish on the way to class. About 45 minutes later, he was sent back to the office by his teacher for speaking Spanish to a classmate in a classroom. Zach was then told to call his father because he was suspended from school for the rest of the day and on Tuesday for non-compliance. A "reasonable" request to not speak Spanish at school, signed by Jennifer Watts, the principal of the school, was written on a disciplinary referral dated Monday.
In addition to the reason for suspension, Watts also wrote, "This is not the first time we have asked Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."
Zach, a junior at the Endeaver school, an alternative school in the district, is American born and proficient in English and Spanish. He said he often speaks Spanish to his friends, in his home when they come over to play video games, at the mall, and places outside of school.
"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. Sometimes I just talk to them and I don't think about what language I am speaking. Sometimes it just comes out. My friend was going on a job interview that day and we were talking about that when (Watts) told us not to speak Spanish. I was trying to be nice to her. I asked her why she did not want me to speak Spanish and she got mad. She said 'I don't want to hear it in my building.' My friend then asked me for a dollar in Spanish and she started yelling at me. I have heard her tell other Spanish-speaking people the same thing." [Another bureaucrat with an authoritarian complex.]
"It was wrong," Allen said. "It was rectified. I can say is the school has been notified."
Allen said he was told by Watts that Zach was being disruptive and it is important that the teachers be able to communicate and know what the students are saying. He said there are programs in place for staff at Turner that focus on cultural and ethnic sensitivities and he has spoken to staff about what is acceptable conduct at the school. He did not say why Watts has not complied.
Foreign languages is a required course at the school, Swartz said. In fact, the school offers French and Spanish to its students.
Rubio feels the issue has not been rectified to his satisfaction. He said his son was disciplined for no good reason and Watts was not, as far as he knows. No one has called him to tell him what is being done or even if an apologize will be given to Zach. Watts could continue her anti-Spanish policy at the school, he said, and he doesn't want that to happen.
"If they did this to my son, who knows his rights, then how many kids has she mistreated in this manner, who are afraid to stand up?" he asked.
Rubio said the other youths in his son's case were not disciplined because "they complied," by not speaking Spanish.
Rubio said he thinks his son and his friends' constitutional rights to free speech in their language of choice have been violated.
According to ..... the United States does not have an official language, although some have campaigned in Washington to make English the official U.S. language without success. Not until 1981, has Congress considered declaring English the nation's official language. That's when the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, R-California, a Canadian-born naturalized citizen of Japanese parents, introduced an unsuccessful English language amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The only previous official-language legislation dates back to 1923, a bill designating "American" the national tongue.
It was popular among the Irish Americans who saw a way to insult the British Empire. The measure died in Congress. A persistent legend continues that German missed becoming America's official language by a single vote in 1795, when the 3rd Congress rejected a petition by German Americans in Virginia. In 1780, John Adams' proposal to establish an official language academy to set standards for English, was rejected by the Continental Congress as an improper role for government and a threat to individual liberties. A century later President Teddy Roosevelt's attempt to "reform" English spelling met a similar fate. There was no English proficiency requirement to become naturalized as a U.S. citizen until 1906, the first major language restriction to be enacted at the federal level. It's a hot button issue for Hispanic watchdog groups, like the National Council of La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) which keep close scrutiny on English-only measures that continually threaten to crop up.
Legal issues aside, Rubio knows the pain of being singled out as "different" and knows situations like Zachs can leave lasting, painful scars on a young person. He still remembers how hard it was for him to be in a country and a school where he did not know the language. As a child, Rubio said he wanted desperately to go back to Mexico but his parents said no. He attended J.C. Harmon High School.
"My son is tough, but I know he will remember this discrimination act for the rest of his life," Rubio said. "In the 25 years that I have been in this country, I have never experienced anything like this. I swore that my kids would be bilingual."
His children were all born in this country, he said. The fact that they are bilingual will give them an edge in their future careers.
The Kansas State Board of Education and the Board of Regents has sent guidelines for all Kansas high school students to have passed a foreign language before they can graduate from high school and college.
Rubio's daughter, Sara, a ninth grade student at Turner High School, said that Spanish is taught at the school. Sara said she would like to go into law enforcement or social work, two fields that are seeking to recruit bilingual personnel.
"At Turner, they don't let us speak Spanish," Sara said.
She has heard other students being told the same thing that happened to her brother, she said.
Rubio would like to know if Watts has singled out Vietnamese, or other groups that speak other languages. As far as he knows, Watts has only focused on his Spanish-speaking son, and the "other" Spanish-speaking students who Watts referred to in her discipline report.
"My son did not fight with anyone; he did not offend anyone," Rubio said. "Enough is enough. Watts is still there and she got her way when my son lost two days of school. My son worked hard to learn Spanish. How can she say she does not want him to speak Spanish? Some of the students are afraid and they take this abuse. She picked on the wrong Spanish-speaking family. She told me, 'in my building I do not allow Spanish.' This is a slap in the face to us."
Rubio works in the North Kansas City School District and has shown the discipline report to some of the teachers in the school and said they are amazed that Watts would allow such discrimination.
"I want to be respected and I ask that my kids be respected, all the way," Rubio said.
Rubio said he spoke to the superintendent who told him "it was very bad," but he has yet to hear again what will be done about it.
"I have not received a letter from him, or from the board, apologizing for discriminating against my son," he said. "I have never known direct discrimination against me nor do I want that against my children. It hurts me more that they did this to my son. English is my son's first language. He learned Spanish by speaking with his friends, hearing it at home and by visiting Mexico. I don't know what the superintendent plans on doing. Maybe he just wants to sweep it under the carpet."
www.kansascitykansan.com/articles/2005/12/05/news/local/news4.txt
Kansan Staff Writer
Kansas City, Kan., resident Lorenzo Rubio is upset that his son, Zach, was suspended from the Turner School District's Endeaver School for two days.
He is even more upset that the reason Zach was suspended was not for fighting or causing trouble, but for speaking Spanish at lunchtime with his friends.
"My son called me on Monday and said he had been suspended for speaking Spanish," Rubio said. "I could not believe it. I went to the school and spoke to Mrs. (Jennifer) Watts and asked her if this was school policy. She told me, 'no,' but said 'We are not in Mexico, we are not in Germany.'" [She does know they speak German in Germany, not Spanish; or does she?]
Watts refused to comment to The Kansan.
However, Bart Swartz, executive director of certified personnel for Turner, said Superintendent Bobby Allen was apprised of the situation immediately and met with Rubio.
"As soon as the superintendent found out the student was suspended, the superintendent notified the student that he could come back to school," Swartz said. "We do not stand behind suspending students for speaking foreign languages."
Zach and a friend were told not to speak Spanish in the lunch area on Monday. As he left to go to his class, he started speaking Spanish again to his friend and was told again not to speak Spanish on the way to class. About 45 minutes later, he was sent back to the office by his teacher for speaking Spanish to a classmate in a classroom. Zach was then told to call his father because he was suspended from school for the rest of the day and on Tuesday for non-compliance. A "reasonable" request to not speak Spanish at school, signed by Jennifer Watts, the principal of the school, was written on a disciplinary referral dated Monday.
In addition to the reason for suspension, Watts also wrote, "This is not the first time we have asked Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."
Zach, a junior at the Endeaver school, an alternative school in the district, is American born and proficient in English and Spanish. He said he often speaks Spanish to his friends, in his home when they come over to play video games, at the mall, and places outside of school.
"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. Sometimes I just talk to them and I don't think about what language I am speaking. Sometimes it just comes out. My friend was going on a job interview that day and we were talking about that when (Watts) told us not to speak Spanish. I was trying to be nice to her. I asked her why she did not want me to speak Spanish and she got mad. She said 'I don't want to hear it in my building.' My friend then asked me for a dollar in Spanish and she started yelling at me. I have heard her tell other Spanish-speaking people the same thing." [Another bureaucrat with an authoritarian complex.]
"It was wrong," Allen said. "It was rectified. I can say is the school has been notified."
Allen said he was told by Watts that Zach was being disruptive and it is important that the teachers be able to communicate and know what the students are saying. He said there are programs in place for staff at Turner that focus on cultural and ethnic sensitivities and he has spoken to staff about what is acceptable conduct at the school. He did not say why Watts has not complied.
Foreign languages is a required course at the school, Swartz said. In fact, the school offers French and Spanish to its students.
Rubio feels the issue has not been rectified to his satisfaction. He said his son was disciplined for no good reason and Watts was not, as far as he knows. No one has called him to tell him what is being done or even if an apologize will be given to Zach. Watts could continue her anti-Spanish policy at the school, he said, and he doesn't want that to happen.
"If they did this to my son, who knows his rights, then how many kids has she mistreated in this manner, who are afraid to stand up?" he asked.
Rubio said the other youths in his son's case were not disciplined because "they complied," by not speaking Spanish.
Rubio said he thinks his son and his friends' constitutional rights to free speech in their language of choice have been violated.
According to ..... the United States does not have an official language, although some have campaigned in Washington to make English the official U.S. language without success. Not until 1981, has Congress considered declaring English the nation's official language. That's when the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, R-California, a Canadian-born naturalized citizen of Japanese parents, introduced an unsuccessful English language amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The only previous official-language legislation dates back to 1923, a bill designating "American" the national tongue.
It was popular among the Irish Americans who saw a way to insult the British Empire. The measure died in Congress. A persistent legend continues that German missed becoming America's official language by a single vote in 1795, when the 3rd Congress rejected a petition by German Americans in Virginia. In 1780, John Adams' proposal to establish an official language academy to set standards for English, was rejected by the Continental Congress as an improper role for government and a threat to individual liberties. A century later President Teddy Roosevelt's attempt to "reform" English spelling met a similar fate. There was no English proficiency requirement to become naturalized as a U.S. citizen until 1906, the first major language restriction to be enacted at the federal level. It's a hot button issue for Hispanic watchdog groups, like the National Council of La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) which keep close scrutiny on English-only measures that continually threaten to crop up.
Legal issues aside, Rubio knows the pain of being singled out as "different" and knows situations like Zachs can leave lasting, painful scars on a young person. He still remembers how hard it was for him to be in a country and a school where he did not know the language. As a child, Rubio said he wanted desperately to go back to Mexico but his parents said no. He attended J.C. Harmon High School.
"My son is tough, but I know he will remember this discrimination act for the rest of his life," Rubio said. "In the 25 years that I have been in this country, I have never experienced anything like this. I swore that my kids would be bilingual."
His children were all born in this country, he said. The fact that they are bilingual will give them an edge in their future careers.
The Kansas State Board of Education and the Board of Regents has sent guidelines for all Kansas high school students to have passed a foreign language before they can graduate from high school and college.
Rubio's daughter, Sara, a ninth grade student at Turner High School, said that Spanish is taught at the school. Sara said she would like to go into law enforcement or social work, two fields that are seeking to recruit bilingual personnel.
"At Turner, they don't let us speak Spanish," Sara said.
She has heard other students being told the same thing that happened to her brother, she said.
Rubio would like to know if Watts has singled out Vietnamese, or other groups that speak other languages. As far as he knows, Watts has only focused on his Spanish-speaking son, and the "other" Spanish-speaking students who Watts referred to in her discipline report.
"My son did not fight with anyone; he did not offend anyone," Rubio said. "Enough is enough. Watts is still there and she got her way when my son lost two days of school. My son worked hard to learn Spanish. How can she say she does not want him to speak Spanish? Some of the students are afraid and they take this abuse. She picked on the wrong Spanish-speaking family. She told me, 'in my building I do not allow Spanish.' This is a slap in the face to us."
Rubio works in the North Kansas City School District and has shown the discipline report to some of the teachers in the school and said they are amazed that Watts would allow such discrimination.
"I want to be respected and I ask that my kids be respected, all the way," Rubio said.
Rubio said he spoke to the superintendent who told him "it was very bad," but he has yet to hear again what will be done about it.
"I have not received a letter from him, or from the board, apologizing for discriminating against my son," he said. "I have never known direct discrimination against me nor do I want that against my children. It hurts me more that they did this to my son. English is my son's first language. He learned Spanish by speaking with his friends, hearing it at home and by visiting Mexico. I don't know what the superintendent plans on doing. Maybe he just wants to sweep it under the carpet."
www.kansascitykansan.com/articles/2005/12/05/news/local/news4.txt
