Look dude, stop being a racist! What do you mean by: "if we want to live is Mexico, then we can learn Spanish?"

Shut up and learn a second language! You know why? Because unlike you those people who speak Spanish will get a better job other than those who complain about it in blogs!

[Ed Note: (the above post was heavily edited for language, content and spelling) Normally I don't post this kind of thing, but this is illustrative of the problem. As best I can tell the argument (some might even define it as the core of "bilingual education") is: "if you're not for teaching non-English-speaking Hispanics in Spanish, then you're racist."

Comments like yours always make me step back and ask: just who, exactly, is racist?]

I think the writer is totally incorrect. (Dare I call him the racist).

There is nothing I, as a tax paying citizen and mother of 3 in the DISD, would like better than to see all children in the DISD speaking and learning in English.

If we want any child to succeed in the United States, it is imperative they learn the English language.

As Dr. Hinojosa stated, he wants all children to go to college from the DISD. The only way that can happen is if they are proficient in English.

I do not know many universities in the United States that teach their curriculum in Spanish. So get off your boat and encourage all children to learn English. It will only propel them closer to success in the United States of America.

[Ed Note: It never ceases to amaze me that so-called "Hispanic rights" organizations seem to center on "hey, we don't want our kids' Latino heritage fouled by English." Yet, we have parents and business leaders who want to see these kids succeed. I hope, with our "bilingual education" program (which isn't a bilingual education program) that we're not turning out another generation of kids condemned to day labor.]

I agree with your comments. 2 of my children attend DISD schools. I am the room mother for both of their classrooms.

When I call to ask for volunteers for different opportunities in the classroom, the parents ask me to speak Spanish. They don't understand.

I attempt to speak to them with my broken Spanish, but they tell me "they no volunteer at school, school takes care of children."

Communication breakdown?

No, cultural breakdown.

The Hispanic culture does not understand why they should be volunteering in the schools.

It's an American thing.

If they are going to attend school in America, it's imperative they learn to speak English.

Children are sucessful in school because of parental involvement. It's the parents responsibilty to stay involved in their childrens education.

Does anyone know what happened @ the TW Brown meeting on Thursday night?

T.W. Browne made an attempt to reach all parents by giving a glimpse of the mathematics study material used to teach our children how to successfully pass the state required testing. It was a wonderful gesture and I applaud them for their efforts. Unfortunately the parent involvement was little to none. That auditorium should have been full. Each student should have had a parent/guardian there on last evening.

If we do not take responsibility for our children's education who will? It is not up to the administrators or even the teachers to ensure our children receive proper education, it's the parents. Where is the fight, where is the backbone of the parent? Kids are being sent to school every day and that's it. But that's not the way it should be. Parents must get involved. Our kids have 18 - 19 years to be children the rest of their life is spent as an adult.

Juvenile detention centers are filling up with our children for lack at attention and parenting. Wake up people, and take back your kid. Don’t believe the hype of the media, take a hold of your children's present and future, and let’s get back to basic. We should want them to be prepared and it begins at home and should continue in the school and your church. Parents if you don’t get involved in your child's education, how will you know what they are doing 7 hours of the day?

Wake up parents....

DISD teachers want an apology from LULAC for accusing us of not wanting the best for their kids.

They want an apology from LULAC for not providing translators at ALL school events, especially parent conferences, in ALL schools.

Hey, walk the walk, there, buddy!

Show the Spanish speaking parents someone who can speak both languages.

LULAC should apologize for not demanding more from the parents it supposedly represents! Hey, ever tell them on Univision how in the ESTADOS UNIDOS, we expect parents to help!

You can't have it both ways. Either adjust to the American way of education or deal with the consequences.

Oh, and by the way, the more you complain, the more people refuse to listen. Why not show a helping hand with the dropout rate, pregnant Hispanic students, etc???

Why not convince the parents to not buy SCARFACE clothing for their kids?

Why not have LULAC show up at school plays to support kids of all races? How about basketball games?

You see, the DISD has kids of all kinds, not just those from Mexico.

I am a strong supporter of civil rights and education. However, LULAC is dead WRONG on this issue.

To require DISD principals speak Spanish or lose their jobs is ridiculous.

It's about time for the citizens of Dallas to stand up and be heard.

I was extremely surprised when this unfair and ridiculous bill actually passed.

So my hat goes off to Ms. Ranger for her insight and committment to ALL of the students of DISD...not just one special group of students.

So if we speak Spanish to that 65 percent, nobody ever has to learn English. Sounds like a great idea. What statistical data backs up a traditional total immersion program for Spanish speaking students? This type of hiring increases parental involvement? Give me a break. Work in a school. PARENTS increase parental involvement...in English or Spanish.

So what card is it that LULAC is playing? If race/ethnicity is not an issue, then why the requirement for an administrator to speak Spanish? You are talking out of both sides of your mouth!

This is America. English is our language!

I COMPLETELY agree! I do not understand why WE must adapt to THEM instead of the other way around? There is no INCENTIVE for Spanish kids/parents to learn the language of THE COUNTRY THEY LIVE IN because we make it so easy.

How are we helping ourselves that way??

Or them?

Forcing our principals or anyone else to learn Spanish does NOT help the kids... it just promotes racism in my opinion... it supports the fact that they are "different" and just puts up more barriers on both sides.

While, it is helpful to employ somone who speaks Spanish, so they can communicate, I have two questions, that seem very obvious to me.

1. Why can't we take the money and energy we spend accommodating those who have decided not to learn English (have you noticed how other cultures have managed to come to the US and learn fluent English in a matter of months or a year?)and spend that same money teaching our Spanish speaking students (and perhaps their families) English???

2. In school where the Hispanic population is high, the assumption is that there is no one in the building who can communicate with our Spanish-speaking families. That is very far from the truth. In every DISD school I have been in there are Spanish speaking teachers, aids, custodians, counselors, assistant principals, librarians, and in some instances principals. So the obvious question is why must we now REQUIRE the head principal be Spanish speaking in addition to everyone else?

It just seems like the solutions they have come up with are more expensive, more divisive, and in the end do not solve the problem.

Some recent info for DISD Staff has come out in English and Spanish versions. Do we really have teachers that need Spanish translations in order to get critical info?

The DISD info given to staff in Spanish is for the teachers, who are suppose to be Bilingual and aren't.

At the DISD Board Mtg. last Thurs. it was brought up that they are indeed putting too much emphasis on Spanish in the classroom.

WHY NOT spend more instructional time teaching our children Spanish?

To me it could be started in elementary school and SLOWLY be intergrated throughout the years in English, making it easier when taken in High School.

I myself wish I knew Spanish. I'm in the schools and find myself unable to help someone when needed, because of the language barrier.

My biggest concern comes after Elementary and Junior High.

How are these students going to fair in High School?

What about College? How many college courses are taught in Spanish?

DISD hasn't thought out the end result of handicapping the Spanish population.

One response written last week was about the language barrier with parents, when asking for help volunteering in the schools.

The person wrote that the Hispanics say: "No volunteer at school; school takes care of our children."

Our Junior High school last year was 60-65% Hispanic.

The parents don't come to PTA. I (as a PTA member) only see these parents at Parent conferences or when they are in trouble.

The parents have no incentives to learn English and be involved. They (and their kids) are the future of Dallas.

Many have asked and no one seems to answer the question that keeps being brought up: "How is it the children of Sudan, Bosnia, Asian countries, etc. come here speaking no English then work hard to learn English and succeed?"

It's because they are taught only in English from day one because the District doesn't have a program to teach them in their native language!

At the Bryan Adams parade on Saturday, a group of Folkloric dancers in Spanish costumes kept repeating Viva Mexico--not the theme of the parade which was Viva Las Vegas.

[Ed Note: Yes, we need to figure out what it is we are trying to accomplish here. Are we trying to turn out a generation of kids we're condemning to failure? Are we providing a day care for immigrants? Or do we really care about the future of our Latino kids. I, for one, do care, and it pains me to see the "Russian roulette" we're playing with their future.

I think that all the staff have to able to speak in Spanish.

I'm afraid that all who proclaims "This is America. English is our language!" are crossing your arms and remain seated in a very comfortable situation, hiding the fact that those guys do not have the will and the capability to expand their boundaries by learning another language.

In Europe to speak three languages is a common thing.

In Germany, Netherlands, Sweden they speak their natural language and English too since the elementary school.

More than 300 hundred millions of persons speak Spanish in the world.

I have the feeling that the Bilingual issue is not taken seriously here at Dallas.

It is like we have the Spanish issue at the school due the school budget is justified by the number of pupils and the Hispanic population is useful at this point.

But the intention is not going beyond than that.

Many people complaints about the Hispanic parent contribution, but there is not a proper organization to receive those parents and make them feel part of the issue and in the end I would like to know if those who complains about the Hispanic parent contribution really cares about it.

Years ago my kid had a pajama party at the school. The school had a Bilingual Program. At that time my kid did not speak English. We went to the pajama party that in the end resulted an excuse to make the parents to buy books in order to contribute to the school library and all the activities were organized in English. There was not any, nothing, none organized for the "Bilingual" students.

I could not make anything stop my kid anguish and sadness, and what was his fault to deserve such a treatment, he was only a kid.

The Bilingual issue is just only taken in count when the election comes, for the budget issues.

We need to realize that the Bilingual is not merely to have a person who speak Spanish in the class, is just to build the organization, the channels and the proper structure to integrate seriously this huge part of the Dallas population who they are already there living with us and being our future.

I'm living here at Dallas since long time ago paying my too much taxes every year.

[Ed Note: Anyone can learn English. Anyone can learn Spanish. It's just not important to us to use language for anything other than politics right now. Unfortunately, our success in life is determined by how well we speak a target language. We need to do a better job of dual-language education.

There's a large percent of Hispanic students who were illegal in our schools in Dallas ISD.

The Dual-Language program is costing taxpayers lots of money. The price ticket goes up when you including the extra bonus ($5000) the teachers who serves this group of largely illegal group.

This doesn't include what Dallas ISD spent for overseas recruiting.

Then you have have to count the cost of hiring of top Hispanic administrators to run programs.

All this takes resources away from students who are legal. I know that all student whether illegal or not are granted free education, but something is wrong when the illegals are getting a better education.

[Ed Note: I'm not willing to cede that illegals are getting a better education. If we keep going the way we are, we're setting another generation of Hispanic kids up for failure. But that, as I say, is another story.]

It is sad your child was not included in the pajama party. No matter the language, a kid is indeed, a kid.

However, parents are given many chances to know about events at school. They are told at the intake center, if they are immigrants. They are told again when they register at the school. They are sent letters, robocalls and kids are told as well.

There is not one DISD school today that is short staffed on Spanish speakers. Of course, Vietnamese, Almaric, Russian and other language speaking parents are totally out of luck, aren't they? Nobody seems to care about them. Even if one kid has a language barrier, it needs to be addressed.

Sir, the problem many Americans have with "Spanish" is this sense of entitlement. That we, the citizens, should accommodate you at every turn. Studies show that this actually isolates the immigrant family longer as they are not forced to learn English to survive. If Vietnamese, Sudanese, Brazilian, and other families who come into our schools can do it, why can't Mexican immigrants?

Also, the fact that 300 million people speak Spanish does not make the language more important. In fact, CHINESE is spoken by over 1.5 BILLION people. China is our nation's largest trading partner. We should learn Chinese to compete.Chinese should be the dual language partner, not Spanish.

The military, media and other institutions need thousands more Arabic speakers. Why not train kids in that?

Also, Europeans learn three languages. BUT!! BUT!! Their home country's language is the ONLY language you will see on their local ballots, their electric bills, court proceedings, etc... Do not confuse personal ability with governmental responsibility. If you go to any European country, watch their guest workers. They learn the local language, no questions.

[Ed Note: One friend of mine (Hispanic himself) refers to the "Spanish" spoken by many parents and kids in the District as "junk Spanish." In his first job, working as a roofer with illegals, he was made fun of because he didn't speak the "right" Spanish. So we're going to probably end up debating dialect issues before all is said-and-done. That is, unless our goal is to produce kids who have no desire to seek the American Dream. But that is the subject of an upcoming editorial and I don't want to give it away just yet!]

I completely agrree with your comments. I am an immigrant, who came from a Spanish speaking country while a teenager.

I believe the reason why I became successful, (graduated from high school and college), was due to the fact that I became obsessed about learning English.

Right now, I am a bilingual teacher, (not for long) because I have discovered that the bilingual education system is doing more harm than good.

But during my brief stint in Dallas, I have known about many instances where less qualified personnel have been promoted over more qualified candidates only because they speak Spanish.

That is preposterous to me, and an insult to all those qualified people who don't speak Spanish.

But a huge problem in Dallas ISD, is the environment of complacency that runs rampant.

People that are treated unfairly do not complain, I am baffed by this.

Many principals (including my own)base their leadership on intimidation tactics that would not be tolerated in any other workplace. I am glad that some people have the guts to stand up against injustice.

This is the USA and are we not the only country that lists everything in two different languages?

Do other countries do that if you live there? No you have to learn to speak that langauage.

So if you want to live here, learn to speak English. No one is saying ignore Spanish.

Dual language is a great concept.

The United States has educated children in English since we were founded. For children to become successful (ie: going to college per Dr. Hinojosa), they need to be able to speak, read and comprehend English.

Universities are not teaching college students finance or American history in Spanish.

It's a very complex issue, but the end result is to learn the English language.

Next, regarding parental participation. I read an interesting study done in Mexico regarding the education system there. Parental involvement is not a part of the education system.

In Texas, parents play a key role in the education of the child and the day to day operations of a school. It is part of the Hispanic culture that needs to be addressed. With parental support at school comes a child who values education.

Your letter is a prime example of the reason for all students to be able to read and write in English.

When a person chooses to move to another country they assume the responsibility to learn the language.

This is the USA and English is the language.

If you can not live with this, Mexico has room for you!!!

How stupid are Americans?

Why have we sat back and paid millions in tax dollars to public education to fund schools for illegals?

Illegals don't pay taxes, but the system is poised to accommodate them.

What about Asians, Africans and others who speak a different language? Are we accommodating them?

It's indeed a Texas problem that must be addressed both state and locally.

The drug dealer only sells to those who want to buy, but we prosecute them for breaking the law, but it looks like its ok to cross the border and drain our public systems (education, healthcare, etc)as an illegal immigrant.

Illegal means illegal.

[Ed Note: Actually, many do contribute to the tax base. Some don't. But here's what I find interesting: we debate whether these guys should/shouldn't be here--yet we ignore things like them being crammed 15-to-an-apartment. We ignore the issue that we don't teach them in English (aka "bilingual education")--thereby setting them up for failure.

The U.S. is a country built around immigration. I feel deeply that each of us deserves a shot at the "American Dream." But it seems to be OK with most of us that we're turning out another generation of people who we're not equipping for a shot at the dream--all in the name of cheap labor. That, to me, is un-American.]