Are we doing a disservice to our kids by not teaching them spanish?

Good points, Ava.

 

Ava, dear, you are on a roll. Again stated with such eloquence. (((( ))))

 

I agree! My dh and boys work around a lot of people who prefer to speak Spanish or know very little English. I can say that they really enjoy the opportunity to help someone who would otherwise have a problem communicating. They embrace their jobs and love the people they work around.

When I worked previous to having my boys I did my best to communicate in broken Spanish with people and they truly seemed to appreciate my efforts and they made an effort to communicate in English. Mundane? No! It's a good feeling!

 

wow! this is a hot topic!

 

Translators are greatly appreciated... good for you! You must be proud of your boys.

On a side note, my neighbors are bilingual and their family comes regularly to visit (from Mexico). These are such sweet people. I speak very little Spanish, but really wish I could communicate with them (without my neighbor translating). I feel it would benefit me and my children to know Spanish! Of course it won't be forced, but I would love to learn along with my children.

Maybe I have the attitude that I do because of the states that I have lived in (currently Texas, born and raised in Ca., moving back to Ca. next summer).

 

Since all these children are growing up speaking spanish at home and in their community and then learning english at home. Then their skill of speaking spanish and english will make their skill set a dime a dozen. I went to a school that was fairly latin and somalian and those kids had the market over the kids who learned spanish in school, Why because they didn't need trained and their job didn't have to pay them to take the classes. So why not give my child something that would make her stick out on a resume when she is older. JMO.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't speak their own language I'm saying that why should those who do not speak english expect our government and it's citizens to cater to them when they don't even bother to learn our language. It is sad that there are people in this country who don't want to even try.

 

I would like to be able to talk to only Spanish speaking people, but with all the different types of it around here (tex mex) it is fustrating,
example, my dh works at a ranch and the other ranch hand is Spanish, when they work together my dh gets fustrated bc this guy refuses to speak english, which he knows and understand (been living here for over 30 yrs) he speaks broken english, like he just came over. Some I think to this just because they just don't want to and don't try. others maybe they have trouble who knows , but dh knows a little to get his message across, but it would be nice to be given the respect when you are working with someone to speak to where every one can understand, and not expect the other to learn or speak to you in Spanish.
I am not trying to be mean or disrespectful to anyone's opinon but while not all are, there seems to be a lot are like this( anyway in this area they are).

 

I wish that I would have learned to speak Spanish fluently like my dh, he can also read .

One day I was sitting at the table with my mil and sil, my mil told me in Spanish that my ds needed me in the bathroom, he was calling me. I got up and took care of my ds. I came back and my sil had the biggest smile on her face and I was like, What? She said, "Do you realize you understood Spanish"? I understood what I mil said and didn't realize it, that was a great feeling.

 

Such a cute story, Mama Bear! I enjoyed reading that.

 

Good points Shelby! The reason some do not learn to speak English is because our govt. makes it easy for them to speak their native language. For example, written driving tests in other languages, ballots, food labels, shampoo labels, instruction booklets just to name a few. It's like blaming people for being on welfare, but if they work they get penalized so it is more advantageous for some to stay on welfare (not counting those who just choose that way of life). So if the govt. supplies different literature in other languages along with companies supplying the same then it may make it easy to live in America and not learn English. So perhaps we should not place all the blame on those who chose to not learn our language. Like it was brought up before, English is not the official language. I guess what it comes down to is being tolerant of others and their differences. kwim? Besides, my dh is s*xy when he speaks Spanish.

A dear friend who came from Mexico and got his citizenship said English is one of the hardest languages to learn. One day he was talking to me and I noticed his English had really improved, a lot. So I said, "You know Joe, your English has really improved". You would have thought he won the lottery when I told him that, his smile went from ear to ear, he took his hat off and said, "Thank you, that is a nice compliment, I really appreicate it and have been working for years on my English". Whatta guy!

 

Tanks! My mil and sil have both passed away and I remember that day fondly.

 

Again, we do not have an official language. Yes, it would be nice if everyone spoke the most common language. However, we cannot lay claim to english as the language of our country when our own country doesn't even claim that. maybe we should...or maybe we should just learn another language.

 

Why not we should all just learn spanish and Somalian, at least they wouldn't have to change government signs or forms that need to be filled out. This is a sarcastic response.

 

But you are bringing politics in to it. Where I live, in a suburb of Dallas, we have plenty of Chinese speaking, Finnish, and even a large Russian population. Why not learn one of those languages? Why pick Spanish over those? The women who come over with their husbands from these countries who come for their husbands careers often do not know English or barely know it. I have met far far more of these women than the ones you describe. Why would we cater to the Spanish speaking people and ignore the rest of the people and the rest of the world? It is all about politics, that is the only reason. I tried to coordinate volunteers at the public school for some things over the last couple of years (my oldest was in the school) and when it came to these very nice moms, trying very hard to help, the communication was very difficult. They struggled a lot and I can see they tried hard. So why would I force Spanish on my children? My son's best friend is from Korea. Plus, to top it off, the people I am friends with, who came from Spanish speaking cultures, who immigrated legally, speak a different type of Spanish. They learned English. In the begining, it was a little tough with the accents and some off grammars and such, but we worked through it. (Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Argentina).

So, why not do one of the other popular languages? People ignore those because it is only the illegals that make no effort to learn our language (I am sure there are legals who make little effort, but for the most part, it is the ones breaking the law) and those coming from other countries with other languages make more of an effort so we ignore them. We need to be more worldly and look outward a bit more. And if missionary work or Peace Corp work are on your list, they have no troubles finding people to go to Spanish speaking areas, but every place else gets ignored. So all the more reason to do a different language.

 

Where I live there is a high populous of Hispanics, legal and illegal. I have a friend who is here legally along with her dh, she speaks English well and her dh does not. She said her dh does not care to learn English because he feels like he is just too old. Is 80 old? I know of others that are here who are not legal and they speak perfect English. So your statement can be a very broad-generalized stereotype of the population but not necessarily true.

 

(I say HISPANIC, but would say the same for ANY person who came here from another country!)

It would seem to me that 1) a Hispanic family that forced their children to speak ONLY English would be doing a big disservice to their children. 2) a Hispanic family that encouraged their children to not learn English would also be doing a disservice. Both languages have their place, and if both can be learned in a "natural" environment, that's WONDERFUL! As a bumper sticker I once saw said: "Monolingualism CAN be cured!!!" So I'm NOT against learning a second language.

I believe there's nothing wrong with Hispanic folk speaking Spanish among themselves out in public. It doesn't imply they are illegal, lazy, unmotivated (supply your own adjective). It means they are with a group of friends that share a common language, and it is easiest for them to speak it among themselves.

However, I also believe that ANY Hispanic person that comes here still needs to realize that in THIS country, we speak ENGLISH. If they go somewhere and a person happens to know Spanish and speaks it with them, GREAT! But they shouldn't EXPECT it. It is THEIR responsibility.

I also understand that if an elderly person especially were to come here, they might be a bit...resistant...to learning English. And you know, that's OK, too! We still have the responsibility to respect our elders. But most of these people would be living with family (I assume), and it is the family's responsibility to learn English and help with the translating.

 

I am not understanding the hostile and sarcastic posts. Again, can we all please just deal with reality and not the "I wish" and "what if".

Currently we live in a country that advertises to take your tired and your poor. We live in a country where other languages are spoken. We live in a country with NO official language. I am not for illegals having rights. I am not for people refusing to learn the commonly spoke language in this country. I am however against all the hostility toward spanish speaking people.

I also think that there are plenty of languages out there to choose from. This country just happens to have a large spanish speaking population overall. However, there are plenty of areas where other languages are spoken. I don't think anyone said that every child MUST learn spanish as much as some are pointing out it may be useful.

Logically if we do not have an official language than what leg are you all standing on anyway?

As I have stated many times...I agree with most of what is being said about the english language. However, I think some on here are just a bit too upset to chalk it up to simply learning a language.

Now, keep in mind, I live in the midwest and everyone speaks english. It is a rare thing to find someone who does not speak english...or even with an foreign accent. So, who knows maybe my lack of experience is making me wonder why some of you care so much that someone speaks a language different from your own. My grandparents spoke Italian and English. It never bothered me to hear them speak their native tongue. I just don't get it. I understand the frustration with those who do not speak english and expect to live easily in a country whose common language is english. However, some of you go beyond frustration.

 

Perfectamente indicado, Jackie!

Ava~Usted tiene una buena manera de decir las cosas Ava, buen trabajo!

 

I never should have said the midwest does not have a large group of people speaking something other than english. That is a false statement...I apologize. In my little area...I hardly hear anything but english.

 

And there is a particularly large Asian community in California, so it might make sense for children there to learn Chinese. I agree with your suggestion. In my case, I've urged my children to choose Spanish because I've concluded that it's the second language in this part of the country (the South) that would be most useful. That's what it all boils down to: What can we do when putting together a curriculum that will help our children in 20 or 30 or 40 years' time? Each of us is likely to come to different conclusions.

I don't think anyone has suggested we force a language on our children. What I've suggested is that we discuss with them the future, suggest to them what other languages might be useful, and then support them as they learn a language (although the younger they are, the more the decision is ours). Yes, I impress on them that, in my opinion, Spanish will help them the most. As I mentioned earlier, one of my sons chose instead to do French - which is just fine.

In our family, different children react differently to advice. My oldest son was, shall we say, striving for his independence as a teen and wanted to ensure decisions about courses were his decisions. My second son, on the other hand, really didn't know what he should do and almost always followed my advice. In some ways, I wish he'd had a stronger sense of direction, but that's just his personality. Sometimes, as a parent, I feel a heavy weight of responsibility when discussing options with our children. If they accept my advice about something, will it really turn out the best for them? When things don't work out, will they feel a decision was foisted on them? Especially for teens, it's important they are part of the decision-making process.