I agree with Janet Murguia, national president of La Raza, when she says that a bilingual man like Zach should be considered an asset to the community. And indeed, he is.

So do I!  I use to do German pretty well.  About 30 years ago!

Very good!

How petty and ridiculous can you get?

This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "

Wow. That's it? I know people whose mastery of Spanish pretty much ends at "drop the chalupa" who use "No problemo!" all the time. Seriously, it's almost hipster talk. Remember when "Hasta La Vista" entered common American post-Terminator 2?

Sheesh.

(I notice no mention is made of any punishment for the other student. The teacher just heard "no problema" and thought it so actionable she immediately sent this kid to the office? Ridiculous.)

(Principal Jennifer) Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."

Hey! Nimrods! It's freedom of speech not freedom of English speech.

Get a clue.

Hey! Nimrods! It's freedom of speech not freedom of English speech.

Oohh!  That gets a cookie!

Also blogged on here: From WP: Spanish at school translates to suspension

This makes no sense at all. Doesn't that school offer Spanish class? What sort of school in this day and age wants to discourage kids from learning a second language. The administration there who saw that as actionable should be fired, immediately, without warning or mercy. There is literally no excuse of any kind for such an act.

This makes no sense at all. Doesn't that school offer Spanish class? What sort of school in this day and age wants to discourage kids from learning a second language. The administration there who saw that as actionable should be fired, immediately, without warning or mercy. There is literally no excuse of any kind for such an act.

Texas Wahine and some other commenters in the article linked in my reply above help explain part of why there might be an excuse for such an act in this case, but it's still only part of a valid reason, and not enough to justify what happened (at least from my point of view).

Nah, I don't think the fact that it was an alternative school should matter. You couldn't teach at a high school level, in any subject, without using a foreign word every now and then. Not History, not math, nothing, not even friggin Home Ec. To suspend a student for using another language should get someone fired without question.

Dr. Guy

I use to do German pretty well. About 30 years ago!

Yeah, funny thing about language, use it, or lose it!

Very good!

Thanks, I usually don't feel like writing on current events/politics, but I just couldn't turn an eye to this one.

Gene Nash

Seriously, it's almost hipster talk.

I agree. The vocab used in that short converstation (we are hoping that what was quoted in the article is the complete converstation) is something that nearly anyone from Texas could say, no matter what their ethic background was.

It's freedom of speech not freedom of English speech.

Brava!

Terpfan1980

Also blogged on here: From WP: Spanish at school translates to suspension

Should've looked before I posted this one, didn't know there was another one. Thanks for providing the link!

Bakerstreet

The administration there who saw that as actionable should be fired, immediately, without warning or mercy. There is literally no excuse of any kind for such an act.

While I disagree with what happened, I feel that taking such action would make us become just like the administrator who suspened this youngman without asking questions, without warning. As you should yourself, there is literally no excuse of any kind for such an act.

Terpfan1980

Texas Wahine and some other commenters in the article linked in my reply above help explain part of why there might be an excuse for such an act in this case

Yes, I think it would do us all good to think about that layer to the story. However, I must also note that there are many different types of alternative schools. It we do us good to find out what type of alternative school is this one.

Bakerstreet

Nah, I don't think the fact that it was an alternative school should matter.

I disagree with you here. It does and should play an important role in this event.

You couldn't teach at a high school level, in any subject, without using a foreign word every now and then. Not History, not math, nothing, not even friggin Home Ec.

This is very true.