<p>xiggi, I see nowhere where I used simplistic soundbites. Nowhere. Remember that I am looking at this with insider, intimate, & current information – not as a casual observer, knee-jerk reactionary, or with 20-second local TV news “stories” as my source. I never once said the word “illegal.” Please. I <em>proctor</em> these tests and I know my population. I’m required to & paid to.</p>
<p>It’s neither here nor there whether one or all Hispanics in the public schools are illegal. The material question is whether, or how much, they are both required to learn English (in school) and motivated to learn English out of school. In my local area, neither factor is very strong. The third factor is the home environment, but clearly a motivated student can learn as long as supported. Previous immigrant families from earlier generations motivated their children to learn the language, while often the parents themselves – busy & lacking time & resources – stayed only partial fluent until death. But the parents and the children knew the score. They never assumed they would be a significant enough population for the younger generation to survive without Engl-speaking & writing skills. The assumption was that success & upward mobility for the younger generation was predicated on assimilation, including adoption of the host language.</p>
<p>Again, I never mentioned “illegal” immigrants, nor did I claim they were “homogeneous.” You are either making incorrect assumptions about me, or you are confusing me with another poster. Homogeneous or heterogeneous is immaterial, btw. If you don’t speak the language & aren’t interested in learning it (because no one’s told you that you need to, or you perceive that you don’t need to), you will be severely impacted in your <em>English</em>-based U.S. education. Russians who come here permanently, if they are not yet fluent, assume that they should become fluent, & thus do so. They know that their numbers do not dominate.</p>
<p>The point of my statements was not to compare black with Hispanic CAHSEE results. If you want to investigate that, that’s your business. Those most vocal against the CAHSEE, however, are in fact the Hispanics, not blacks. They are vocal because they do not have the language skills. They are not fluent. I teach them. Please don’t tell me that most of them are fluent. </p>
<p>My statements were about the marginalization of black students within historically black schools & neighborhoods, now overwhelmed with classes conducted for Spanish-speaking students. This is not a rarity in my area. It is the trend, and has been so for quite some time.</p>