From - Sun Jun 9 22:26:26 2002 Message-ID: <3D039445.38D72C8D@earthops.net> Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002 17:45:41 +0000 From: Tiny Human Ferret Organization: copyright 2002 all rights reserved -- non-UseNet transmission prohibited. X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (X11; U; Linux 2.0.38 i386) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: alt.politics.immigration,alt.politics.usa,alt.politics.reform,dc.general,md.mont Subject: The Decline and Fall of the American Civilization Begins in Montgomery, MD Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 65.205.1.226 X-Trace: vienna7.his.com 1023644823 65.205.1.226 (9 Jun 2002 13:47:03 -0400) Lines: 484 X-Authenticated-User: tjh22isp Path: vienna7.his.com Xref: vienna7.his.com alt.politics.immigration:14460 alt.politics.usa:131789 alt.politics.reform:2584 dc.general:3339 md.mont:34 The American Civilization hasn't yet fallen. Yet, fall it shall, unless something is done. What could have been done to prevent this fall? What can be done to prevent this fall? Why, some will ask, do you even suggest that such a fall is possible, much less inevitable? The United States of America was founded on certain principles. They aren't incredibly complex principles, they're rather simple, really: Respect for the rights of individuals, the rights of individuals to vote to elect representatives who will -- in congress assembled -- debate, propose, and pass bills of law, which may be signed into law and then faithfully executed by the executive branch, subject to review by the judicial branch. It's so simple that most children can understand it. However, the Constitution, the basis for all of this, is written in English. You'd think that it would be a simple matter, if somehow the majority spoke a language other than English, to translate the Constitution into whatever language was spoken by the majority. But... what if the majority _doesn't speak at all_? What if the majority _hasn't got a human language capable of understanding or expressing complex thought_? From today's _Washington Post_, Sun June 9, 2002: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A18674-2002Jun8?language=printer Trapped Between 2 Languages Poor and Isolated, Many Immigrants' Children Lack English By Brigid Schulte Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 9, 2002; Page A01 William Martinez arrived in kindergarten nearly three years ago, knowing just the few words of English -- such as "happy" and "hello" -- he had picked up from TV and the playground. He was put in intensive English language classes that for decades have helped newly arriving immigrants make the transition to America. But William is not an immigrant. He was born in Gaithersburg. [MD] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ And he is part of the largest and fastest-growing group of children who are learning to speak English in school throughout the Washington [DC] region: U.S. citizens. To local officials and national experts alike, the statistic is startling. "These children are growing up in linguistically isolated households. And if they're isolated, they're probably in poor families," said Michael Fix, an immigration expert at the Urban Institute. "This is amazing. We're not talking East L.A. We're talking Montgomery County, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ one of the richest counties in the country." [Montgomery County Maryland, it must be added, is one of the Maryland counties which brackets the District of Columbia, the US Nation's Capital. --klaatu] Indeed, in Montgomery and Fairfax counties, about 35 percent of students in English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL, classes are U.S. citizens, a dramatic increase from the mid-1990s. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In the District, 37 percent are Americans; and in Prince George's and Arlington counties, nearly half of the children in the specialized classes are. The statistics speak volumes: These are lives circumscribed by poverty, isolation and inattention. Many of the children spend most of their time in cramped apartments in front of TVs. Many of their parents have little or no education and work hours at low-paying jobs. Many are simply not home when their children are awake. And most of the children do not have the extensive family networks of more established immigrant communities that can fill in the blanks. That puts the children at a double disadvantage: Not only have they not learned English, they often don't learn their first language well. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The consequences are just beginning to hit school officials. In tests of language dominance, "quite often, it comes up that they have very small vocabulary in both languages," ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ said Montgomery teacher Nina Klauder. Many have greater difficulty learning to read and write than do recent immigrants, even members of their own families. [...] Montgomery County School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, who promised to close the achievement gap and is instead battling flat and faltering test scores, will present a report Tuesday detailing the shortcomings of the county's ESOL program. "These are invisible kids," he said. "If we don't deal with them well, it's going to affect the quality of education for everyone." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ William, now 7, is in second grade at Gaithersburg Elementary School. He now chatters in unaccented English about Britney Spears and how he loves doing the cha-cha slide in P.E. class. But the words he uses are simple, and ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ he often pounds his forehead with his fist as he ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ struggles to find them. [Take note! This is highly symptomatic of autism. --klaatu] Most times, he mugs, making exaggerated faces in answer to questions. "Another child, in another environment, would use words to express how they feel," ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ said MariaEstela Merrell, a bilingual social worker who has been working with the boy and his family for a year. "But William just makes these funny faces." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ He may sound fluent -- most children can learn to speak a foreign language, particularly "playground English," in one year. But he is struggling in school. It takes five to seven years, research has found, before a child can perform academically in a second language. His report card shows that he is still far behind native English-speaking classmates, even after being moved into a special classroom of only 13 children who need extra help. A recent language test of his ability to read and write shows why: It was as if he had never seen English. He scored a zero in writing. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ William and others like him present a conundrum for teachers: Children who sound fluent when they talk are anything but when it comes to reading and writing. "I was piloting a kindergarten curriculum I thought was too simple," said language teacher Jennifer DeLorge. "But then it surprised me that these kids didn't know basic words, like roof, or pants. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It's tricky, because they sound quite fluent." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [...] Although there are always exceptions, teachers say they fear many of these children will reject their first language, a typical pattern of assimilation in the United States. And if their English is weak, these children risk becoming "semiliterate." "They may have some vocabulary in one language and some vocabulary in another and use both when they speak," said Cristina Stern, a longtime ESOL teacher in Montgomery County. "But it's as if they don't have a dominant language. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ They're not bilingual. They're __alingual__." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I must point out that "alingual" means "without language". Language is generally considered one of the hallmarks of humanity, and was once thought to be that divine gift which separated Man from Animal. Recently, of course, this view has fallen by the wayside as many species of non-humans have been shown to have capacity for language, the more famous cases being exemplified by Koko Gorilla, Washoe (and many other) Chimpanzee, Alex the African Grey Parrot, and to varying degrees, several others. While language may not be exclusively human, complex civilization is, and civilization does require language, and a complex civilization requires a complex language. These children don't have a complex language. Much like chimps, they have to make do with facial expressions and animal noises and mime, because they do not have words. A recent _Washington Post_ article detailed the need, in the Greater Washington DC Metro Area, for hospitals to hire translators and to have multilingual signs, particularly in the obstetrics and maternity wards. Why is this necessary? Because in Montgomery County Maryland, half of all births are to foreign women. "Sometimes they come here straight from the airport", the _Post_ tells us was heard from a hospital worker. Montgomery County's ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs are 35-percent _US Citizens_... and they are proving less than effective, as they have the presupposition that they are teaching a second language to persons who already speak a language. These kids don't speak language. They have a few words, which they speak with perfect native accents. It's difficult to speak to them, because they understand almost nothing that you say to them. They have very little to say to you, because they have almost no words to say, _in any language whatsoever_. Recently, my neighborhood, Aspen Hill Maryland, was declared a "HotSpot", due to a variety of factors. Primarily, it's the crime rate. Secondarily, it's the abysmal test scores in the local schools. The area -- bounded by Hewitt Avenue on the South, Georgia Avenue on the West, Bel-Pre Road on the North, and Layhill Road to the East -- is home to the highest concentration of immigrants (legal and otherwise) in Montgomery County ("MC"), and is also one of the greatest concentrations of families receiving government funded housing. I attended some meetings of the Mid-County Neighborhood Initiative and learnd some interesting things: Median Houshold Income is less than 2/3rds of the median for the county. Median income for Montgomery County MD is $61,000. A three-bedroom split-level detached home bordering this area is roughly $260,000. The percentage of houeholds with an income of less than $30,000 is 60% higher than in the rest of Montgomery County. The median number of years in the same house is 60% lower than in the rest of the county, and the median number of years in the same house in Montgomery County is a mere 7 years. The percentage of single-parent households is 5 times higher than MC as a whole. The percentage of women, who are employed and have a child under age 6, is 29% higher than MC as a whole. The percentage of foreign-born heads-of-household or spouse is 40% greater than that of MC as a whole, as is the percentage of adults under 25 with highschool (or less) education only, and of adults less than age 25 with less than a highschool education, it's 60 percent greater than MC as a whole. Compared with the rest of MC as a whole, there are 2.5 times as many renting, rather than owning/buying their own homes. (This last isn't surprising, as the are under discussion is mostly block after block of apartments and condominiums converted from apartments.) Back to the main point: while attending a meeting of the Juvenile Intervention Committee, one of the members pointed out what he considered terrifying: his surveys had found that the vast majority of the apartment dwellers simply got their kids home from school, where they closeed the blinds and turned on the televisions. There is almost no outside socializing, for a variety of reasons. I thought this was terrible, but I had no understanding, it didn't "get it". Now, reading the article above, I "get it": an entire generation in an entire subdivision is at risk of growing up "alingual", with about as much socialization and language as a chimpanzee. Further, from the _Washington Post_ article cited above: The problem is well established in California and Texas. A 1993 survey found that one-third of the 2.1 million students learning English in U.S. public schools were born in America. With some exceptions, these students speak their first language relatively well, in part because the immigrant communities in those states are so large, with so many extended family members, friends, churches and services in Spanish, experts say. But in the Washington region, where the immigrant communities are smaller and dispersed, many immigrant families live not only in poverty, but also in isolation. For years, the immigrant communities here were highly educated and largely well-heeled. The sons and daughters of bankers, diplomats and scientists entered local public schools and learned English quickly. In a typical program, their ESOL teachers took them out of class for a half-hour a few times a week and concentrated on building words and grammar. Most performed well. Indeed, on some math tests, many outperformed native English-speaking classmates. But in the 1980s and '90s, more than a quarter-million immigrants came to the Washington area legally, and countless others illegally. And recent studies have found that the Latino immigrants, in particular, tended to be less educated and to earn less than those in the more established Hispanic community. They complained of being trapped in the "circulo cerrado" -- or closed circle -- of low-wage jobs because they didn't speak English. Now their children are arriving in public schools. Many of those children, like William, did not go to preschool. A survey last summer found that 30 percent of Latino children in Montgomery County do not. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Many, like William, have been left with babysitters in front of television sets while their parents worked, cleaning houses and offices, working construction or mopping up at Wendy's. The largest group -- 77 percent -- speaks Spanish at home. The rest, Montgomery County records show, speak just about every language on earth. "They're catching up their entire careers," said Francisco Millet, who directs ESOL programs in Fairfax County [VA]. "And many never do." In truth, no one really knows just how limited these U.S.-born children are because no one has ever asked ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the question. Harvard University researchers are just beginning an ambitious, four-year study, in Montgomery County and elsewhere, to pinpoint what exactly appears to put these students at greater disadvantage than not just other American children, but newly arriving immigrants as well. Synthia Woodcock Dang has taught children from the same immigrant family, some who arrived with their parents and others who were born here. The difference was staggering. "Even if they come from poverty in their home country, they had grandparents tell them stories and talk back and forth. They went to the market. They had rich experiences," she said. "The siblings born here don't have that. They've been left in day care with no stimulation. No one talks to them." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Isolation -- from the mainstream culture, from extended family -- is one clear cause of children's lack of English skills. And poverty is key. Indeed, in Montgomery County, 70 percent of U.S.-born children who don't speak English are poor, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ while only about half of foreign-born children are. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If poverty and isolation make the primary language skills weak, learning a second is not a matter of simply translating. It means learning new concepts in a strange tongue. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "What we see are children who have difficulty putting sentences together in either language," ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ said Mathilda Arcineagas, who for 20 years has taught nonnative English speakers. "They're really between two languages." The article goes on to detail how the parents of these children live in linguistic isolation, including touching little profiles of a destitute woman from El Salvador, who has been here for 12 years and reportedly never once considerd the possibility of learning English; it was far from her list of priorities, and certainly not at the top of that list. Another vignette provides scant detail of a Vietnamese-American who speaks almost no Vietnamese, and her mother who speaks no English. Further from the _Post_: VyVy's recent report card showed she is trying hard in school but often doesn't do her homework. "Please read at home!" her teacher, Jim Fritzinger, wrote. But there are no books in the spare three-bedroom townhouse the Phams ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ share with another family. And Chi Pham can't read. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ William's first-grade teacher, Greg Shinsky, is troubled that more and more children have such a small window on the world. They don't know words such as whisker or flower girl. "When we read books," he said, "it's just painfully clear that they haven't had any experiences." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Margaret Van Buskirk, who has taught ESOL for years, describes them this way: "They're not children of the Third World," she said. "They're children of the Fourth." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ So, this is the Brave New World to which the Immigrants have come. They have fled devastated Third-World cultures. On the newsgroups dealing with Immigration, a constant refrain rises, and not only from the klansmen and the nazis and the xenophobes and the racists: "we are afraid that we are importing third-world culture and destroying our own culture". Well, it's _worse_ than that. We're not importing Third World Culture: We are creating the Fourth World Culture. Through our inattention we are fostering a generation of alinguals, unsocialized children, with no parent but television; and if we are expecting television to impart culture to children, we are falsely expectant -- television remains a vast cultural wasteland. Our only hope for the future appears to be "Teletubbies" and "Sesame Street". However, further from the _Post_ article: In a makeshift classroom in a trailer behind William's school, Petrona Chavez [the illiterate Salvadoran mother] sat hunched over a piece of oversize paper with wide lines, the kind that kindergartners use to write their first alphabet. And that was what Petrona was doing. In Spanish. For the past year, Petrona has been trying to change. She has been coming to Gaithersburg Elementary's Parent Resource Center to learn how to read and write in Spanish. Teachers say that is the only way she will ever begin to learn English. Social workers with Even Start, the federal family literacy project, have been working with her at home, encouraging her to turn the TV off, to talk to her boys, to take them to the park. Now home because of a difficult pregnancy, she has been carefully pronouncing Spanish words for Antonio and has registered him for Head Start. She no longer pulls William out of school to be her translator. He goes to homework club. And on Fridays, she has been learning how to get down on the floor and play with Antonio. It has not been easy. "This is not like how it was when I grew up, where kids just crawled around on the dirt floor, and if they put something dirty in their mouths, it was okay," she said through a translator. "I'm realizing kids don't just raise themselves." Now, you may be asking yourself "well, what can _I_ do" to prevent the formation of a Fourth-World culture in Montgomery County Maryland, bellying up to the Nation's Capital like a cancer behind your eyes, robbing the body-politic of the intellectual resources that will be needed for the next generation's thoughts. You may be thinking "well, let's just throw money at the problem" or you may be thinking "let's not throw money down a rat-hole". You may be thinking "let's just round these people up and ship them back whence they came" and if you're thinking that, think again: these children were born here and they are your fellow citizens and if you give a damn about your country you will care about your fellow citizens and ideally you will spend some time thinking about how to fix the problem we definitely have, not talking about how this could have been or should have been prevented. The horse is fled the barn, and it's too late to shut the door. Or, more appropriate to the discussion, let's use another metaphor: The Wild Child is at your door and he's still young and can still be taught, but if you let him grow up wild, before too long you'll have a werewolf in the yard. Ignore the problem and it will grow until it cannot be ignored. Walk away from the problem? -you can't walk far enough because this is happening everywhere. Insanely enough, while many who concern themselves with Immigration issues argue heatedly about the creation of Enclaves and even Colonies of immigrants, when public policy -- by design or through accident -- prevents the formation of these enclaves or colonies, it creates the sort of isolation and failure of acculturation which is leading to the creation of a substantial generation of alingual near-autistic wild children who cannot speak _any_ language with any competency, who don't have _any_ real culture. So, let's find some way to find these people who are too busy working to raise their children in their own culture, to thereafter be brought into ours as is these childrens' citizen birthright, brought into our American culture by us, as is our citizen's duty. Let's make it a point to teach some kids some English, not just teaching a native accent and fluency in a pidgin with less than 200 words of vocabulary: there is an immense and robust language to be taught -- the largest vocabulary in the world -- and there is, sadly, no shortage whatsoever of minds devoid of content, of ideas, of words for those ideas, of words. -- "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - P. Henry Be kind to your neighbors, even though they be transgenic chimerae. Whom thou'st vex'd waxeth wroth: Meow. <-----> http://earthops.net/klaatu/