10/13/18 Are Beaners Too Dense For Our Learning Ways?

    Growing up, I remember that in our home life we spoke Spanish.  We could be in school and knowing that the teachers were "one of us", we could break into our "bocho" language as some of the "real" Mexicans told me I talked when I got to UT later.  I guess bocho is their word for chopped up language in which we bounce between both English and Spanish to keep the conversation going.  It worked locally, but when I would try it with these new international friends of mine, they always stopped me when a word didn't make sense, like "shofolear" which I conjugated from the English word "shuffle".  Then on the other side of the conversation, the perfect speaking English only peeps would snicker at my mixing of the ch- and sh- which I still kind of don't get, but I stretch the sh- sound to keep them quiet.  Anyways, we managed to learn enough that even if I had a bit of a time when I got to UT, I learned enough to get by and now I mostly speak English, unless I am talking with Wife about the boys or maybe with my family.
    This conversation is not really about me, that was just my path.  What I don't get is why do school districts dedicate resources to teaching kids in Spanish only classes?  These knuckleheads can go all the way through and graduate in Spanish only classes which might be fine for them if they were headed back to Mexico, otherwise, how have they been prepared for success if they didn't learn the language of the land of opportunity, as everyone sees the United States?  I think that by doing this to these kids, they are being told "you are in fact, too stupid, for our country."
    In contrast to this, I always think back to one of my supervisors.  He came from Poland and did not speak English until he arrived in the US, sometime when he was in Elementary school.  He was not given a choice to continue living in his home's language so that he could continue communicating with a land he didn't live in.  No, he was thrust into an English only school district and was forced to learn our language.  This guy continued and I don't believe he had a silver spoon in his mouth, as he would tell us his shitty stories of sitting there working on his cars all the time.  He did get a PhD which is how he ended up as our supervisor.  I don't think that would have happened if he would have been allowed to tinker around in his born language.
    I know this is one person and one example, but it shows what can happen to a random person from another country who comes here and is forced to mingle and become one of us, an American.  By letting them keep their language, they keep up a barrier which is worse than whatever wall Mr. Trump keeps talking about building.  Isolating yourself by not learning the language of the land of greatness is really like building your own personal wall to keep yourself away.  I find it a tad sad that after all that parents go through to have their kids in school for so many years, after graduation, all you can do is talk to other Spanish speakers, you end up in a very small world and even less opportunity.