Superintendent proposes making 2 public schools Spanish language
Charlotte Local News | Charlotte Observer
Thirteen schools would lose magnet programs.

Collinswood and Oaklawn elementaries would become K-8 Spanish-language schools.

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"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”—Theodore Roosevelt

1) Just out of curiousity, why didn't you put any of your own comments on this post?

2) Are they freakin' kidding me?
Am I misreading this?
"Collinswood and Oaklawn elementaries would become K-8 Spanish-language schools."

Offer Spanish courses, like a school teaching a second language course? Sounds more feasible.

But this reads (and there is no counter-explanation in the article) like the school would become a "Spanish-language" school.
I find this absurd and counter-productive. A SCHOOL should be interested in teaching the kids the tools they need to get by in life. NOT cater to Spanish language, leading towards a potential (expected) result of not understanding English...

In North Carolina???
I expect to be embarrassed by attempted crap like this in California, but this is in North Carolina???

Somebody tell me I'm misreading this...

Not sure what this proposal is about. Magnet programs are ESL programs? Is the idea to close ESL programs in schools and just concentrate anyone who does not speak English (new immigrants) into one school in order to reduce expenses? If that is so, it's the stupidest idea I ever heard, and since most parents are more than anxious to have their children learn the language, I doubt they would have many takers (unless it was compulsory).

That said, there is no need to get emotional over it. There are a number of schools in specific languages that cater to the children of foreign officials and such - no need to freak simply because this is proposed as an all Spanish school. I know of a couple in NJ that are all Japanese, just to cite an example. Of course I don't agree that this be done with taxpayer dollars and I personally feel they should eliminate ESL classes from schools altogether, they are a crutch to new immigrants and only delay their developing English language skills.

Also, I must stress once again, this is not something that the Hispanic community requires, it is something that has occured to some dingbat who thinks he knows what is best for a group of children he has no knowledge about. I wish educators and not politicians would work on these "proposals".

Actually, their IS a need to be concerned...

Schools that cater to specific languages are PRIVATE schools...

But in this instance it's being done at the taxpayer's expense...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

There used to be a requirement of at least one language to graduate from high school where I grew up. I think the schools they are proposing here are like Spanish immersion programs for those who want to really learn the language well.
One of the comments in the original article suggested the parents pay for special language programs. Another said why pick Spanish, because Chinese was an up and coming language of trade etc.

I would like to see a Latin language school. Since our government and many of the sciences stem from the writings of Rome.

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I'm sort of appalled at the lack of knowledge and to some extent, seemingly intellectual curiosity demonstrated in this thread. A little research gets one to this article which starts to be all fear-mongering but eventually quotes the school board official thusly:
It's that final quote that makes this all alright for me.

... precisely. Since it is taxpayers then it should be the taxpayers who determine how their money is spent.

One of the benefits of having a magnet school like this is that the 'regular' schools aren't hampered as much by having so many students for whom English is not their first language. I recently left the Florida school system, which certainly could have benefitted from some magnet schools like this. My daughter's high school was horrible, and one major reason was all the 'diversity'.

Charlotte is not your father's North Carolina. Charlotte is like Orlando. A small town grown up virtually overnight with tons of cultural diversity (latinos of all origins) as a result.

It's a proposal, and they will be talking with parents and the community about it. There wouldn't be these magnet schools in the first place if the community didn't want them, and shouldn't the 'hispanic community' be allowed to determine how their tax dollars are spent?

Look, I don't speak a second language but I've lived amongst those who do for many, many years. I'm tired of the redneck white guy response to hispanics that says 'speak English or get the f*ck out of our country'.

Sentiments like that make me understand why Canadians and many Europeans feel they're just a wee bit more sophisticated than Americans.

In Florida and North Carolina, there still is a foreign language requirement (2 years in both states, I believe). You are correct that these would be immersion programs. Only if someone convinced me that the students would not learn enough English to succeed in high school would I be alarmed.

I don't like that idea.I'm grateful that we didn't all learn Japanese in the 80's. Weren't they the last country set to take over the world?

That would be neat. Of course Americans being Americans we would accuse all the parents who sent their kids there of being in the mafia.

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Alas, I am quite tired of it as well,

Look at my signature.

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"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”—Theodore Roosevelt

That should be the response of any real American who is sick and tired of catering to those who refuse to assimilate.
One of the results of a country not unified by one language.
Quebec sovereignty movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”—Theodore Roosevelt