Saw this letter to the editor in my local paper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
I want to publicly thank all those who marched Monday to show support for illegal immigrants in Las Vegas. Thanks to their boycott, my school was 25 percent empty.
It was one of the most pleasurable days I've had teaching in the past several years. The thought occurred to me that if I could have more days like this, I could actually get to the business of helping students improve their test scores and getting my school off the No Child Left Behind watch list.
If school was boycotted more often, we would have no need to build more schools, no need for teachers to look for translators at parent conferences, no need to spend time remediating, no need to pay taxes for free or reduced-cost lunches and no need to try to discover a new teaching method to help English learners acquire the skills necessary to become proficient in testing.
So I thank all those who kept their kids out of school to participate in this march. I can't wait until another march is planned. You have my full support.
Perhaps you could all march south and become a burden to Mexican school districts.
Hoai-My Winder
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS A CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHER.
My step-daughter is a Clark County (ie, Las Vegas to you non-Las Vegans) teacher - I have heard her have some complaints about kids who can't speak English, and this does make me wonder just how many of illegal immigrant kids are overburdening our school system - not really learning as much as they should (mostly because their parents can't be involved for fear of deportation), but costing like the dickens all the same.
What this points out is that there is a large, but hidden, cost of illegal immigration - there is, in the end, no way to really know how much it costs, and thus no way to prove, one way or the other, if illegal immigration is a net loss or gain for the United States. However much the cost is, it is a burden which does not have to be suffered - neither by Americans, nor by the illegal immigrant kids.
We need a just, merciful and comprehensive solution to this problem - and that includes working with Mexico to foster economic liberalisation down south which will provide the economy to absorb the currently un-employable Mexicans who stream north because there's simply nothing for them in Mexico. I still say that the wall needs to come first - we have to secure our borders, out of simple justice to American citizens and to Mexicans who are routinely victimised by cirminals during their border crossings. But after that, we need to think seriously of ways and means to propel the Mexican economy into the 21st century.
There is no intrinsic reason for Mexico to be poorer than the United States - indeed, with their smaller population and vast oil reserves, a case can probably be made that a rational Mexican economy would produce a per capita GDP even higher than the United States'. We need, in conjunction with stern border security, an efficient guest-worker program - and we can use both of these as a lever to force the government of Mexico to institute the fundamental reforms necessary to free up the Mexican economy from a near century of various socialistic controls.
Hope always works better than despair - we should not despair of being able to take in Mexicans, and Mexico should not despair of ever being prosperous. We can do this, if we just gather the will and make it happen.
Posted by Mark Noonan at May 5, 2006 03:45 AM
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"We need a just, merciful and comprehensive solution to this problem - and that includes working with Mexico to foster economic liberalisation down south which will provide the economy to absorb the currently un-employable Mexicans who stream north because there's simply nothing for them in Mexico."
With all due respect, they hate America down Mexico way. I suggest we need to cut off aid, remittances and build a twenty foot wall and allow them to have the revolucion their elites have feared for a hundred years.
Posted by:
Jake Jacobsen at May 5, 2006 05:51 AM
Immigration is not a problem, it is a distraction from the real problems. The Wisconsin Republican deliberately introduced a bill to cause a sensation to keep our eyes off the real issues.
NCS spying on Americans, Jack Abramoff and the Republican Party, the illegal invasion of Iraq based upon false claims of WMD, the outing of a CIA agent for political gain, thousands dead in New Orleans, etc. These are the issues.
Immigration is the distraction. The Republicans used gay marriage last time and now they are using immigration this time. Don't buy it. Don't let them take your eye off the real issues.
Posted by: Debbie Ozark at May 5, 2006 07:15 AM
factoid - here in ohio, german-only public schools existed as recently as WW1.
english was required as a 2d language.
in general, studies show that the 3d generation uses english exclusively regardless of their (formerly) native tongue.
Posted by: OhioOrrin at May 5, 2006 07:29 AM
Yeah, this is really pretty simple. Build a wall. Send 'em back. Change the regime in Mexico.
Posted by:
Art Patscheck at May 5, 2006 09:18 AM
My daughter attends a school in Fullerton, CA. Our school's 3rd graders only have a 9% competence in writing. Our school's population is 60% Hispanic, 25% White, 10% Asian and 5% Black. I don't have the attendance figures for May 1st walkouts for Fullerton School District, but I have the OC Register figures for some schools in Orange County here: http://navywife.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/2006/05/oc_school_atten.html
I'm transferring her to a new school with 60% white, 25% Hispanic and 15% Asian. The 3rd grade writing competence is at 41% at that school. I'm thankful for Open Enrollment.
Posted by:
ProfSKienle at May 5, 2006 09:26 AM
Lets try this. Build a wall and put our national guard on the border. Deport all Illegal Aliens. Make it so if you are not an American Citizen you cant work,go to school, eat, drink, or even breath in America then our problems will be solved. Lets solve American problems first before we try helping Mexico. They are not our concern. we have American Children and elderly going hungry, sick, and homeless and until we help Every american Citizen i could give a damn for an Illegal Alien or third world national I wouldnt trade 1 American Citizen for 11 million Illegal Aliens for Second and any American that would is a traitor to this Nation.
Posted by: William Gardner at May 5, 2006 10:45 AM
Debbie in the Ozarks
Remove the tinfoil hat, leave the basement and get out into the fresh air to clear your head. Then have your meds adjusted and get some therapy for your paranoia.
Posted by: phnxbmed at May 5, 2006 10:47 AM
What teacher wouldn't want to teach a class 1/4 the size they currently have? What teacher couldn't do better with 8 students instead of 32.
I worked for 20 years as a photojournalist in a major metropolitan area. In that time I saw many horrific and many inspirational scenes. One that sticks out in my mind vividly is a peer to peer English as a Second Language program. It was such a sweet scene that even ole warrior nation would have been moved. Here was a 7th grade immigrant from Bolivia helping a 2nd grader from Viet Nam. A 4th grader from India helping an 8th grader from Mexico....
Like they say from the hearts of babes.....Maybe we should all learn from our children. Our schools have serious problems. But let's not leave any child behind. Be they yellow, black or white, they are precious in his sight.
Posted by: Ash at May 5, 2006 11:37 AM
I'll second OhioOrrin: here in Wisconsin, the same was true. In fact, my grandparents, and especially great-grandparents, spoke German at home (a form not too recognizable to native Germans, but their version of the language nonetheless) - and all the family line came in the mid 19th century. But for several generations, we speak English, and the only German I know I learned was in college.
This is typical. If you wish to rail against hispanics, then do yourself justice and rail against every immigrant group, including your own.
Despite this, hispanics who emigrate to the United States today assimilate much quicker than older immigrant groups. There was actually a movement, which almost passed at one point, to make the official language of the U.S. both English and German. If that happened, would you be bitching about people not speaking German?
Posted by:
winnowhead at May 6, 2006 03:23 AM
Jake,
I won't go that route - the people of Mexico are my brothers and sisters, and I have a moral obligation to help them as much as I can...I cannot allow my country to be a door mat, but I don't want something like a bloody revolution down south.
Posted by: Mark Noonan at May 6, 2006 05:47 AM
Mark,
The problems your Clark County teachers are having in their schools have more to do with public schooling as such than with immigration. Privatize schooling and regardless of students' citizenship, see how the profit motive weeds out the slug teachers and bureaucrats and brings together and inspires the teachers with a passion for their work and a desire to be the best. Then you'll see how much "Johnny" can learn! If you look around the country, it is our public institutions that are in the greatest disrepair. They have to be. The incentive for productivity is undermined by the villification of the profit motive and funding by government edict.
As to the second paragraph, it pretty much implodes on itself and is a bit demagogue-ish. If, as you say, "there is, in the end, no way to really know how much it costs..." then how can you say that "...there is a large, but hidden, cost of illegal immigration"? By what standard do you call it large? And since we can't know how much the cost is, by what logic do you conclude "..., it is a burden which does not have to be suffered"? You say absolutely nothing here. The capitalist sees no problem with immigration. Immigration provides the human resources to fuel the free-market economy which thrives on brain power and human skill and labor.
Yes, a just and comprehensive solution is what's needed, but I would say the solution has more to do with the U.S. rediscovering the virtues of freedom and capitalism than with "...working with Mexico to foster economic liberalisation." Besides, the U.S. itself is very confused about its identity. Just look at the success we’ve had teaching Iraqis how to be free and you get a glimpse at the futility of America teaching Mexico anything. Also, I don’t see how you go from discussing the need for Mexican liberalization to, “I still say that the wall needs to come first”. It’s a very jarring image. I don’t see how walls and liberalisation can logically belong in the same paragraph. I point it out because I believe it’s a subtle clue to the lack of clarity that exists on the issue. It’s interesting to me how contradictions manifest. But I digress.
Lastly, I hate to kill the love-fest you try to create with the dreamy, poetic bromide you chose to end with but, man! Can you layout the horse manure and thicker? “We can do this, if we just gather the will and make it happen” are you kiddin’ me?
Posted by: BeSelfish at May 10, 2006 04:57 PM
Post a comment
"We need a just, merciful and comprehensive solution to this problem - and that includes working with Mexico to foster economic liberalisation down south which will provide the economy to absorb the currently un-employable Mexicans who stream north because there's simply nothing for them in Mexico."
With all due respect, they hate America down Mexico way. I suggest we need to cut off aid, remittances and build a twenty foot wall and allow them to have the revolucion their elites have feared for a hundred years.
Immigration is not a problem, it is a distraction from the real problems. The Wisconsin Republican deliberately introduced a bill to cause a sensation to keep our eyes off the real issues.
NCS spying on Americans, Jack Abramoff and the Republican Party, the illegal invasion of Iraq based upon false claims of WMD, the outing of a CIA agent for political gain, thousands dead in New Orleans, etc. These are the issues.
Immigration is the distraction. The Republicans used gay marriage last time and now they are using immigration this time. Don't buy it. Don't let them take your eye off the real issues.
factoid - here in ohio, german-only public schools existed as recently as WW1.
english was required as a 2d language.
in general, studies show that the 3d generation uses english exclusively regardless of their (formerly) native tongue.
Yeah, this is really pretty simple. Build a wall. Send 'em back. Change the regime in Mexico.
My daughter attends a school in Fullerton, CA. Our school's 3rd graders only have a 9% competence in writing. Our school's population is 60% Hispanic, 25% White, 10% Asian and 5% Black. I don't have the attendance figures for May 1st walkouts for Fullerton School District, but I have the OC Register figures for some schools in Orange County here: http://navywife.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/2006/05/oc_school_atten.html
I'm transferring her to a new school with 60% white, 25% Hispanic and 15% Asian. The 3rd grade writing competence is at 41% at that school. I'm thankful for Open Enrollment.
Lets try this. Build a wall and put our national guard on the border. Deport all Illegal Aliens. Make it so if you are not an American Citizen you cant work,go to school, eat, drink, or even breath in America then our problems will be solved. Lets solve American problems first before we try helping Mexico. They are not our concern. we have American Children and elderly going hungry, sick, and homeless and until we help Every american Citizen i could give a damn for an Illegal Alien or third world national I wouldnt trade 1 American Citizen for 11 million Illegal Aliens for Second and any American that would is a traitor to this Nation.
Debbie in the Ozarks
Remove the tinfoil hat, leave the basement and get out into the fresh air to clear your head. Then have your meds adjusted and get some therapy for your paranoia.
What teacher wouldn't want to teach a class 1/4 the size they currently have? What teacher couldn't do better with 8 students instead of 32.
I worked for 20 years as a photojournalist in a major metropolitan area. In that time I saw many horrific and many inspirational scenes. One that sticks out in my mind vividly is a peer to peer English as a Second Language program. It was such a sweet scene that even ole warrior nation would have been moved. Here was a 7th grade immigrant from Bolivia helping a 2nd grader from Viet Nam. A 4th grader from India helping an 8th grader from Mexico....
Like they say from the hearts of babes.....Maybe we should all learn from our children. Our schools have serious problems. But let's not leave any child behind. Be they yellow, black or white, they are precious in his sight.
I'll second OhioOrrin: here in Wisconsin, the same was true. In fact, my grandparents, and especially great-grandparents, spoke German at home (a form not too recognizable to native Germans, but their version of the language nonetheless) - and all the family line came in the mid 19th century. But for several generations, we speak English, and the only German I know I learned was in college.
This is typical. If you wish to rail against hispanics, then do yourself justice and rail against every immigrant group, including your own.
Despite this, hispanics who emigrate to the United States today assimilate much quicker than older immigrant groups. There was actually a movement, which almost passed at one point, to make the official language of the U.S. both English and German. If that happened, would you be bitching about people not speaking German?
Jake,
I won't go that route - the people of Mexico are my brothers and sisters, and I have a moral obligation to help them as much as I can...I cannot allow my country to be a door mat, but I don't want something like a bloody revolution down south.
Mark,
The problems your Clark County teachers are having in their schools have more to do with public schooling as such than with immigration. Privatize schooling and regardless of students' citizenship, see how the profit motive weeds out the slug teachers and bureaucrats and brings together and inspires the teachers with a passion for their work and a desire to be the best. Then you'll see how much "Johnny" can learn! If you look around the country, it is our public institutions that are in the greatest disrepair. They have to be. The incentive for productivity is undermined by the villification of the profit motive and funding by government edict.
As to the second paragraph, it pretty much implodes on itself and is a bit demagogue-ish. If, as you say, "there is, in the end, no way to really know how much it costs..." then how can you say that "...there is a large, but hidden, cost of illegal immigration"? By what standard do you call it large? And since we can't know how much the cost is, by what logic do you conclude "..., it is a burden which does not have to be suffered"? You say absolutely nothing here. The capitalist sees no problem with immigration. Immigration provides the human resources to fuel the free-market economy which thrives on brain power and human skill and labor.
Yes, a just and comprehensive solution is what's needed, but I would say the solution has more to do with the U.S. rediscovering the virtues of freedom and capitalism than with "...working with Mexico to foster economic liberalisation." Besides, the U.S. itself is very confused about its identity. Just look at the success we’ve had teaching Iraqis how to be free and you get a glimpse at the futility of America teaching Mexico anything. Also, I don’t see how you go from discussing the need for Mexican liberalization to, “I still say that the wall needs to come first”. It’s a very jarring image. I don’t see how walls and liberalisation can logically belong in the same paragraph. I point it out because I believe it’s a subtle clue to the lack of clarity that exists on the issue. It’s interesting to me how contradictions manifest. But I digress.
Lastly, I hate to kill the love-fest you try to create with the dreamy, poetic bromide you chose to end with but, man! Can you layout the horse manure and thicker? “We can do this, if we just gather the will and make it happen” are you kiddin’ me?