[Grovenet] Habla English?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

David wrote:
That statement is a good example of what concerns me.  Spanish  
speaking people in this country may be from here, Mexico or  
elsewhere.  Some of them were born here and that makes their country  
the United States of America.  I want those Americans to be part of  
this nation, and to consider them self as part of this nation.  That  
is why I support English language education as a high priority in our  
system for all not-speakers.  I prefer total immersion in English,  
because that appears to have the highest success rate in developing  
English speakers.

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When you take things out of context you change the meaning, David. 

I agree with what you wrote. I thought it was obvious we were talking about
immigrants. That word seems to have been in most of my sentences. Also I
never singled out "Spanish speaking people in this country..." I clearly
said "Spanish-speaking-only..." meaning those who cannot communicate in
English. 

If we have second-generation Americans who cannot read or speak English, the
American school system has utterly failed! I wasn't aware that situation
existed. 

David wrote:

I was talking about the consequences of encouraging division rather  
than coming together.  There are sufficient examples of nations that  
have serious problems caused by deep divisions in their populace.   
Those divisions may be along language, race, economic, religious, or  
other lines.  When those divisions are serious enough they can  
fracture the nation.  When they are less serious, they can distract  
the progress of the nation while people spend their energies  
compensating for the problems raised by the division.  Language is  
one division that this nation faces, and I would like to see that  
fracture minimized.

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Again I agree.  Everything I have written is in the spirit of bringing
people together, not just American citizens but all legal residents of
America. I believe that begins with a common language. Without a common
language, little else can work. 

Ron D'Eau Claire