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First things first

Time for lawmakers to endorse English competency

The Rocky

Published February 27, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Google "prepare students global economy" and you get 3.38 million hits. The first links go to articles from leaders in education, business and politics preaching the need to provide today's students with skills that will let them compete in a world that's "flat," to borrow author Thomas Friedman's much-hyped term about international competition.

A 2008 high school graduate entering the work force indeed faces daunting intellectual challenges that his or her parents and grandparents did not. A teenager needs more than a strong back and a sound work ethic to assure a stable, decent-paying career.

That quest must begin, it seems to us, with students acquiring a facility in the language upon which most of those careers depend. That's why it's encouraging to see the legislature again consider a bill requiring graduates from Colorado high schools to demonstrate competence in English.

This year, unlike 2007, the measure is likely to reach Gov. Bill Ritter, whose proposal for school reforms announced earlier this year include English competency as a graduation requirement.

Senate Bill 98, by Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, does not explicitly define competence, leaving that to individual school districts and the state's charter school institute. It does suggest that every graduate should be able to understand government and commercial documents; a student should at a minimum be able to fill out a voter registration form or open a bank account.

The bill would also let districts choose how students would demonstrate competency. It may be that most students will require no additional testing. We hope so. Even for those who do need a test, it should not have to be time-consuming. (Colorado Student Assessment Program scores could not be used, because CSAPs aren't given past 10th grade.)

The mandate would not kick in until 2013, giving districts plenty of time to comply.

Expecting graduates to show basic competence in English should not be too much to ask of Colorado's K-12 schools, though clearly some in the educational establishment believe it is. A nearly identical measure died in the House after passing the Senate 33-1 last year.

At the time, critics urged lawmakers to kill last year's version and wait until Ritter's P-20 task force recommended comprehensive reforms covering preschool through postdoctoral studies. Those who hoped that delay would derail plans to require English competency for graduation must be disappointed; the mandate is part of the school reforms outlined by Ritter in January. Indications are that the language of SB 98 may be largely incorporated in the bipartisan legislation that would implement the governor's reforms.

Let's hope so. The most recent CSAP scores show that a third of Colorado 10th graders can't read at grade level. Before we expect these students to compete with budding engineers in Bangalore, the least we should do is demand that they understand a traffic sign in Boulder.

Comments

  • February 27, 2008

    7:25 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    VVVV writes:

    Maybe we should copy India's practice of denying public education to people they feel aren't worthy. That would improve our test scores. Or maybe we should just acknowledge that our educational system has to cater to a more diverse group of people than exists in any other country, and has to make certain accomodations for that fact. To think that every high school graduate will compete against people halfway across this very large and very round world is shortsighted and alarmist. There will always be industries that cannot be outsourced to foreign countries. And there will always be places for people who do not fit our definition of "competent" in English to find work. Not everybody pitches a fit when they have to work with difficult accents. I voluntarily work with Texans and New Yorkers all the time, and never demand that they speak "competently". Get over yourself, and trust in a system like no other in the world that will continue to draw hard workers from other countries long into the future, ensuring our continued success, and supporting our economy with continuous growth. Xenophobic policies will only end in slow economic starvation.

  • February 27, 2008

    8:29 a.m.

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    davis_x_machina writes:

    Were competency in the English language a criterion for getting a job surely Earl's demigod the bush baby would have been among the chronically unemployed.And Earl wouldn't fare so well either.I fail to see how laws making English the "official" language would be any more effective than prohibition was in stopping the flow of alcohol into our society.It's just more anti-immigrant xenophobic nonsense.Earl you know a well-honed sense of decency, integrity, and intellectual honesty would compel you to cite the wingnut site from which you obtained your wonderful list.

  • February 27, 2008

    9:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Navy writes:

    davis_x_machina -

    Earl got the names from the Congressional Record - a real wingnut website.

  • February 27, 2008

    10:52 a.m.

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    That_Guy writes:

    This is why competency is so important for all students, the postings here apparently do not know the difference between "English as official language" and "English competency". Making a language official does not guarantee that anyone can actually speak, read or write properly. Why don't we focus on the education part before everyone starts making unconnected political rants?

  • February 27, 2008

    12:44 p.m.

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    p_myers661 writes:

    English competency would require that the teachers be competent. Many are not. It was not too long ago that the teachers railed against being tested in their basic competency in English, simple calculations and their area of expertise (the subject they would be teaching.) The law was amended so that the test was only given to new teachers. The shouts turned to howls about unfairness when, I think about 1980, about a quarter of the graduates from teachers colleges or university schools of education, failed the test. One, graduated and touted as able to teach elementary school, was functionally illiterate. Several could barely write and most could not spell or use proper grammar. I think we still have such tests in Colorado. The failure rate has gone down, so it is possible to enforce a standard of performance and make progress. It is the worst possible arrogance to graduate students who cannot use English, our language of business and commerce, or make simple computations without a calculator. I suggest we think about the students and forget about the demands of other groups.

  • February 27, 2008

    4:33 p.m.

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    just_me writes:

    VVV –
    It is not xenophobic to require English competency as a graduation requirement. It is actually very disdainful to not require it. By not knowing English, the earning potential of those we “xenophobes” want to speak English is greatly diminished, just as it is when English speakers are proficeint in only one language.

    And to your comment that “There will always be industries that cannot be outsourced to foreign countries”. You are correct. We import labor for those jobs!

  • February 28, 2008

    6:47 a.m.

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    VVVV writes:

    And we will continue to import labor because it is the only thing we can do to prevent what is currently happening in Japan. The people aren't having enough kids, work weeks for everyone are mandatory 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, simply because there aren't enough people to fill the jobs already existing in the country. Japan's economy is starving, and it will soon reach a breaking point where the cost of employees drives companies out of business. That's not what I want to happen to the US.

    And it is nobody's job to protect anyone from themselves. Any person can see that English is important. But as a free country (we are still free, right? Or was that taken away during the night?) every person makes their own choice whether to learn or not. Making English a requirement for graduation is xenophobic because its ultimate result will be to increase the dropout rate of ESL students. It is incredibly disdainful to disguise one's fear and bigotry as "just trying to help". Earning potential is not a roof over their head or food in their belly. Ambition is not something that can be regulated. Leaving the choice open to just survive is more important than idealistic fantasies. This is just a ploy to deny diplomas to immigrants, and it reeks of racism. Regardless of our language, we are required to provide equal education to all students. Despite what the establishment might believe, there are three other standard subjects than English - math, science, and history. If a student can succeed at 3/4ths of an education, that is passing. And a diploma is more a guarantee of future earning potential than being able to understand Shakespeare. And legislators wasting their time and our tax money to focus on racist policies when serious issues, like funding higher education are ignored, should be classified as incompetence at best and felony theft at worst.