DALLAS — A proposed solution to a lack of communication between English-speaking school principals and Spanish-speaking parents has a lot of people talking in Texas.

Some Hispanic Dallas moms say they're often in the dark about how their children are performing in school because they don't know English, and the principal doesn't know Spanish. A new proposal before the school board would force principals to learn the native language of the majority of students — for 43 percent of pupils at Dallas schools that language is Spanish.

Click in the video box for a report by FOX News' Phil Keating.

Critics argue the plan is a threat to the official language of America. The Dallas Council of PTAs says the solution shouldn’t be forcing principals to learn Spanish, but instead making the parents learn English.

"English should play a big role. This is America. And when in the history of this country, when people have come to this great nation, they have had to learn the English language," said Harry Trujillo of the Dallas Council of PTAs (search).

Supporters say the plan, which is the brainchild of a Dallas schools trustee, can help children get a better education and make communication with parents more effective.

"I'm not pushing any change … bilingual, bicultural way of life has been in this state before the Alamo was here," trustee Joe May said.
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Make the parents learn english! We shouldn't be holding our teachers hostage because they can't speak a non-native language from their own.

Wow..... just....... weird......

Yeah, make them learn English, dang it.....they want to live here.

no no no no no


this is the most stupid thing ive ever heard....you live in america...the least you can do is learn the language, if not then leave

in school you can not take C++ if you have not allready passed BASIC, we should make english a pre-requisite to becomming a citizen

talk about xenophobia.. not all ppl know the right paths to access to allow them the chances.. why not let principal learn a language which is commonly used in america? look at the percentage rate for the spaniards in dallas alone
so by the views you are all vomiting forward, you would learn another language if you lived in a non-english speaking country? i laugh at this.. from what i have learnt in my travels alone. everywhere an english speaking person goes, they expect (and sometimes arrogantly demand) that the countries they are touring speak english.
in sydney, there are suburbs that have street signs written in japanese to allow tourists the advantage on getting about.

first generation immigrants seldomly ever take on the language of the adoptive country. in the west it usually takes until the third generation for english to become predominant.

you can not have it both ways. you want immigration, get used to the fact you are going to have more languages! the west needs immigration, so it can sure as well do its bit to accept the languages and cultures of the people it wants.

Well... wouldn't that be the smart thing to do? Of course I would, I mean sure you could get by with hand gestures for a little while but after so long you would have to learn the language.

In my long and colorful employment history I was once employed on a tomato farm in southwest Florida. I found that I was one of only 6 or 7 people for whom english was a primary language. I had to conform or seek other employment. I was forced to conform since there was no other employment available in my area of expertise. I tell you that to explain this, I had to conform because I was a minority. This is America, english is our primary language, if you want to live here then learn english. For as long as english is spoken by the majority of the population then the minority should conform. Check out what language the Declaration Of Independence, The Bill Of Rights, The Gettysburg Address, JFK's Inauguration Speech etc,etc,etc are written in. I also am a huge advocate for keeping your culture alive. I know many people who speak their native language in their homes and among their friends but when at work, the store, or just out and about they make it a point to speak english. Speaking the local language not only is the correct thing to do but it also ingratiates yourself with the local population.

Force principals to learn spanish. i think not, how about force the parents to learn english (only because this is occuring in the US). We live in a backwards surreal world where nothing is as it should be.

Thank you so much Tigger.

Would it be so bad for principles to learn a bit of spanish. And I'm sure that these ppl are trying to learn English. It's tough for them. My great grandmother moved here from Mexico as a young adult and it was really difficult for her to learn English. Her children speak terrific english as well as spanish. But she had a lot of trouble learning it. You have to remember, English is the most complicated language in the world! We use words that no other language uses. and i'm not talking about slang. It's not easy for these ppl and they just really want to be a part of this country and ensure a good education for their children.

To me, wanting to be a part of a country means taking on all the customs/habits of that country. My grandparents moved to NY in the 1920s from Germany. Within 2 years, they were both fluent in English.

The US has rules and mores. Drive on the right side of the road, don't use the metric system, speak English... How can you want to be a part of the country and think its so great and not learn its legal language?

If we keep catering to everyone's individual wants, there will be no standards at all. What is so wrong with saying "This is the way it is. Adapt." ?????

This kind of thing makes me soooo mad

My father in law... (who I don't think a lot of)... anyway... Moved to Mexico a few years back and met a woman.. and moved back here and brought her and her two kids with them and they are now married... anyway... when she came here ... she thought that we ... the family should learn Spanish... I DON'T THINK SO!!!...

I informed her... she wanted to move here... and become part of MY country ... and I told her to communicate with me.. she would have to learn our language!! ENGLISH!!

The principals should already know spanish. They are in an area with a high percentage of spanish-speaking people. It should be what's done.

This program is pretty much moot, not that anyone asked me; parent-teacher conferences are held between (guess what) parents and teachers. Children of hispanic immigrants are in a program called (surprise! English as a Second Language or ESL). My best gal-pal is an instructor/coordinator of ESL for the Tippicanoe School Corp with roughly 6,000 Spanish speaking students. Part of her job includes parent counseling. When there is a problem with the student ( or excelleration as the case may be ) Erin is called in to explain and translate everything for the parents of the child. That is the job of the ESL coordinator or director of the program.

However, I see nothing wrong with a program that helps school admin. learn some conversational Spanish as it could be beneficial to all involved and hurts no one. I also understand why people are pissed off. Since this is an English speaking country, parents should attempt to learn some English if they have their kids in our schools. I am kinda of biased because I learned Spanish easily through seven years of food service management, as I spoke the language every day.

This brings me back to the "moot" point. The programs and training proposed by this deal does not mandate the school admin. should become fluent in Spanish (which you could never force on an adult and hope it to be affective, a person must speak the language every day for years for that to happen *its easier for children*) but rather be able to communicate on a very basic level. This could be good for interracial moral for all involved. Case in point- the Principal of the school can salute a simple "hello, how are you?" after completing the program which might appease the Spanish speaking parents to a degree (that can't hurt either). What it all comes down to is this; The ESL leader or Spanish teacher will be the one that breaches the language barrier ( if that person is as devoted to their students as my pal ).

ok so let us not teach them the correct paths and let us burden ourselves for thier ignorance



why not let the parents learn a language that is MOST comonly used in america?



of coarse...is that supposed to be a rhetorical question?



your that stubborn?
you would not learn the language of the country you live in?
what makes you or anyone else so special?



works both ways buddy, im a supervisor at an answering service, and sometimes we dont have spanish speaking operators, some of the callers actually get mad at ME because THEY dont know english...does that make sense?



ok, so all americans should learn spanish because the spansih speaking imigrants cant be bothered to learn english? honestly now

no, but thats not the issue



and how many arent?



life is tough



but she did learn it, no?


actually i think japanese/chinease is the most difficult, but i do know english is up there, however that should not be a deciding factor on wether or not you should learn it or not



if they want it that bad, they will learn the language of thier new country

why? there is no need to know spanish in an english speaking nation


so does that change anything? does that make it ok?



what should be done is the spanish speaking people should learn english THAT is what should be done, nothing else

OMG that's not what we're saying. Principles being taught to speak spanish shouldn't be forced but encouraged. Who says that these ppl aren't trying to learn english? It would be nice if administrationwould try a bit more in communicating with them during their process in learning our language.

how bout the parents being encouraged more to learn english, its good that some families try to learn, but like the great yoda once said "do, or do not, there is no try" - the principles really have a lot more important things to deal with than learning another language

If they are indeed trying, they should try harder. Look how crappy teachers get paid these days, and to add even more schooling onto an already sacrificing job is obscene!

Just giving principals the option and encouraging them to take it up should be what they are focusing on, forcing them to do it is not the way to go, it only causes tension and conflict as is demonstarted in this topic!

i agree, give the option, but under no circumstances should they make it an obligation

I agree seeking, these people moved to an english speaking nation ,therefore if anybody is gonna learn a new language it should be the parents learning english. just like If I was to move to germany,ide take up german.

I agree that the immigrants should learn english as this is an english speaking country , but it would be more logical for one person to learn to speak a language instead of hunderds. Maybe they could do something like meet halfway , the immigrants learn basic english & the principal basic spanish ?

how about this then.....instead of the work you do at your job, you will now have to work just a little bit harder so the people who dont work as hard as you dont have to match your skills...its the same thing

Agree with both sides....
who says the parents don't know english?
but it is troublesome for the teachers to learn spanish...



who says the parents don't work hard? what is your definition of hard? because i would call living in a country where i barely know the language, am trying to learn it and being surrounded on all sides by people like yourself who think i do nothing "hard".

Wait a minute how much do this principals get paid? I am both fluent in English and Spanish.

But here is a good sort term solution. At the school have a computer with Internet connection.

Go to this website. http://www.rock3.co.uk/translate.shtml

And a person can type in Spanish, and then it could be translated into English.

So i could type: ¿Por qué mi niño falló el 8vo grado para?

Translate......

Why did my child fail the 8th grade for?

And it can be translated back from English to Spanish

But i agree that the parents should learn English, but the principals should learn a little bit of Spanish so it could be easier on both.

i LIKE that idea!!!

LOL show me the law where it says you must learn English in the USA. There is none, so !@#$ you, we aint gunna learn it, deal with it n shut the !@#$ up. (but i know english fluently anyway)

^ Show me a law that says our teachers have to speak spanish for difficult familys. Last time I checked it was spanish speaking people that are complaining when in fact they live in an english speaking (mainly) country... who is more ignorant, teachers speaking the main language of the country or the spanish speaking people that refuse to learn but still want to know what is going on?

you must have failed the analogy portion of your mastery tests in middle school

why should a principle who allready speaks his countrys language have to work harder to learn a new language in order for the spanish speaking parents/students to communicate with him? all it does is make the principles life harder, and the spanish speaking peoples lives easier


if you have a job making phone calls, and you have to make 100 per day to keep this job, and you work with a spansih speaking operator who can only take spanish calls meaning he can only make 50 calls per day, and your boss says that you now have to make 150 per day to keep your job and the spanish speaking person only has to make 50 is that fair? why should you have to pick up this other persons slack? answer: you shouldnt...and anyone who thinks this is ok...feel free to answer my half of the calls




lol, this is the whole reason why these principles cant communicate with the parents...the parents DONT want to bother themselves with learning thier countries language, its funny that you say for us to deal with it....no one is learning your language, ultimatly your the ones who will have to deal with your decision to not learn the language, everyday at my job i get spanish speaking callers and they have emergencies but cant get the help they need because they dont know english...they can literally die because they dont know english, you may think its all fine and dandy now, but wait untill your parents or whoever you know is in the situation where they need help, and they cant get it, all because they were to stuborn to NOT learn thier countries language...i guess they will just have to "shut the !@#$ up" and "deal with it" huh?

Uh... im just saying Hispanic people dont have to learn English, so people should stop whining about it. (I see it all the time, "they should learn out language or get out")

no they dont have to learn english, just like no one has to learn spanish.....so, if the spanish speaking people are having the problem communicating, then they should learn english...its thier choice...is thier childrens education important enough for them to learn english...thats what im saying

It isn't racist for someone to say, you should learn english because it would make your life easier and you shouldn't try and force someone to speak spanish because you are lazy.

Unless I am mistaken, isn't learning English one of the requirements to become a naturalized citizen of the US? Also, if a foriegn person cannot speak English it stands a good chance they are not a citizen, so what are their children doing in our schools in the first place?
If you plan on putting your kids in public school in whatever country, please make at least a passable attempt to learn how to speak the local language, and speak it whenever you can, your kids will learn from you.
And yes I would learn the local language before I moved to a foriegn country. I would even make it a point to speak it fluently before arriving on the shores of that nation. I would expect no less from people who wish to come live here.

No, it is not a requirement to speak English. If they are citizens I don't have a big problem with it, just don't try and force us to your lifestyle when indeed you are the one at the disadvantage... you would think they would stand on their feet and learn then roll on the ground screaming for "there way".

I can understand coming to America, not knowing a word of English but when you have lived here you would think you would start to learn to know what is going on.

I would be like me going to Germany and screaming to the country I want them all to change to English because I can't understand German!

Actually that's chinese... And danish on a second place (I'm very proud of that (don't have that much to be proud of) )
English is actually a fairly easy languish.

No you don't (If you talk about english)
There is a lot of english in; danish, german, french, spanish, greek and latin (and probably others)

to be fair, english is a very difficult language, compared to the majority of other languages

Heck, there are times when I wish the Americans would learn to speak English. If you travel this big country of our's you notice that only a few hundred miles changes the way people speak to each other. While in the Air Force I got into a Shouting match with a couple of guys from Georgia. when I said "Speak English, I don't understand you" They said the same to me! My "Dammed Yankee Accent" really caused me grief.

But I was young, and I learned to be Very Tolerant of others. Makes life a whole lot easier.


Grandpa Roger,

If those schools in Texas are having so much trouble with the language barrier why don't they just hire someone to translate?
But I do believe the parents have the responsibility to learn a bit of English just to get by. I mean it's not fun to be a five year-old kid translating for her mother, believe me I know. They shouldn't be so ignorant.

Im hispanic and i would have to agree with most of the people on this board thats its just crazy for them to think that principals should be required to learn spanish. It would be nice if they wanted to learn so they could communicate better with a larger amount of people but it shouldnt be a requirement. If the parents want to know whats going on with their kids in school they need to learn at least a little English to understand the teachers. My mother speaks just enough english to get by and thats all she really needs.

^thank you

I believe that I agree with Seeking the most in relation to this topic. Why should someone be forced to learn another language? They didn't make the decision to come to this country. If I decided to move to Germany, guess what, I would learn German. So I don't see where the argument is. I believe that public schools offer courses to the public, to learn English, and half the time it is at no cost. If you want your child to succeed, sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

It doesn't seem logical to live in a country and not learn the language does it?

That is not a good idea, In America we speak ENGLISH in MEXICO we speak SPANISH!! and those who dont want to learn ENGLISH too bad cuz i dont want to learn SPANISH!!

Because she no habla english

This illustrates a great point.
Our school system here in America is sub-par. Programs keep getting cut left and right and no one is trying to pick up the economic slack. The way English is taught in schools is from a base that the kids already know some of the language. Right now the main thought is keeping necessary programs from being culled from the cirriculum, not adding one for students of different ethnic backgrounds so they can learn the basics of English.
These spanish speaking parents need to get their heads out of their butts and take up some English so they can help teach their kids at home, even by engaging in normal conversation using English. Otherwise the kids can't learn anything.

Interestingly enough, I have a guy who is staying with me temporarily, friend of my daughters, who just came back from 8 years in Mexico . . . where he taught English to Mexicans. The basic rule there was that he never communicate to his students in Spanish (which he knows very well) as it was known that it would impede his being able to teach them English. Funny thing, isn't it?

i dont get your point? he was to not teach the students english by using spanish?

not only do school officals need to learn spainish,so do emts,policemen,firemen,and every other kind of personal who gives emergency aid any where!