Wow, ones sexual orientation should not be a deciding factor in keeping thier job

[Gsquared]

Althought I havnt really read this article, this is just wrong.




Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers 'protected'
11:23 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 22, 2008
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
kunmuth@dallasnews.com

Dallas schools superintendent Michael Hinojosa said today that bilingual teachers were largely protected from recent layoffs because of the district’s student population.

Students with limited proficiency in English now number 53,785 in the Dallas Independent School District, or 34 percent of total enrollment.

Some teachers complained after the district's recent layoffs that bilingual teachers, and particular those recruited from other countries, were not impacted.

“Because of what the student needs are, they were protected,” Dr. Hinojosa said after delivering a speech on dual-language education at the Texas Association for Bilingual Education conference in Arlington.

The superintendent said he believed that only two bilingual teachers lost their jobs.

A draft list of those teachers targeted to lose their jobs, obtained by The Dallas Morning News before the layoffs took effect, included six bilingual teachers.

In either case, the number is a tiny fraction of the 1,980 bilingual teachers in the district.

Some bilingual were transferred to other schools because their class enrollments were low, Dr. Hinojosa said.

He noted special education teachers were also given special protection.

“The fear spread that we were going to get rid of our bilingual teachers,” he said. “People used scare tactics to try to get people to leave. We need bilingual teachers.”

He said when he arrived to lead the district four years ago, about 1,000 classrooms that needed bilingual teachers did not have them, and he began pushing to hire more. State law requires districts to provide bilingual education, but many districts file requests seeking exceptions to the law.

Dr. Hinojosa said not serving the district's students is “academic malpractice.”

In 2006, the district began a dual language programs in six schools, offering classes in which children are taught half the time in English, and half the time in Spanish.

“Our challenge when we first started was staffing,” Dr. Hinojosa said. “This year we’re down to very few classrooms where we are not providing bilingual services.”

Gilda Alvarez Evans, the district’s director of multi-language enrichment programs, said before Dr. Hinojosa's arrival, DISD professed to provide traditional bilingual education, but essentially offered “ESL [English as a second language] in costume,” with instruction essentially conducted in English.

Since 2006, the district has trained 664 bilingual teachers through its alternative certification training program. Many of them were recruited from abroad and are on work visas.

Dr. Hinojosa said there are “two-way” programs, in which there are native Spanish and English speakers mixed together, in 20 schools, and “one-way” programs with just Spanish speakers in 143 schools.

He said his emphasis on providing bilingual education has met with resistance.

“There was a lot of passive aggressive behavior,” he said. “Some of the principals said, ‘why do we have to do this? Why do we have to change?’”

“There are always going to be skeptics along the way,” he added. “We knew there would be challenges and we knew it was the right thing to do.”

This year the first group of students in the program, now third-graders, will take the TAKS test for the first time.

[Mr Beefy]

thats jacked up.

great sig btw

[rockdale80]

Why not make them learn English? Derrrrr:hand:

[pirate4state]

:doh:

hahahahahahahahahaha

[JR2004]

Originally posted by pirate4state
:doh:

hahahahahahahahahaha

So you caught that too! G's a funny man!

[shackina]

as much as I hate this statement I am going to say it one more time. We cannnot do anything about people who do not speak ENGLISH until we make ENGLISH the offical language of the United States, or at least the state of TEXAS.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

That's hilarious.

[BleedOrange]

Originally posted by shackina
as much as I hate this statement I am going to say it one more time. We cannnot do anything about people who do not speak ENGLISH until we make ENGLISH the offical language of the United States, or at least the state of TEXAS.

You are absolutely correct. It should be the official language as it is a requirement that those wishing to become citizens of this country have the ability to read, write, speak, and understand English.

[charlesrixey]

Originally posted by BleedOrange
You are absolutely correct. It should be the official language as it is a requirement that those wishing to become citizens of this country have the ability to read, write, speak, and understand English.

dittos

we should force young illegal immigrants to join the military if they want citizenship

:cool:

[big daddy russ]

So these teachers went the extra mile, took extra classes in college, and went out of their way to get extra certifications and they should get layoffs at the same rates as everyone else?

How many teachers with their special ed certs got laid off? What about teachers with their Masters?

[Ranger Mom]

What did I miss here??

What does that article have to do with anyone's sexual orientation?

[rockdale80]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
So these teachers went the extra mile, took extra classes in college, and went out of their way to get extra certifications and they should get layoffs at the same rates as everyone else?

How many teachers with their special ed certs got laid off? What about teachers with their Masters?

Why are teachers teaching classes in spanish. I thought the objective was to teach those students english and have classes taught that way.

[Pick6]

Originally posted by Ranger Mom
What did I miss here??

What does that article have to do with anyone's sexual orientation?

Using the word 'protected' in the title of the article.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Wow; alright, since apparently I'm one of only 4 people to get this, let me spell this out for everyone who's trying to turn this political.


GG say: 'sexual orientation should NOT be a deciding factor in keeping job' and admits he "hasnt really read the article" <==HINT

Title of article is: Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers
'protected'

Hate to spell it out, but this is killing me!:doh: :hand: :doh:

[garciap77]

Sad but true. Tax payers should not be in the business of helping immigrants legal or illegal to learn the English language. When some wants to immigrate to the USA the most important requirement should be to speak the language. My brother use to work for Dallas ISD as a network administrator. He did not like that the district was recruiting bilingual teachers from other countries and bypassing bilingual USA teachers. The reason for doing it was to saving money. He had several friends that took the extra time and paid the extra money to get the certification only to be bypassed by foreign nationals. And this is not only happening in the education field, but other professions to saving money and make more profits.

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by BreckTxLonghorn
Wow; alright, since apparently I'm one of only 4 people to get this, let me spell this out for everyone who's trying to turn this political.


GG say: 'sexual orientation should NOT be a deciding factor in keeping job' and admits he "hasnt really read the article" <==HINT

Title of article is: Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers
'protected'

Hate to spell it out, but this is killing me!:doh: :hand: :doh:

Yep----G2 has got something there, allright. You, me, and G2 are the only ones who understand the meaning of "bilingual" and some of them other big words. I don't understand why they are protecting those folks by providing free condiments.

[kepdawg]

Originally posted by BreckTxLonghorn
Wow; alright, since apparently I'm one of only 4 people to get this, let me spell this out for everyone who's trying to turn this political.


GG say: 'sexual orientation should NOT be a deciding factor in keeping job' and admits he "hasnt really read the article" <==HINT

Title of article is: Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers
'protected'

Hate to spell it out, but this is killing me!:doh: :hand: :doh:

:dispntd: You'd think these people would know G a little better and would have caught on right away!

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by kepdawg
:dispntd: You'd think these people would know G a little better and would have caught on right away!

G2 and Phil C are two of the best fishermen out there.....;)

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by rockdale80
Why are teachers teaching classes in spanish. I thought the objective was to teach those students english and have classes taught that way.
Not always. The article said that this is a dual language program, meaning the kids are keeping their native language while also learning the dominant language.

There are two different models of bilingual education--the subtractive method (which is what most of the schools here in Texas use) and the additive models. Subtractive means that they want all the native Spanish speakers (or other language) taking classes in only English by the so-and-so grade (depends on school and district).

The additive model means that they're taught grammar, history, math, etc, etc in both languages and keep a strong base of their native language while learning a new one.

My wife and I are going to enroll our future kids in dual language programs. Although the kids in these programs take longer to grasp certain concepts at younger ages (through about 6th grade), but when they get to about junior high and high school surpass single-language learners significantly in comprehension, retention rate, and grades.

BTW, my wife is a bilingual teacher with a special ed certification who's currently studying this stuff in grad school. I know what they go through to get these certifications. While most teachers are required to complete 133 hours of undergraduate courses to get their degree at Texas A&M, a bilingual teacher must complete 154 course hours for theirs. Amanda finished her undergrad with almost 170 semester hours. Also, the certification testing is different and much more intense.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by BreckTxLonghorn
Wow; alright, since apparently I'm one of only 4 people to get this, let me spell this out for everyone who's trying to turn this political.


GG say: 'sexual orientation should NOT be a deciding factor in keeping job' and admits he "hasnt really read the article" <==HINT

Title of article is: Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers
'protected'

Hate to spell it out, but this is killing me!:doh: :hand: :doh:
Man....and I thought he was using it as a play on bilingual (aka bisexual). :doh: :doh:

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
Man....and I thought he was using it as a play on bilingual (aka bisexual). :doh: :doh:

Count me in too, LHPM---so did I---but with G2----who knows?

[rockdale80]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Not always. The article said that this is a dual language program, meaning the kids are keeping their native language while also learning the dominant language.

There are two different models of bilingual education--the subtractive method (which is what most of the schools here in Texas use) and the additive models. Subtractive means that they want all the native Spanish speakers (or other language) taking classes in only English by the so-and-so grade (depends on school and district).

The additive model means that they're taught grammar, history, math, etc, etc in both languages and keep a strong base of their native language while learning a new one.

My wife and I are going to enroll our future kids in dual language programs. Although the kids in these programs take longer to grasp certain concepts at younger ages (through about 6th grade), but when they get to about junior high and high school surpass single-language learners significantly in comprehension, retention rate, and grades.

BTW, my wife is a bilingual teacher with a special ed certification who's currently studying this stuff in grad school. I know what they go through to get these certifications. While most teachers are required to complete 133 hours of undergraduate courses to get their degree at Texas A&M, a bilingual teacher must complete 154 course hours for theirs. Amanda finished her undergrad with almost 170 semester hours. Also, the certification testing is different and much more intense.

I believe everyone should have a fair shake at an education and I think it is imperative to teach English to spanish speaking students to help them be better prepared for a life in America. However, I disagree with teaching their classes in half english and half spanish. I think Spanish should be an elective as an alternative language. I took Spanish in HS and over the years I have further developed my fluency through my various jobs. I guess I just believe English should be stressed more than keeping a native language.... any language.

[JR2004]

Originally posted by BreckTxLonghorn
Wow; alright, since apparently I'm one of only 4 people to get this, let me spell this out for everyone who's trying to turn this political.


GG say: 'sexual orientation should NOT be a deciding factor in keeping job' and admits he "hasnt really read the article" <==HINT

Title of article is: Dallas ISD chief Hinojosa says bilingual teachers
'protected'

Hate to spell it out, but this is killing me!:doh: :hand: :doh:

I knew what G2 was doing before I even read the article...lol. He knew what he was doing too. :)

[JR2004]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I thought he was using it as a play on bilingual (aka bisexual).

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

[Ranger Mom]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
Man....and I thought he was using it as a play on bilingual (aka bisexual). :doh: :doh:

That's what I thought! I was thinking maybe the writer has screwed up somewhere and put bisexual in place of bilingual...but after reading the darn thing two times, I still couldn't find it!!:doh:

I went back to the first and saw where he had "protected" in quotations....but figured that was too much of stretch, even for G2....I should have known!!:crazy1: