A Storm Lake teenager was suspended from school this week because she refused to take a test for students who are not fluent in English. Lori Phanachone, the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants from Laos, says she proved her grasp of English in other ways. The Storm Lake High School senior has a near-perfect grade-point average and acceptance letters from two Iowa colleges.
Born in the US and entered Lao as her official language out of respect for her culture and her parents but punished because she refused to jump through hoops to prove something that is already a given.
She paid a price for that but didn't give in. I respect that.
A better article here.
Schools are so authoritarian and that is why so many students either drop out or do poorly.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kinds words, yesterday :)
The school didn't make the rule on this, it is dictated from the Federal Government. The attack of the Anal Retentives having to have their data.
ReplyDeleteBorn here and she is a senior honor student with a 3.9 illiterate? What are they on drugs? I don't care about the rules I do think they get paid for being able to reason and make judgment calls!
ReplyDeleteDude,
ReplyDeleteI'm all for fighting the good fight, but she did this to herself. If she was raised here she knew that Lao was HER second language.
"But because she listed Lao as her first language on a school registration form, Phanachone said administrators forced her to take a test for students who lack basic English skills."
Sorry, One Fly, I gotta agree with nunya.
ReplyDeleteThe Feds put that rule in 'cause of all the Hispanic kids who Do have English as their second language, if they speak it at all.
The High School here has a separate class for Hispanic kids that don't speak English at all. They are not making these kids learn English.