Nursing student suspended for complaining class being conducted largely in Spanish

I work at a community college with a large population of students where English is a second language.
These students are taught in English, and if they don't understand English they have to learn it and pass a proficiency test before going any further. This is what normal institutions do. I'm thinking that instructor is now a 'liability' and won't be around much longer..

reply to post by MuzzleBreak


Just another reason why the United States needs a National Language.

Diversity will be this Nations downfall. After all, nothings means United more than diversity.

Originally posted by ErgoTheEgo
If you wish to peruse deeper into the story...

Since I wasn't there I don't know what happened.

We are all being given maximum opportunity to show ourselves right now. Best to everyone.

edit on 22-7-2013 by ErgoTheEgo because: (no reason given)

This is one of the reasons I like to wait til a topic has several responses before I hit the post reply link. Otherwise I could jump the gun and get emotional about something that has a reasonable explanation or say something that will later make me look foolish. That being said I don't fully believe either side of the story and feel that the truth is somewhere in the middle of both stories.

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by MuzzleBreak

 

Just another reason why the United States needs a National Language.

Diversity will be this Nations downfall. After all, nothings means United more than diversity.

Stop being blinded by your emotions.

I guess when hot button topics like this get posted...it really shows a lot about some members.

Other Side of the Story

While I can see both sides of this, in a lecture class, I certainly would find two people chattering in front of me (regardless of language) pretty damn distracting.

Really, both sides are going to need to produce witnesses to bolster their version of events, as they differ on key points. The crucial one being, was the CLASS taught somewhat in Spanish? If so, then the student has a case. If not, no dice.

reply to post by muse7


Thanks for the link. I do however believe that the United States should have english as it's national language. I also believe that other languages should be mandatory in school. I am not anti-immigration by a long shot as long as it's legal immigration.

If the link you posted pans out, then her lawsuit is a non starter.

And emotions had nothing to do with my reply by the way.

reply to post by Gazrok


I'm thinking that if the Administration's version holds any water, proving just one part of it will pretty well end this issue and seal her fate. If they documented the other students coming to them and ready to just throw their investment of time, money and effort into the program entirely because of her and her ethnic harassment (how else to put this)? I think she's pretty much cooked.

That doesn't make the case, of course. Not by itself. However, the situation and nature of things it would clearly indicate? Well, I think the rest become details to confirm rather than approach with the same level of skepticism. Especially in Nursing? These people I see at my school invest A LOT into that program. It's made to be one of the more challenging and difficult offered. It's hard to imagine a single student being so out of line, so frequently, as to bring someone to the point of wasting it.

It's not often I run into a case where I think someone really earns the label 'Bigot'. If this is how the school presents it though? She sure earns it...with distinction.

The language issue in Puerto Rico is purely political bs (statehood vs non-statehood) there are no racial tensions on the island, and please its nothing like the US.

On topic: Classes should be taught in a language that the students understand and can learn what is being taught, otherwise whats the point?

Classes in a secundary language should be an alternative, not imposed on everybody.

My humble.

What we keep coming acrosss are spanish speakers who understand english yet refuse to speak it. People in many areas now are being forced to speak spanish to get jobs because most of the employees speak it. Nothing like an American feeling like an outsider in his own country. It is very upsetting to feel as though we left our own country when we didn't. And since when should a foreigners language be more important than the one most spoken in this country?

We have hundreds of languages spoken here and we are not forced to speak any other language in order to get hired somewhere except spanish. We do not have special signs in hundreds of languages, hence the resentment. Legal immigrants come here and learn english,not spanish, not a hundred other languages.

That is why the spanish speakers will always have problems here. The most common language is english and most of our ancestors and people coming here legally learn and speak english. For only one group to get catered to is placing that group above all others. We don't have to learn the hundreds of other languages to get hired here in America. Don't people see how that builds resentment and causes problems?

Originally posted by snarky412
What an awkward situation this has turned out to be.
Seems like the school could have [should have] handled it better.

I understand her point, slower and harder to learn when it's mostly in Spanish.
And yet, they do have an obligation to the Spanish speaking students as well.

I don't understand your logic. Are you a politician?

When I was in grad school, students came from all over the world to attend the university. Before they were admitted to regular classes, they had to successfully pass ESL (English as a second language) classes at a prescribed fluency level.

This is an English-speaking country. We don't owe anything to anyone that will not take the time to learn the lingo and assimilate.

Originally posted by Dembow
The language issue in Puerto Rico is purely political bs (statehood vs non-statehood) there are no racial tensions on the island, and please its nothing like the US.

On topic: Classes should be taught in a language that the students understand and can learn what is being taught, otherwise whats the point?

Classes in a secundary language should be an alternative, not imposed on everybody.

My humble.

I havn't been to school in many, many years. I suppose there are classes that are tranlated. The problem I see with that is people going to college to be nurses and doctors. If they are that bad with english, how are they going to be able to work in hospitals where english is the primary language?

reply to post by Night Star


Probably sue the hospital for some sort of discrimination to make it bi-lingual.

Man I reread that sentence and thought I was joking, but in today's climate, I wouldn't be surprised to actually read a news headline such as this.

reply to post by juspassinthru

I don't understand your logic. Are you a politician?

Me, a politician?? Oh hell no, I like myself to much to be one.

I agree 100% that this is an English speaking country and we don't owe any one anything.

But we are a diverse country and we shouldn't turn away people that try to better themselves regardless of their language.
The double standard here is that the American student is being ostracized for speaking out about the difficulties learning due to the language barrier and most of the time it's spent speaking Spanish.
That would be very frustrating, I can imagine.

The school needs to address this problem responsibly instead of name calling and suspending her.
I would sue too if they did me like that.
They handled it very poorly IMO.

reply to post by MuzzleBreak


I am not exactly sure why the law can require you to speak a certain language.. pretty retarded.. maybe the law can dictate to me how i should express myself in the language they have chosen for me. Like dictate that i can only use the english language to praise the government??


The school in this case is in the wrong ... it did nothing to accommodate the non Spanish speaker. They should be sensitive to the minority in the class. There should be a warning before you take a class that it will be conducted in a certain language.

I think this student has grounds by which to claim discrimination.

maybe they should make an english section??


Having said that.....

I was born in texas and I grew up speaking spanish.. When i went to school i didn't know a lick of english but I learned it. I learned english along with spanish simply because I felt that I needed to know english to communicate more effectively with english speakers who did not know spanish.

The attitude i would get from non english speakers was that they detested to hear you speak spanish. there were many times in school when i would get harassed by someone for speaking spanish with other classmates. I would get the whole "WE ARE IN AMERICA OMG SPEAK ENGRISH!!!"

I was taken back by that since my attitude was instead of forcing people to speak spanish i learned the english language thus looking at it as an opportunity to enrich myself.

Same thing occurred when I married my wife. her family speaks russian and very limited english.. i just began to learn russian to communicate with them instead saying OMG LEARN ENGLISH CATER TO ME.

I really do not understand all these people who get so threatened by hearing another language being used in places like schools or government.

Is english the official language of the USA??

If this student lives in arizona and it is dominated by spanish speakers ..... why not learn spanish?? I am not excusing what happened in the classroom that is wrong.. but if she ends up working at hospital that will be dominated by spanish speakers.. wouldn't you make yourself more marketable by being bilingual??

maybe she should throw a few spanish classes on to her semester...and the school should put together an english section for nursing classes.

reply to post by MuzzleBreak


This is why that in the state I live in and I wouldn't be surprised that in other states too, they can be here 25 to 30 years (a friend of mine worked somewhere, where some of the people there lived here for 20 years or more and not know but just a few to no words of English and do all their business without English, and so many people can't find jobs in this country because of bi-lingualism. Corporations have been pre-conditioning us for this for years. ( "Press 2" for Spanish)

All are welcome, but our big mistake we never made English the official language. I guess we just never thought it could happen.

I'm not a racist I have recently become friends with a couple who when entering this country, have decided to learn English out of respect for their new country. They are Spanish.They each told me if I went to live in their country I'd have to know Spanish.No turning their country on its ear, for people who speak only English.

Just my two cents.

reply to post by Night Star


Amen and Well said, Night Star.

I don't go around saying they can't speak Spanish, speak it amongst themselves and in their families and friends who were far-sighted enough to learn a second language because they wanted to not because they had to. just don't expect us to learn it, to survive and make a living, in our own country.

reply to post by MuzzleBreak


I'm from south Texas and a great deal of employees speak nothing but Spanish. I complained in a Wal Mart once, when I asked to speak to the manager she didn't even speak english well, and when I complained she had security escort me out and "ban" me from the store.

Originally posted by Redwhiteandblue
reply to post by MuzzleBreak

 

I'm from south Texas and a great deal of employees speak nothing but Spanish. I complained in a Wal Mart once, when I asked to speak to the manager she didn't even speak english well, and when I complained she had security escort me out and "ban" me from the store.

I keep hearing stories like this, where you can't even go into an American store or quick food place without hearing spanish. If you are conducting business in America that has nothing to do with international business or having to be a translator, you should be using the common language of the land which is english. Otherwise it is rude and disrespectful.

I couldn't imagine moving to another country and having the entire country cater to me like that.

reply to post by Night Star


Actually Night Star if you check the facts, the most common language spoken in America is Spanish

Having read both articles, the following can be stated:

It does not matter if the class was being instructed in Spanish or not, or if this was a case where 2 students were in class speaking Spanish. Ultimately the College is at fault and it is not the woman being a bigot. And here is how I came to that conclusion.

While Spanish may be a language that is spoken by a majority of the US Citizens, the reality is that in most work sites, the language that most jobs, from all those I have worked in all of my years, is English. Most employees should be able to read, comprehend and understand the English language.

That being stated, it is not the woman who is being bigoted, but standing up for something that she can claim in court, and that is that what is going on, ultimately is a form of discrimination against her, and ultimately that it could affect her grades. More over, if this was the work place, the woman would have grounds to sue for hostile work environment and harassement, on the grounds that she has no means of telling what all is being stated.

But this is not a job, and ultimately this is going to go to court, for them to decide. If the instruction was in Spanish, it could go badly for the college, as it could easily be shown that it was giving prefertial treatment towards other students, and that ultimately would have to prove, that they all were recieving the same instruction. But as this was in a school setting, it is hard to say, she could still claim harassement, and ultimately the school would have to prove that no harassment occured at all.

In any case it is going to be bad for the school.