EDITORIAL ||
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ||
COMMENTARY
Editorial
Parents and sex education. A survey conducted by the
Kaiser Family Foundation and released October 11, 2000,
indicates that the more teens know about sex education,
the better.
According to the survey, most parents want more sex
education taught in school, not less. Even parents who
want teachers to stress abstinence until marriage say
they also want their teenagers to have detailed
information about birth control and AIDS.
And they want more information taught about such
complicated topics as abortion, sexual orientation, and
how to cope with pressures to have sex.
Parents answering the survey seem to realize that if they
cannot tell their children everything they need to know,
maybe school can and should.
“What comes across in this survey,” says the
Kaiser Foundation, which promotes sex education, “is
that parents look to schools to prepare their children
for real life. Their concerns are practical, not
political.”
Parents would like these kinds of comprehensive sex
education classes to last at least one semester. But most
high schools do not spend that much time on the topic.
The survey results indicate that most parents want
comprehensive sex education, even if they are not
speaking up. Often, it’s a vocal minority that keeps
sex education from being substantive and keeps some
school officials from fighting for it.
We believe that while sex education must begin at home,
we agree with the Kaiser Foundation survey which calls
for more sex education in the school system.
Letters
to the Editor
Comments on Classroom
Candor
In an articlee published in the September issue of The
Bronx Journal, entitled “Classroom Candor,” the
editing of the story gave the appearance of being
one-sided against parents. The reporter overlooked many
of the positive things that I cited. I wish to stress
that there are a great many parents who understand and
fulfill their role as the enhancers of public school
education. Without their support we wouldn’t be
effective educators. I would also like to remark that the
photos of the front of the school, CES 42, framed by its
gates, give the impression that a hurdle obstructs
accessibility to education by the community’s
children. I would have preferred a photo of CES 42 with
its doors wide open to all our children.
Although I enjoyed the article, I feel that the preceding
paragraph completes and punctuates the article.
Mary Flores-Camacho
Proposes Exchange Program Between CESTI and Lehman
College
I am writing at the suggestion of my colleague Ftou Sow
who had the good idea of proposing CESTI as a potential
partner between our two institutions in the area of
journalism and mass communication.
It is my great pleasure to inform you that, indeed, we
are available to enter into an exchange program with the
Multilingual Journalism program, and believe that will
prove to be advantageous for both parties. I am,
therefore, available to help with any further action or
contact necessary to make this goal come to fruition.
CESTI is a multinational school (13 African nations) that
has a long tradition of cooperating notably with the
United States, Canada and France.
I hope that the American experience will bring about the
results that we expect.
Pr. Oumar Diagne,
Director of CESTI
A Journalist from Canada
Some time ago a friend of mine gave me a copy of your
publication The Bronx Journal. I was most impressed by
the overall quality of the journal and the fact that it
was written in so many languages.
I also understand that the Editor is a fellow Chilean
writer, whose work I read back in the 70’s in
Santiago. I relocated in Canada where I have my own radio
and television program, mostly dedicated to cultural
issues.
I would be grateful if you could send me The Bronx
Journal, to keep up with what is happening in the New
York metropolitan area.
Emma Thompson,
Toronto, Canada
Letters to the Editor
must include your name, address, and telephone number so
we can verify your
comments. The letters may be
edited to conform to space
limitations.
Readers may also send comments via e-mail to:
tbj@lehman.cuny.edu
Commentary
Not the Melting Pot, but
The Salad Bowl
Ileana Ferreras
is a Multilingual
Journalism Major
at Lehman College
The 1990 Census recorded
over 329 spoken languages in the US. As America’s
population grows, the need for a common language is
becoming more evident. English Only, a movement
responsible for establishing English as the sole and
official language in 25 states, has already embarked upon
moving this country toward linguistic unity. The English
Only movement hopes that, by using funding for
translation services to teach English, all residents will
have a common ground for communication.
There was a time when immigrants would endeavor to
assimilate into and progress within American society.
This decision led to the need for immediate immersion
into English, even at the cost of losing their own
linguistic heritage. Such a high cost for assimilation is
no longer necessary. People today desire to remain or
become bilingual because numerous possibilities come with
the knowledge of a second language.
Proponents of the English Plus movement agree. They
recognized a compromise incorporating linguistic unity
without discriminating against language minorities should
be promoted in order to counteract English Only
legislation. According to EPIC EVENTS March/ April 1988
issue, The English Plus movement “holds that the
national interest can best be served when all members of
our society have full access to effective opportunities
to acquire strong English language proficiency, PLUS
mastery of a second or multiple languages.”
US English, Inc., a major proponent for the English Only
movement says, “English restrictions are limited to
governmental functions, such as official documents,
records, legislation and regulations, as well as
hearings, ceremonies and all public meetings are to be
conducted solely in English.” Furthermore, “these
restrictions would not in any way affect private
businesses or citizens’ daily lives.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a proponent
for English Plus, disagrees that such restrictions would
not affect daily life since courtroom translators,
multilingual emergency phone lines, multilingual voting
booths, bilingual education, social and welfare services,
job training, translation assistance to crime victims and
AIDS- prevention education would no longer be provided
for LEP (Limited English Proficient) members of society.
The ACLU also affirms “where basic human needs are
met by bilingual or multilingual services, the
consequences of their elimination could be dire.”
If English Plus resolutions are not incorporated into our
legal system, English Only restrictions would serve to
deny those non- English speaking minorities the freedom
that this country stands for. Immigrants and their
children deserve to progress within society by learning
English. However, the option of cultivating one’s
own language should not be restricted during “assimilation”.
This is what inevitably happens by imposing an “official”
language.
The legal and governmental restrictions and ramifications
of laws that are intended to help unify and edify instead
stifle and divide non-native from the native English
speakers. Isn’t it time for America to realize the
American Melting Pot has been taken off the menu and
replaced by the American Salad Bowl: individual pieces
forming a collective composed of languages, cultures and
customs which represent voices which are not lost when
they are “thrown together.” The ‘melting
pot’ is not realistic. Each nationality in this
country needs to be represented and included; it cannot
be, if lost in a mix.
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