• “Mrs. Gonzales, you must understand that these tests are mandatory in New York City.”

“La señora Riordan, hemos estado en este país un corto período de tiempo, queremos que nuestro hijo a aprender y hablar Inglés, pero que necesitan ayuda extra!

(“Mrs. Riordan, have been in this country a short time, we want our child to learn and speak English but he needs extra help!”)

• “Well, the city of New York has strict guidelines in that testing is administered in English.  It’s really up to you in reinforcing what is taught here at school.  Due to budget restrictions, there is only limited extra help available to our students.”

¿Cómo se puede esperar que mi hijo o cualquier niño que no puede hablar Inglés correctamente, para pasar las pruebas cuando no se les ha dado la instrucción suficiente? ¿No acaba de hacerlos fallar antes de que tengan la oportunidad de pasar? ¿Por qué no estas pruebas se dan en español o cualquier idioma que un nuevo estudiante a la escuela habla?

(“How can I expect my child or any child who can not speak English properly, to pass the tests when they have not been given sufficient training? Do not just make them fail before they have the opportunity to learn. Why aren’t these tests are given in Spanish or any language that a new student to the school speaks?”)

• “Well, honestly, Mrs. Gonzalez, it’s not like we want children to fail, it’s just that we have to follow the rules from the New York City Department of Education.  Rules are rules, you know!”

“La señora Riordan, todo lo que puedo decir es que cuando llegamos a este país, hemos querido sólo para nuestra familia para crecer, como los estadounidenses. Valoramos la educación que reciben, pero parece que estas pruebas pueden detectar sólo a los niños persiguen a los que no han sido capaces de aprender Inglés lo suficientemente rápido “

(“Mrs. Riordan, all I can say is that when we came to this country, we wanted only for our family to grow as Americans. We value the education they receive, but it seems that these tests can persecute the children  who have not been able to learn English fast enough “)

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For anyone reading this post, it’s not based on fiction.  Upon learning about the policy of the New York City Department of Education with regard to administering standardized tests to 3rd grade students who cannot speak English…in English, I ran to join in signing a petition against this practice.

In no way am I faulting those who teach.  These educators have their abilities paralyzed by the mandates of the NYCDOE.  The worst part of this situation are the schools who endeavor to provide a decent education but face possible closure due to student failure in various standardized tests.  This policy, aside from being completely unrealistic,  is nothing short of criminal.  In fact, this policy is focused more on the financial aspect, first and foremost, rather than the desperate need for children to learn. How can any child perform on such tests when a school cannot properly teach them or at least provide an alternate means of language availability in these examinations?

I wrote this from the perspective of a mother who desperately tries to plead on her child’s behalf for help and fairness, a mother who looks to assimilate into her new homeland and have her child become a productive part of life here in America.

Anyone interested in reading and signing this petition, the link follows….

Testing newly-arrived immigrants in English in NYC public schools is a crime against humanity.

Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #40: Role Play

One way to broaden your horizons is to see the world from someone else’s perspective. It not only reveals your understanding about that person, it highlights how they’re different from you and can help you see yourself and the world around you in a new light.

Your prompt this week is to role-play an entire blog post. Choose another person – someone you know or a fictional character – and blog as that person. Speak as they would speak, write about what they would write about.

The person doesn’t necessarily have to speak English or know what a blog is or live in a world with electricity, just try to say whatever that person would say. If the person lives in a different world or time period, you can decide whether to leave them there or bring them into ours.