What does it mean to be the great American melting pot? Does it mean anything anymore? In previous generations, people came from far and wide to this country, and they came not only for a better life but to BE an American. Now, all that seems to be lost as “diversity” rules the day. At one school, a principal wanted all students to speak English on campus. The move got her fired.
Back in January, the Houston Chronicle reported that Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacy was put on paid leave by the school trustees. Why? Because she announced on the PA system that all students would need to speak English while in class. The school district is 54% Hispanic.
Now the trustees have voted again, and this week they decided that Lacy’s contract would not be renewed. In other words, she’s been fired.
Channel 2 News in Houston posted a statement from the Hempstead ISD which reads:
As always, it is our mission at Hempstead ISD to ensure that our students enjoy a safe and secure learning environment. Our students are our number one priority and we are creating a culture of excellence at Hempstead by giving our students the best customer service possible. We have high expectations for our students and we hold our administrators, teachers and support staff to high expectations and standards as well. We value the cultural diversity of our school and we embrace each and every student of all cultural and diverse backgrounds. The district is committed to efficiently and effectively moving forward in educating our students with as little disruption to their learning environment as possible.
My eyes just glaze over when I read things like we “value the cultural diversity of our school” and blah, blah, blah. The idea of a school is to educate! It’s to prepare students for life in America. And speaking of cultural diversity, about the only culture that’s not embraced these days is the American culture.
The best thing this school or any school could do for students is to get them speaking English as soon as possible. Study after study has shown that immersion into English is much more effective than a drawn-out bilingual program. And yet, here we are… more concerned about not offending someone than actually doing what’s best for the kids.
What do you think? Did the principal go too far?
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