Texas School Bans 50% Students From Speaking Native Language

Karades, D. (2013, December 2). Hempstead students say principal tried to ban them from speaking Spanish. Retrieved from http://www.khou.com/news/local/Hempstead-students-say-principal-tried-to-ban-them-from-speaking-Spanish-234172961.html

“People don’t want to speak it no more, and they don’t want to get caught speaking it because they’re going to get in trouble,” said sixth-grade student Kiara Lozano.

A number of students believe the principal’s announcement has given some teachers and fellow classmates a hall pass to discriminate.

“There’s one teacher that said, if you speak Spanish in my class, I’m going to write you up,” said eighth-grader Tiffani Resurez.

More than 50 percent of the students enrolled at Hempstead Middle School are Hispanic. That’s according to greatschools.org.

Students said the school has not resolved the confusion surrounding the principal’s attempt to ban the Spanish language in class.

“She was like no speaking Spanish,” explained eighth-grader Yedhany Gallegos. “I was like that’s my first language. She said, well you can get out.”

Gallegos and many of her classmates grew up speaking Spanish at home. She said speaking Spanish with her friends at school comes as second nature.

Some parents feel the district has yet to get to the root of the problem.

“Why are you punishing our children like this?” asked mother Cynthia Zamora.

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Associated Press. (2013, December 3). Principal Forbids Students From Speaking Spanish. Retrieved http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/principal-forbids-students-speaking-spanish-21089080

A Texas middle school principal has been placed on paid leave after she banned the speaking of Spanish by students while in class.

A Hempstead school district spokeswoman confirms that Amy Lacey has been placed on leave pending investigation of her Nov. 12 announcement on the intercom at Hempstead Middle School.

More than 50 percent of the school enrollment of about 330 students is Hispanic. KHOU-TV (http://bit.ly/...) of Houston reports a letter sent by the district to school parents assured that neither the district nor any campus has any policy banning speaking Spanish.

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Edwards, D. (2013, December 4). Texas principal bans Hispanic students from speaking Spanish to ‘prevent disruptions’. Retrieved from http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/04/texas-principal-bans-hispanic-students-from-speaking-spanish-to-prevent-disruptions/



A group of students told KHOU that Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacey announced over the intercom on Nov. 12 that they were no longer to use their native language in order to “prevent disruptions.”

It was over two weeks later before the superintendent sent a letter home insisting that “neither the district or any campus has any policy prohibiting the speaking of Spanish.”

But the students said that the effect of the ban had been chilling.

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Note from dsteve01:

Isn't the whole concept of a school to be a place of safety, cultural diversity for students? I met many young hispanics in my generation that cannot speak Spanish because the grandparents refused to teach them the language out of fear for the children ability to adapt.

Who are we to judge these people to the point of forced cultural conversion? Maybe if you actually sat down to learn some Spanish you could better accommodate your students? Examples like the Hempstead school district really bring down the quality of our education system as a whole.

The federal government awards you money to help your students, not force them to adopt your world view. What's the point of this whole exercise in education if you are not enabling your students to participate?

All the best,
Dsteve01