Arizona

[asterroc]

In case you missed it the first time, Arizona education is going down the drain, and now there's a second reason. I worry for the baby of a couple friends of mine who live in Arizona.

1) K-12 teachers with "accents" will be "removed" from the classroom. This is based on a misinterpretation of federal law requiring teachers to be "fluent" in English.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2365

2) A new law bans ethnic studies classes, claiming they "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, [and] promote resentment of a particular race or class of people".
http://www.cyberdrumm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26:welcomeunderachieving-schools&catid=6&Itemid=40

I'm looking forward to visiting Arizona in the future, where I'm sure the children will be learning proper British English due to removing all teachers with American accents, and where their minds will not have been sullied by all those White Studies classes. </bitter>

Comments

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

It's so weird to actually live in this state...

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I'm constantly shocked by the dichotomy between the fact that you and blue102 and her husband all live there, and them doing stuff like this.

At least this only applies to K-12, so you'll just be getting ignorant students in your classes, not worrying about your own job - yet. Considering how so many conservatives want to pull higher ed into national exit testing and such, I wouldn't rest easy just yet if I were you.

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

Not resting easy, nope.

You forget I grew up in a country under martial law. Political decisions can make for wacky, wacky worlds.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

Anywhere you pick, there will be reasonable people that you'll like and agree with that live there.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

My parents do, too. (And are strong opponents of the recent law, although they're cognizant of some of the problems that it's trying to solve. According to my father the pediatrician, illegal border crossings and other false representations of residency are causing a significant drain on the resources of hospitals in Tucson and in the state in general.)

I lived in Tucson for one summer. It's not for me, but then I like rain. :)

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I lived in Tucson for one summer.

As did I. I really liked the lack of allergies, but now that I've finally found a good allergy medication regimen, that's less of a draw now. I got more tanned than I've ever been in my life just from walking 5 minutes to and from work every day.

According to my father the pediatrician, illegal border crossings and other false representations of residency are causing a significant drain on the resources of hospitals in Tucson and in the state in general.

Thanks for this info - I don't hear any of these sorts of stories, just people saying "they're a drain" and not backing it up with any statistics or even anecdotes. Do you happen to know anything about what percent of hospital patients are illegal immigrants, or how that rate compares in AZ to in other states? My state recently debated (and perhaps passed, I'm not sure) a law that all public services have to check residency before they provide services, and many opposing lawmakers were saying that it would cost more than just providing those services would cost.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

I don't have statistics, just anecdata, really, but if it weren't really a problem in practice I'm sure that Dad would have said so, especially because he and Mom have been active supporters of immigrants and refugees in the past. (A church that our family once attended--not in Arizona--helped to shelter some refugees from El Salvador, a couple of decades back.) Dad told a story of one family residing in Mexico City--but claiming to be penniless Tucson citizens--that called in to reschedule a clinic appointment for their expensive-to-treat daughter because their flight on their private jet from Mexico City had been delayed. He also said that there were many incidents of mothers
crossing the border to give birth in Arizona so that (a) they'd get better medical care and (b) their children would be US citizens.

It seems plausible that Arizona gets much more than its 'share' (whatever that means) of illegal immigrants and other misrepresentations, simply because of its location. That said, I don't know how much we spend on border patrol officers and on identity checks.