The US is seen by most other countries as the big market economy, where, if one is willing to work, lots of money can be made.  Hollywood plays a big part in making life here seem heavenly.  The country is also the last of the superpowers and its military might is continually being seen in so many parts of the world.  People come here because they want to be part of that dream, or perhaps they see it as merely being preferable to where they live.  Cultural diversity looks good in theory, but it doesn't seem to really apply in practice. I continually hear disquieting news, where I live, through emails and in the media, about how 'differences' are abhorred: second-generation Irish neighbours who know nothing about Ireland, its language or its customs; people who confidently state that if a black president was voted in, he would be shot within days; the children who are embarrassed when their parents can't speak English; the parents themselves who seem
 'beaten down' by their inability to blend; to name just a few.

Students in my class generally don't wish to talk about their own lands, because they see them as a little poor in relation to this land.  However, they do love talking about their children and their families and strive for the English to do this.  Also I have found they learn a little faster when I take the trouble to use their languages, where possible, in explaining why certain English words and phrases are used.

Regards,

Christie

--- On Tue, 9/23/08, Muro, Andres <amuro5 at epcc.edu> wrote:
From: Muro, Andres <amuro5 at epcc.edu>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2857] Re: citizenship
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>, "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 10:29 AM


 



Same question that Eduardo asked: Can you cite examples?
 
Diversity is merely a fact that you have when different groups live together. Attempts to bleach difference result in resentment, hostility and discrimination. However, stating that, I haven't seen anyone saying the diversity is the be all and end all. 
 

Please visit my art website at:
http://www.geocities.com/andresmuro/art.html



From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Kearney Lykins
Sent: Tue 9/23/2008 8:50 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2855] Re: citizenship




Janet,
 
I am saying that if you watch this list long enough, you'll see that I am right when I say that many subscribers to this list view "diversity" as a be-all and end-all, that they value "diversity" as a societal virtue above all others.  
 
Cheers,
 
Kearney


 


----- Original Message ----
From: Janet Isserlis <Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:18:30 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2853] Re: citizenship

Kearney

What are you saying here?  Is this a threat? A promise?  A foreboding?

We'll see what?

Janet



From: Kearney Lykins <kearney_lykins at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:31:03 -0700 (PDT)
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2850] Re: citizenship

Eduaro,

 

Stick around.  You'll see. 

 

Cheers,

 

Kearney

----- Original Message ----
From: Eduardo Honold <ehonol at sisd.net>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 4:20:15 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2843] Re: citizenship

Kearney:
 
I promise this will be my last post on this issue.  I couldn’t agree more with you that freedom is a fundamental value in the U.S. Constitution, and that valuing diversity is derivative of that principle.  And I don’t believe there is anybody on this list who would dispute this.  Diversity is an empirical religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural reality in the United States that, thankfully, is protected by our laws and our Constitution (and not without a struggle, I might add).   Diversity is an expression of our freedom to choose who we are.  I have no idea who you are referring to when you say that “diversity” has come to supplant “freedom.”  I follow this list pretty regularly and I have never seen any posts in which diversity is, as you say,  the “be-all and end-all that many on this list make it out to be.”
 
Regards,
 
 

Eduardo Honold

Far West Project GREAT Coordinator

(915) 937-1703  

fax: (915) 937-1795

SISD Community Services

313 S. Rio Vista Rd.

El Paso, TX 79927

www.farwestgreat.org <http://www.farwestgreat.org/> 




From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kearney Lykins
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 12:23 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion Li
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2837] Re: citizenship


Eduardo, et al, 
 
I am only trying to make the point that diversity is not the be-all and end-all that many on this list make it out to be. 
 
Diversity is a derivative of freedom; you have to have the freedom before you can begin to entertain any notion of diversity. And thus it is freedom that I would think we would be the most dedicated to promoting, protecting, and celebrating, not diversity.  Especially in a civics class. 
 
The first clause of the First Amendment provides a clear example of the subordination of diversity to freedom.  
 
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  
 
This clause does not speak to what people are allowed to do, but only to what the government is not allowed to do; the people are free from government control. Hence, the First Amendment could care less if its language produces a nation that is 100% Methodist, or if it spawns the creation of 5,000 sects of everything under the sun. You might say that the First Amendment is utterly agnostic regarding diversity.
 
Because diverse individual choices are the by-product of limits on government power, I don't understand how the term "diversity" has come to supplant "freedom" as that which is worth attending to. Diversity never made anyone free.

 
Regards,

Kearney







----- Original Message ----
From: Eduardo Honold <ehonol at sisd.net>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 3:52:27 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2816] Re: citizenship

Dear Kearney ,
 
I’m not sure it always productive to participate in a polemic about the meaning of the Constitution or the original intent of its writers, but, alas, I can’t  resist.   I am no scholar of the US Constitution, but it seems to me that while the value of diversity may not have been explicitly addressed by the Constitution, it is clearly present in the Bill of Rights, particularly in the First Amendment protection of our right as individuals from undue interference by government in the establishment of religion and the preservation of free speech.  I take these to mean that the government has no business telling me (a relatively recent citizen) what language I choose to speak at home, what movies I choose to watch, or how I should conduct my spiritual business, if at all.  These are the values, I would argue, that make the U.S. Constitution a particularly powerful document, and certainly make me proud of being an American citizen.  It is
 particularly interesting that you bring up the  Soviet Union --the old Yugoslavia and Iraq under Sadam also come to mind—which, like Yugoslavia and Iraq, used state power to suppress  cultural and political identity only to have it blow up on their faces.  
 
When I talk to teachers about Civics instruction, I emphasize the importance of understanding and celebrating the rich cultural background and traditions of our immigrant as they seek to find their place in a new society. I believe integration is more likely to take place if immigrants feel that welcomed, valued and respected by this society, and less likely to happen if it imposed by legislative fiat and the heavy hand of the government.  Acculturation will take place eventually, especially as children and grandchildren are born and raised in this country, and there is very little evidence that respecting diversity has any impact on the extent to which children of immigrants learn English or become effective members of this society.  So there is actually very little to fear from the promotion of diversity as a value, and much to be gained from the idea that we come from different backgrounds and experiences, but still manage to get along, work
 together, pray (or not) without a grave danger to our society. 
It is interesting how we can get very defensive about the effect of another culture on ours, as if there really were a monolithic American experience that we are all protecting.   What are we protecting?  Is it the notion of the United States as a Christian nation? (The 1st amendment has a problem with that).  Is it the notion that English should be the only language spoken by Americans (This is already the case once you get past the first generation of immigrants.)  Is it the vast array of cultural products coming out of Hollywood studios and TV (Am I willing to die for MTV, reality television, and Donald Duck?  Maybe not, but they are certainly an integral aspect of our shared experience as Americans.)  The point is that both immigrants and non-immigrants are constantly processing the incredibly heterogeneous and contradictory meanings of what it means to live in this society, and we all do the best we can to find our own understanding of who we
 are in relation to the whole.  
 
So Martin, keep discussing, celebrating and thinking about the diverse nature of the American experience.  It will make all of us stronger.

 

Eduardo Honold

Far West Project GREAT Coordinator

(915) 937-1703  

fax: (915) 937-1795

SISD Community Services

313 S. Rio Vista Rd.

El Paso, TX 79927

www.farwestgreat.org <http://www.farwestgreat.org/> 




From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kearney Lykins
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 9:04 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2810] Re: citizenship


Martin,



I second the notion that the best language classroom is not the classroom at all, but all those other real world places outside it. But I have to take issue with your civics lesson.



In our nation's founding documents (e.g., The Declaration of Independence, The Consititution), and in the arguments (e.g. The Federalist Papers) that sought to bind us together in the first place, and in the second place (Lincoln's First and Second Inaugurals), I find no mention of "diversity" as the glue that bonds this nation. In fact, diversity (faction, competing interests, etc.) was named as the force which threatened to tear us apart. 



Rather, it has always been the common love of  liberty (defined at the founding as limited, decentralized government) and not diversity, which has united us to the extent that we are, and which continues to attract people from places where liberty is but a vapor. 



Sure we are all different, but so was the Soviet Union with its 200 distinct ethnic groups. 



Diversity is not the main attraction.  







Regards,



Kearney


 



----- Original Message ----
From: Martin Senger <MSenger at GECAC.org>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 8:17:42 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2809] Re: citizenship

Pax Stephen!
 
I am a civics teacher for adults here in the US . I always stress that by learning about their new country, they are more apt to become involved in that environment, which is the best language classroom ever. Most of my students have limited access to an English-language environment, since they speak their L1 at home with family, and their social circles are often restricted to that L1. I always tell my students that if the only time they speak English is in my classroom, I will require them to buy me a nice retirement gift, because they will be in my class for the next 40 years!
 
I also teach that diversity has been, is, and (hopefully) always will be the bond that unites us as a nation. So it is perfectly acceptable to be completely different than everyone around you, just like everyone else! Viva le difference! (I hope my English is better than my French!)
 
Ciao!
 

Martin E. Senger

Adult ESL Teacher

GECAC / The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center

Erie, Pa

814-490-8510


-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Stephen Woulds
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 12:50 AM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2808] citizenship


Hi

This website was created to help those teaching/learning English develop an understanding of citizenship as it relates to the United Kingdom . http://www.esoluk.co.uk <http://www.esoluk.co.uk/>  There are however many people in the UK who are opposed to the teaching of 'citizenship'. It is becoming a hot political issue, particularly as language ability and cultural knowledge are being used as gate-keeping processes for entry into the UK . I'm wondering what other people's thoughts are on the teaching of citizenship to migrants, asylum seekers, etc, particularly within their own national contexts.


 

 


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