On Tue, 26 Mar 1996 , David K. Merriman wrote:
Regrettably, I must disagree with Mr. May on the matter of speaking in whatever language one chooses. It seems that here in Texas (specifically, here in Amarillo), a local judge informed a Hispanic family that they were prohibited from speaking _only_ Spanish to their child at home. The rationale was that since English is the (ostensibly, in this area) Public Language of the school system here, failure to encourage use of English would adversely impact the child's education, and was thus a form of child abuse. If need be, I can provide excerpts from the local snoozepapers coverage of the issue.
The judge is correct in this matter, most people view it from the rights of the parents, but what about the child who, because of his/her parents egotism and ignorance, grows up not being able to compete effectivly? My rights, even parental rights, end when their exersize directly impact someone else(the child) in a negative way. Regards, Michael Peponis PGP Key Available for MIT KeyServer