To Immigration Reform Advocates: Fight Fairly !

As you’ve probably noticed, the President has finally dusted off “Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” and deshelved it as one of his second term legislative priorities.  Politically controversial, how successful his efforts will be is presently unclear.  Hopefully he’ll take the advice offered by my “kids” in a post on the same subject, (Sept. 2010).  Regardless, if he has any chance of real success in this quest, one thing is certain.  He must break clean from those sympathizers of a porous border who love to fight dirty, heralding as fact the myth that those of us calling for strict border enforcement are doing so simply because we’re bigots, racists, and outright Mexican haters.

Truth be told, it would be more productive if those who peddle this hateful drivel on a regular basis, stopped pretending they were so morally superior and culturally sensitive, then drop their broad, left-handed tar brushes and get real.  For in the end, such allegations and scurrilous generalizations are a really chicken shit way to move  immigration discussion forward.  And such unfair mischaracterizations, at least of former educators like myself, are a mile off when one dares look at the facts. 

I taught in the California public schools for almost four decades. During that time I watching as my roster climbed from thirty to almost ninety percent Hispanic surnames.  And while an interpreter was seldom needed in the old days, by the time I retired one was necessary at almost a third of my parent conferences.  And test scores (today’s sacred measuring stick of “success”), began to drop, as well.  After all, academic testing was done in English, which for too many of my kids was not their primary language.

But like all good teachers I adapted to the times.  Not once did  my concern for, or care of my Hispanic kids and their families waver.  Disinterested as to whether they were documented or not, I spent extra  hours of curriculum planning to insure I was not only giving these children everything possible to make them academically successful, but socially accepted, as well.  These same English language learners also received extra one-on-one instructional time during the day, inadvertently reducing my interaction time with their classmates who had fewer academic needs. 

Parents of language learners also got more of my time than their counterparts who spoke English.  Hoping that learning would not end with the dismissal bell, I conferenced and in-serviced Hispanic parents after school  and in the early evening, trying to teach them how to support their student’s learning at home.  Beyond that, I often bought learning supplies with my own money, and gave them to ESL kids to help with homework and outside study.  Does any of this sound like Mexican “hating” to you?

I could go on and on, but it would be like beating a dead piñata.  The truth remains, that the “racist” stigma being branded on the foreheads of secure border advocates by many progressives (who usually talk more than actually solve problems), is nothing more than nitrogenous waste.  And while it might enhance the growth rate of marigolds if spread in someone’s flower garden, flinging it indiscriminately over a dissenting group of sincere Americans serves to create not only a foul partisan odor, but heat rather than political light.  And that, Amigo, almost insures that no effective border solution will ever sprout and grow.