Reply to UMC parents in low income schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote:
Agree. I work at a high FARMS school where the PTA president refuses to spend PTA money on interpreters to attend the PTA meetings, which essentially keeps the Spanish speaking majority away from participating in the PTA. When we looked closely at the budget and expenses, we saw that the amount of money spent on book fair decorations would pay for the interpreter for the whole year but the president still wouldn't budge. They said that if a staff member would volunteer their time to interpret then they would be ok with it. Staff members ended up finding high school students needing SSL hours. The PTA serves the interests of the English speaking UMC minority, and not the majority of the school's population.

The PTA President doesn't get to make all the decisions. Even the Board doesn't get to make all decisions. Votes should be open to members at meetings to vote on budget items. Anyone can propose an amendment on the floor for a public vote. Get more involved in your PTA and more educated on how PTA is *supposed* to work, then you can effect change. If there is an issue with the PTA board at your local school, go to your Cluster Coordinator or Area VP for support. Contact the MCCPTA if you don't know who your cluster coordinator or Area VP are. [/quote]

I suggest you read the article. You can't expect poor, non-English speaking parents who barely have a high school education if that to walk into a PTA meeting and take on the 4-5 mothers with advanced degrees who are controlling everything by calling for a floor vote and an amendment to get interpreters. The point of the article is that the low income parents are intimidated by them and have neither the time nor debate skills to prevail. [/quote]

Excuses and more excuses. You are an enabler to a population that keeps considering themselves as inferior. Keep catering to them and they will never step out of their comfort zone. Why not empower them to stand up and speak up for themselves rather than doing it for them? Sounds harsh but it is indeed a harsh and competitive world. [/quote]

It's a special kind of gift to see immigrants who move somewhere where they can't speak the language as people who don't leave their "comfort zones."[/quote]

All immigrants that come to the US should learn to speak English. There are free adult ESL classes all over the county, at libraries, churches etc. Some people do not make the effort because someone keeps on translating for them. Learning to communicate in English will help them communicate better with their children, get jobs etc.[/quote]

We knew the bit about "comfort zones" was thinly disguised nativism. If it's so comfortable, go live their lives. [/quote]

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