Democratic politicians and the liberal media made the first day of school all about welcoming migrant children. That’s sheer propaganda. Parents deserve the truth. The migrant surge is a disaster for their kids.
The surge will worsen our education system’s twin failures: plunging math and reading scores, and the failure to ensure newly arriving kids learn English so they can succeed, too.
Kimberly Carchipulla, who came from Ecuador and has been living at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan with her son, brought him to school on Thursday and said through a translator, “What I want for him is a future.”
That’s what all parents want. But when migrant children are added to the class, the rest of the kids get less of their teacher’s attention. A teacher will have to focus on the needy newcomers who speak no English and may not have been to school before. For the rest, it could be a year of lost opportunities.
Public school students’ reading and math scores have been falling for decades, hitting a new low this year, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress tests. One reason is the soaring number of non-English-speaking students, up from only 9% of public school students in 1980 to nearly 25% now.
Until the 1960s, children arriving in this country were put in public school without interpreters and bilingual teachers. Children were taught in one language — English. No confusion. The current approach is a disaster for migrants and for the rest of the kids in class with them. The data don’t lie.
Now typically, a bilingual teacher and teaching assistants try to teach — math, science, art, any subject — in two or more languages, speaking English at times but also answering questions in Spanish and other languages. It’s chaos. Everyone learns less.
Jean Skorapa, superintendent for a rural school district in Maine, says the 67 migrant children enrolling in her district “are a tremendous, tremendous benefit”: “They make our community diverse and more well-rounded.” All true. But that’s happy talk.
What about the impact on learning? Geralde Gabeau, executive director of the Immigrant Family Services Institute in Massachusetts, explains that migrant children will be placed “in a first grade class with other students who already know their ABCs, who already know how to read, so those children are going to suffer.”
New York City has disastrously low reading scores. The influx of non-English-speaking students makes the challenge greater.
European countries are also grappling with waves of migrants. IZA, a European think tank, reports that “a high share of immigrant children in schools leads to lower test scores of native children.” Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development researchers report similar findings.
It’s not about race or ethnicity. It’s about too many languages spoken in the classroom.
Politicians would rather pander than address it. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont says, “From the bottom of my heart, I want to make sure this is the most welcoming state in the country.” Yet state education statistics show that the more “high-needs” kids in the class, including non-English-speaking students, the lower the reading and math scores for the others.
The current system is lose-lose, hurting migrant kids as well.
They’re given too many opportunities not to learn English. Lamont, for example, is expanding translation services for parents and interpreters for students. That’s misguided. Families need to be prodded to learn English, not linger in a language ghetto.
Some school districts in New York state are experimenting with temporarily schooling newcomers separately, offering them months of intensive language preparation to succeed as English-speaking students. Good idea.
But the United Nations insists children have a “right” to be educated in their native language. Nonsense. It dooms them to low-paying jobs.
The vast majority of non-English-speaking students — 97% according to one report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform — lack English proficiency when they graduate from U.S. high schools. That’s the definition of failure.
Last week, mothers gathered outside Park Avenue elementary school in Port Chester, New York, to pick up their kids. Few spoke English. Some mothers had attended the same school decades earlier. Yet they can’t speak English. Tragic.
Tell the pols to stop romanticizing this lose-lose disaster and start fixing it.
This is America.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey.
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The author should replace “migrant children” with “illegal alien children” for accuracy, since the article is meant to address the current surge of illegals into this country. As for “surge”, let us call it what it really is, a mass invasion across our borders to fundamentally alter the long-term demographics of the United States sanctioned by the Democrat Party. Stop using the politically correct terms the left dictates to describe those here in the country illegally.
As for the general subject of the article, the notion of the public education system used to be to provide uniform education. Period. Teaching in secondary languages was meant to be short-term thing, for new immigrants from overseas, for a year or two, until the child could be fully integrated into the standard classroom environment. Today, what we have is a balkanization system within our public schools. Massive amounts of taxpayer money are spent annually to perpetuate islands of distinct language communities within our schools. Each island teaching the various subjects in dozens of different languages. Where one teacher used to be needed to teach a subject, we now need 10, 20 or more, because we have to perpetuate a needlessly inefficient and wasteful model. Such the Teachers Unions may love this model, as it adds lots of dues paying teachers to the union rolls, but the children suffer because at some point they have to integrate into a business community that speaks and reads something than their native language. At which point, they cannot compete and fail.
I have three children, all college educated. If they were younger and in primary or secondary grades, I would pull them out. I would do private school or home school. They were all actually in private school. It isn’t perfect either, but the US public school system has become a disaster and only parents are paying attention. And yes! This mess of mass immigration into this country will be a downfall for US public schools! Everyone wants a better life, but that excuse does not give you the freedom of illegally walking into this country.
First off, they are NOT “migrants”!!! Second, it’s a disaster by every conceivable metric. It has sabotaged our national security. It has minimalized our sovereignty. It has led to increased crime, especially violent crime. It has led to an influx of fentanyl and other drugs. It’s a source of child trafficking. It’s a health issue, AND it is destabilizing an already very shaky economy and it’s squandering OUR tax dollars. I’m not trivializing what it’s doing to schools; schools that are already a proven disaster, but this largely unavoidable catastrophe is riddled with a myriad of tragedies that are devastating the lives of LEGAL American citizens!!!
This regime is 100% TREASONOUS!
Under Trump we had Control, Under Biden all gates were Open
Dump Dems for Open Border
My mother started first grade in 1925. She was a child of German-Russian immigrants. There was an italian student and some Japanese and other German speaking kids. They all had to learn English and Mom wanted to learn. She wanted to be an American!
My Mom was no dummy and part of the “greatest generation.”
Immigrant children should be put in their own class and taught ONLY in ENGLISH. Hiring bilingual teachers takes resources away from American children. To help American children succeed, more reading and math teachers need to be employed.
Politicians need to revise legislation centering on non-English speaking students. NO bilingual teachers! No special treatment!
I know many immigrants who received bilingual education and after 12 years still do not speak English.
NO Spanish language services should be offered by government agencies and businesses. These services handicap immigrants and costs the United States millions of dollars. If immigrants want to live in the United States, they need to learn to speak English.
I know immigrants who came to the United States years ago. They had to be sponsored and received NO government assistance. They learned English and are now thriving United States citizens.
These migrants should be put in a special school to learn and understand English. Once done then transferred to regular school. Kyle L.
As a taxpayer I feel overwhelmed with this invasion of illegal immigrants.. Why do we have to pay for what politicians support?
THE illegals ARE BRINGING IN NEW AND DRUG RESISTANT DISEASES, DRUGS, RAPES, MURDERS, ETC., ETC.
Check you ballot…instructions are in AT LEAST 4+ languages. I doubt this would happen in any other country in the world. We are a nation of saps. Thanks, Democrats, for messing up a perfectly good country.. may we rest in peace
Who cares what the UN thinks! We better wake up and get back to the traditional values that made America great! Now bend to the whim of every immigrant who chooses to make America home!!! This is utterly nonsense!
“…Democrats are the Garden of Eden of incompetence!” Groucho Marx
I have always admired the author of this article, Betsy McCaughey, but she missed the big picture in the schools that have to accept foreign students with no English skills.
OK, here is what Betsy did not address, ……. NONE of these foreigners deserve to be in our schools. ALL of these children and their parents/gardians need to be escorted to the border, and told to retrace their steps back to their own countries.
Harsh action? It could be worse, there are some countries that summarily execute any illegal aliens that they catch inside their borders. See, I’m not so bad for calling for expulsion, right?
Question: If a country deliberately chooses to allow illegal aliens to flood into its land, can it really claime to be a sovereign country?
It’s am impasse between those who advocate for open borders vs. those who believe in sovereignty and having borders to protect citizens.
As for this school situation, it’s no shock. Those who want all these foreigners here (for political reasons) need to have separate classrooms for them with a teacher who speaks their language (mostly Spanish I assume). These children need to learn English first and even teach it to their parent(s). Without it, they understand nothing in class; therefore learn nothing.
BUT, then again helping them in that way only means more tax dollars = citizens are paying again and again for ILLEGALS care-taking while also suffering material and physical assaults from criminals coming in illegally.
Don’t know about most of you, but I’m sick and tired of being the government’s ‘patsy’ in this matter.
Right on Liz. Until the Federal Education Department is CLOSED DOWN, Parents need to HOME SCHOOL OR send their children to Private or Church Schools! The Fed Ed Department is strictly a propaganda tool for the Communist in our government and the public school system.
Reported on the local news recently, there’s a school program this year to teach proper language skills, apparently aimed at migrants since it will be both in Spanish and English. I don’t think it’s purpose is solely to immerse the migrant kids in English so they can assimilate becoming Americans. These days migrants are not expected to assimilate into American culture like in the past. The “melting pot” has become a pot filling with oil and water instead of a stew.
I’ve seen the deterioration firsthand for 40 years as I worked in the public school system. The teachers have to know two languages (at least) and have to teach in those foreign tongues which causes constant turmoil in the classroom. Half the kids can’t read or write anywhere near grade level. This is a deliberate dumbing down of America so that unscrupulous politicians can win elections and draw us closer to one party rule. I hope we wake up soon or there won’t be an America left… Slowing (or even stopping) the flood of immigrants would be a first step in the right direction.
Thanks to Dictator Beijing biden’s ILLEGAL ALIEN TERRORIST INVASION and the Dept. of DUHmacation they are using OUR Tax Dollars to educate ILLEGAL ALIENS by DEPRIVING OUR CHILDREN.
Funny how we have to have a Passport to go in or out of Mexico or Canada but ILLEGAL ALIEN TERRORIST just walk right on in WITHOUT a Passport or Vetted and then given Federal help ILLEGALLY and UNCONSTITUTIONALLY with OUR TAX DOLLARS.
ILLEGAL ALIENS DO NOT HAVE ANY KIND OF RIGHTS.
READ THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.
Another INTENTIONAL ESPIONAGE act with HIGH TREASON by Dictator Beijing biden and his administration.
This is ALL done on purpose to put our children LAST.
AMERICANS and PARENTS MUST STAND AGAINST this INTENTIONAL DESTRUCTION OF OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION.
This includes their LOSER WOKE GARBAGE they are trying to FORCE down our children’s throats and ours.
OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER AND SO DO WE.
My husband was taught the Russian language for his military career. He learned this in 1 year. Why can’t all non english speaking students do 1 year of only english before going on to traditional school. It will be much easier for the classes to then move forward in 1 language. My husband has advocated for this kind of language teaching in public schools for many years. If he, as and adult, can be proficient in a difficult language, imagine what an advantage young kids will have.
First hand knowledge of several teachers in our school currently is that the influx of these illegal children has drained resources, taken away productive learning time and creates social interaction problems that affect all our children.
Too much time is wasted on language issues,parents who can’t communicate or social infighting which is normal where they come from.
It’s not one country or language, but multiple cultures and customs to be dealt with and it consumes ALL the available learning time.
Tell me ONE other Country who would allow rampart illegals to invade their borders and cost their Citizens billions and cheat their children out of a good education?????
ALL the crisis and chaos, brought to you by the marxist democrat party and elected representatives and a Washington bueraracy who seeks to destroy EVERYTHING that’s great in America.
THROW THESE TRAITORS OUT
All part on the long game to destroy America. Dumb down out children. Destroy our youth with illegal drugs. Promote criminal activity. Student loan forgiveness to reward deadbeat behavior.
We’d already be in full blown Socialism/Communism. If President Trump hadn’t interrupted the Democrats March towards that end.
The dems want to make all migrants feel welcome and at home. Offer them interpreters or teach them in their native language. All noble ideas but not very practical. Our own kids you know, Americans, are not learning anything. But neither are the migrant kids. In Mexico they demand that immigrants to Mexico speak the language of Mexico. The Netherlands demands that the migrants speak Dutch. What is so wrong with that rule. When we still had legal immigration the requirements were you had to be able to speak English. You had to have a sponsor. For the first 5 years you could not get any help from the state or federal government. Your sponsor was responsible for you. This made sure you did not become a burden on the taxpayers. Immigrants worked harder, learned the language, assimilated into the culture. But once America stopped that requirement and everything became dual language. The immigrants demanded more. Their culture had to be celebrated, American culture suffered. And we are there again, but even more so. Immigrants go before native born. Every American is suffering under the burden of these illegal migrants. They are not all asylum seekers they are looking for gold they think America is covered in. I call them Happiness Seekers
We don’t owe the world anything. Anyone who comes here legally and works hard and contributes to society I have no problem with.
But people that come here to seek a fortune and demand a roof over their heads, a stipend from the government, healthcare and an education all to the detriment of the American citizens, should not be welcomed with open arms. No country in the world will welcome you like that.
DEPORT ALL liberals, illegals AND THE ONCE HONORABLE, fbi, cia, doj AND MOST RECENTLY, THE secret service TO THE NEW AUSCHWITZ FOR ROAS…….. TO MAGA
English should be made the official language of the USA. Save a whole lot of money not having to print everything in many different languages. Illegal migrants should be sent back. Legal migrants should learn English.
Why is anyone using the lefts definition of illegals invading our country. Even if you want to use the word “migrant” it must be accompanied by the word “illegal” which shows their true status.
The only true definition of those allowed to invade our country is “illegal alien”. They are aliens which shows they are foreigners and they are illegal meaning they are here unlawfully.
It does no service to those reading an article to try and minimize who these invaders are and no one should be using words the left has designated to describe them.
The worst thing about all the Biden inspired illegal aliens is a word they’re not bringing up. That word for the most part is,….. “HOMELESS”.
DO YOURSELF, ALL AMERICAN SCHOOL KIDS AND AMERICA A GREAT FAVOR!!! CALL YOUR ILLUSTRIOUS POLITICIANS AND DEMAND THEY STOP FUNDING FOR, AND SHUT DOWN THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION! JAMES EARL CARTER SIGNED THE BILL CREATING THE DOE IN 1979. TOOK THE COMMIES ABOUT 40 YEARS TO GET CONTROL OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. TIME TO STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While this situation continued to get worse, I’m sent my kids to Christian Private schools. My wife and I are nurses, we don’t make a lot of money, but we’re willing to sacrifice for our children’s education. Two went to the local community colleges and finish up at the state universities. Two went in the Air Force and learned a trade that got them a good job. My kids are my wife’s and my responsibility, we did what we needed to do. Don’t expect the government to help.
Why not have summer school for the sole purpose of teaching non english speaking students english.
These are “illegals” breaking the law by coming without going through the system like everyone is required to do.
The marxist democrat party has allowed an invasion of illegals,criminals,terrorists, drug dealers which have overwhelmed school systems and cost taxpayers BILLIONS.
Let’s not forget the deaths caused by the drugs coming across,the viruses and diseases from un- vaccinated populations and the addition to an already out of control homeless epidemic!
Just REMEMBER people, ALL OF THESE destructive policies and MAJOR problems brought to Our Country, compliments of the marxist democrat party and their HATRED of America and its LEGAL Citizens!
THROW THEM OUT
I READ ALL THIS CRAP AND GET VERY MAD AT WASHINGTON, D.C.- POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS! If any sane American taxpayer reads any of this I sincerely hope you will realize what bureaucrats and traitorous politicians are doing to our country. If we (taxpaying citizens) do not realize how and why our Constitutional Republic is being destroyed and the means we have to stop it, then we are gone.
Before I end this I would ask you to do yourself a giant favor: find and get a true factual book on world history. read the damn thing (boring?) and then take action to save our country. Being a human on planet Earth before our Founders established The United States was not good.
everyone, altogether now, a big thanks you democrats, thank you Biden, we are so glad your border policies have destroyed american.
all you leftists really are just the brightest little morons aren’t you. for people with 80 IQ you leftists think like your IQ is 60
Probably the most difficult subject to learn is using the correct pronouns.
Seems strange the strategy is to dump non-English speaking students into public school classes with citizen children who are already reeling from the COVID dumb down. How about putting them into English language classes for a year first (more if needed). We truly are seeing a major move to destroy the future of our children in public school.
I appreciate this author’s perspective, and I couldn’t agree more. As she says, it’s not racial, it’s the truth. Chaos abounds. I’m so glad my children are already grown. But then… there’s my dear grandchildren and all the other innocent children who will not be adequately educated. I am all for an “Official Language” for our country. It will even benefit our immigrants. Imagine that!
My thought is..America has been dealing with this issue for several years now. Why did the Government not address the language issue sooner? All the time these children were being held at the borders they could have been learning English. During the summer months bi-lingual teachers/citizens could have been teaching them the basics. There is no common sense here. Another thought is why the parents are concerned about learning the English language. I would not want to move to another country and not know the language. It is just laziness. People living in the states for years and still not wanting to learn how to communicate. Wouldn’t that make your life easier to navigate?
My parents were immigrants in the 1920s. They had to learn English(read and write) and civics in order to become citizens. My fear now is that many of these immigrant children will be indoctrinated by Marxist leaning teachers instead of being educated to the best of America.
megrant surge better known as illegals aliens are ruining everything. we have to take care of them -HOW!!!???? is’t not fair and not right! i thought we in American had laws – i didn’t vote or ask for this mess – let the left take care of them and use their own houses and money. this has nothing to do with racism or being non compassionate, it has everything to do with being realistic.
Why would anyone bother learning English when there is ESL interpreters and all the printed material in any lingo you can imagine Who would dare to suggest English only I wonder where else except Canada the same insanity goes on What other Babel has been created
HOPE liberals ARE THE ONLY CRIME VICTIMS OF illegals.
They are illegal aliens. Should not be in the school systems since who knows what diseases they have. Only teach in English like they used to do and the. They learn the language. We are an English speaking country stop coddling them. And get the illegals the heck out of America since we are becoming a third world hell hole. Our tax $$ should not be finding illegals.
I taught in a public elementary school where most ELL students in the division were placed in an “immersion” program (all English) started in the early 2000s About 25-30% of the student body spoke another language and was identified as Levels 1-4, with 1 being no English and the other levels with varying levels of English proficiency. There was an ESL teacher at each grade level who offered instructional support both in the classrooms and in small groups. Most students did very well picking up English but it took a full five years of support for children without disabilities to become proficient in English. The school also offered and encouraged parents to take evening ESL classes. Kids made friends with and integrated easily with American born kids. We as a staff were proud we were helping them “become American” and it was gratifying to see many graduate at the top of their class and accepted to good colleges years later.
Then during the Obama years we were overwhelmed with illegals and were forbidden to ask for birthdates, parent names, and country of origin. Great numbers of “refugees” arrived from Africa, the mid-east, the Caribbean, and southeast Asia. Many had trauma issues, major health problems, learning disabilities, and great difficulty adapting to American culture. We started paying translators $200 an hour to help with communication. Federal regulations mandated that any non-English speaker had to have a complete educational plan in place within 72 hours of enrolling and could not be taught in a small group with other non-English speakers. Threats were made that there would be fines if those children were placed in classrooms with old carpeting and furniture or rooms needing paint.
Then came the mandate that we could not place so many immigrant children in one school. It was considered discriminatory and a type of segregation even if the program was very successful.The immersion program was ended. Today these children are sent to their “zoned” schools with ESL teachers traveling between schools to see each child once a week for a short time. Classroom teachers are overwhelmed. One teacher in another city was actually fired for remarking to other teachers one day when many of her immigrant students were absent, how nice it was to just teach mostly English speakers for a day. Hate speech.
Schools dumbing down to the lowest common denominator. A recipe for failure.
I’ve read a lot of comments about the “melting pot” that this country used to be. That is true, but it took many years for it to happen. I remember as a kid that there were many ethnic “communities” ( German, Italian, , Greek, etc.) that stuck together. Many retained their old ways, it was the second generation that became assimilated for the most part.
From 1946 to 1950, when I was attending grade school in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, grades 1 through 5, the Mexican/English ratio was nearly 50-50. The Mexican kids were more likely to speak both Mexican and English than we English kids. We picked up Mexican languge in bits and pieces in the class room and on the play ground. We accepted the reality of our situation; and our attitude toward the races was influenced by our parents; we carried said parental attitude to the school room. Many English parents had and expressed at home a “remember the Alamo” attitude; their children carried that demeanor to the school and the result was squabling and, sometimes, fighting. The fighting was isolated but was a daily occurance, on and off the school yard. But … Mexican and English kids influenced by educated and tolerant parents rarely got into fighting. They traded lunches and became fast friends. Several of my cousins in Albuquerque married into Mexican families. Looking back, I’m sure that if the schools had required English kids to learn Spanish at the rate of,say, an hour per day, it would have fostered student interaction and diminished most of the fighting. The reveerse may well be true: Millions of Hispanic kids have been brought to America (right or wrong) and must learn our language. i’m sure if such an education is a paramount requirement prior to general classroom attendance it will lead to useful communication and quell hostility and even violence.
Democrats don’t seem concerned with all of the illegals that the Biden administration is allowing to flow into the country!! I think most people don’t understand how many aspects of our society suffer due to this influx of illegals and the cost is astronomical – Democrats don’t seem to care about that either!!! When we should be conserving and spending less, Democrats are spending more and more on frivolous stuff!!!!
I had my son in Montessori schools when he was very young. For kindergarten I tried the public school for two months and then removed him to another Montessori.
The teachers spent all their time with non English speaking students.
TRY TO REMEMBER THAT GOOD STUDENTS MAKE GOOD SCHOOLS. ALSO, IF EVERYONE IS BORN EQUAL, SOME KIDS HAVE HAD SOME TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN TO THEM BY SCHOOL AGE, OR WE AREN’T BORN EQUAL. TRACK THEM –THAT WAY KIDS ARE NEITHER DISCOURAGED NOR BORED. ALL WILL HAVE FREEDOM OF OPPORTUNITY AND NOT BE HELD BACK BY “EQUITY” (WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO MAKE YOU EQUAL). WE AREN’T EQUAL. IN AMERICA HARD WORK SHOULD BE THE ‘EQUALIZER’. IN AMERICA WE DON’T HAVE TO BE “EQUAL”. WE CAN DO BETTER.
In 5th grade in a Chicago public school in the 1960’s a girl joined our class who couldn’t speak English, there was no special aid given to her, she was expected to learn English and she did.
We are probably one of the few nations in the entire world who does not designate a “National language.” If you go to France, and want to stay for any period of time, you are expected to learn French. You get along much better in Germany if you speak German. In the United States, the majority of people, at least when they are interacting with others in a public setting, speak AMERICAN ENGLISH (slightly different from the English spoken :across the pond”). What they speak at home is up to them but out in business, social, and financial areas, it is English. It is time that the NATIONALY ACCEPTED LANGUAGE FOR AMERICA IS ENGLISH! This does not deny people from still speaking and passing down their original language, at home it just makes things easier when it comes to education, banking, customer service, etc.