BY DAN
KENNEDY
Serving the reality-based community since 2002.
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Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Do as he says, not as he
does. Here is the original Lawrence Eagle-Tribune story
from Sunday on Lawrence superintendent of schools Wilfredo
Laboy, who can't pass a
mandatory English-proficiency test and who outrageously asserts that
he shouldn't be held to the same standard as his teachers.
A couple of great
quotes:
What brought me down was
the rules of grammar and punctuation. English being a second
language for me, I didn't do well in writing. If you're not an
English teacher, you don't look at the rules on a regular
basis.
And:
I should have never taken
the test because I came here with a very clear understanding
[from the state] that I had licensure.
This is really amazing stuff. Even
if Laboy is technically correct about not needing to be as proficient
as an English teacher, his inability to grasp the symbolism of the
situation is appalling.
Even more appalling is that city
leaders in Lawrence don't
seem to care. And most
appalling of all, neither does Governor Mitt
Romney, the scourge of
bilingualism, who is demagoguing the Democrats on minor changes they
made to the voter-approved anti-bilingualism ballot
question.
To be fair, Romney makes it clear
that Laboy must pass at some point. But his solicitousness toward
Laboy contrasts sharply with his bullying stance on bilingual
education.
posted at 8:47 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
