Tennessee tower of babble

Phil Valentine does a good article for the Tennessean on how having English be the language of Tennessee helps all people. English speaker and non English speaker alike. He takes particular issue with ESL classes(English as a Second Language). It is called ELL (English Language Learner) in Tennessee.

From the article....

Nashville is behind the curve when it comes to assimilating immigrants. California, Arizona and Massachusetts have chucked their English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in their schools and have replaced them with English immersion.

Metro schools brag that immigrants can become English-proficient in two to three years. With English immersion, students can become English-proficient in two to three months.

The University of Cincinnati has been using this technique for years in something called The Valentine House (no relation). Students live an entire school year in the house, speaking nothing but French or Spanish. The results have been nothing less than fantastic. Students begin to pick up on their chosen foreign language quickly because they have to. No crutches. No French as a Second Language classes

Of course when the legislature was working on the funding of the BEP (Basic Education Plan), ELL was 100% fully funded first. The rest of the BEP plan was partially funded. I tried to amend the bill so ELL funding would not increase until the rest of the BEP was fully funded. That did not go over so well.

Now the full funding of the BEP is on permanent hold but ELL continues to be 100% fully funded.