Amendment 31: English Language Education
Well here's the biggie. When I first heard about this proposed amendment, it was when a man was gathering signatures in front of the Kidspree festival a couple of months ago. After attending the best family event I've been to in my life, I was stunned to hear about this awful bill.

The one decent argument for this proposal is that English Immersion appears to have worked in many cases. Everything else in this proposal is smokescreens and elitism. The only way to answer is to point out that parents and schools are currently allowed to use English Immersion to teach students who speak other languages. If it works the best, GREAT. Then people should use it more. But it does NOT always work best for every student. It is NOT the only alternative that is reasonable, and according to the issues booklet, it's not even one of the methods that are currently being used to teach these students. how can we presume to mandate a method that hasn't even been used here?

I will at least go with the assumption that English Immersion HAS been tested here, and that it is successful. According to the proposed amendment, it should be the ONLY method of teaching students English. One year should be good enough, and then you can be SUED if you don't use English Immersion techniques. The proposal is that "Colorado needs a uniform statewide policy for teaching English learners". I strongly believe that education is about teaching people, not making sure that the policy is easy to read.

In my opinion, this proposed amendment amounts to "if you're gonna live here, you have to speak the language". This is anti-immigration, anti-foreigner, and elitist. Perhaps it has a chance to succeed now that so many people are feeling uncomfortable about our lax immigration policies, but I still believe that this is the land of freedom and opportunity, and I strongly condemn any amendment that attempts to stifle the education of children in our great country.

Blake votes NO on Amendment 31