Did Obama ever correct his goof up on our kids speaking Spanish?

[BigD_95]

Americans “need to make sure your child can speak Spanish" - Obama


I'm taking a beating at work on this issue. Im sure he misspoke. Did he ever set the record straight?

[TexasObserver]

1. American kids do need to learn a second language.

Preferably Spanish.

[KittyWampus]

25. But Concern Trolls are getting more clever on how to package their "concern".

[TexasObserver]

32. Yes, we must remain concerned about anything that makes a good RW talking point

OMG! He's talking about Americans learning another language!

[YvonneCa]

54. ...

...:7

[BigD_95]

64. Dont call me

a bloody troll!

[Clark2008]

72. Why Spanish?

I'm all for learning second languages - and think immigrants should learn English, as well.

But, to confine our children to one other language is capitulating. What's wrong with Russian or Arabic or Chinese or French or German?

Heck, some people in this country need to learn English first (Freepers). :)

[Muttocracy]

2. why are you being beat up? context for that quotation? nt

[BigD_95]

3. Here is the whole clip. What was he thinking?

"You know, I don’t understand when people are going around worrying about, "We need to have English- only." They want to pass a law, "We want English-only."

Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But understand this.

Instead of worrying whether immigrants can learn English — they’ll learn English — you need to make sure your kids can speak Spanish.

You should be thinking about how can your child become bi-lingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language.

You know, it’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. Then we go over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup.

Right?"

[sufrommich]

10. I don't see anything wrong with what he said?

Tell your co-workers that they have reached an incredibly paranoiac stage of mental illness if a presidential candidate saying American children should learn a second language truly bothers them to the point of distraction.Talk about thin skinned.

[YvonneCa]

65. Agreed. n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

22. If you can't explain this to your co-workers, then maybe it is you who messed up.

Really, there is nothing wrong with what he said. Spanish-speaking people are now the largest minority group in the country. No racist can stop that, not even Buchanan or Dobbs. We all need to get used to the fact that this is a changing world. We will all be bilingual eventually. So I agree wholeheartedly. I need to brush up on my Spanish-speaking skills and every should learn English. Nothing wrong with that at all. Your co-workers sound like bigots.

[hisownpetard]

30. I agree - "every should learn English."

:shrug:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

33. Don't be a smart-ass. You know what I meant. EveryONE should know

English and there's nothing wrong with learning Spanish, either! :shrug:

[hisownpetard]

40. I know. I lived in Europe for 5 years. When I got there, I very proudly told people that I was

bilingual (Engl/French). The response was usually a blank stare. I soon learned that everyone (no matter what their
position or job) spoke a minimum of three languages and, very often, more.

As Americans, we need to be less isolationist in our thinking. Learning at least a second language is important
(and, no, Pig Latin doesn't count).

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

58. When I lived in Germany, it was mandatory that pre-schoolers learn English.

English is a universal language but Spanish is fast becoming universal as well. Americans need to change their ways of thinking or we will be left behind the rest of the world in much everything. We tend to allow our ethnocentricity and xenophobia govern how we think and treat other cultures and that's dangerous.

[Hepburn]

44. I live in SoCal....

...and, no, many immigrants who have been here for years ~~ and even following generations ~~ do NOT speak English or if they do, they speak poorly and cannot read and write in English.

All four of my grandparents were born in Europe (2 from Romania, 1 from Yugoslavia, and 1 from Croatia) ~~ so I am not some WASP US citizen whose family goes back to the American Revolution and who has a pedigree a mile long. My grandparents all came to America basically as adults right after the turn of the last century in the early 1900s. They all learned to read, write and speak English adequately. Those who were in business, did quite well with English. It was expected. At home, we spoke one language (Romanian), but that did not prevent anyone of us from using English while outside of our home.

The problem is that if one does NOT learn English and learn it at least well enough to speak, read and write at a 6th grade level, one is NOT going to be integrated into society in general. This is of more concern to me than if everyone living in the US is bi-lingual. Let's deal with getting everyone speaking, reading and writing in English first...and worry about the other later.

JMHO

[YvonneCa]

55. You make a good point...

...but we have to do both...and soon.

[Hepburn]

59. Hi and thanks!

It really bothers me that the US seems to be sooooo far behind other industrialized countries in the area of educational excellence.

NCLB...really helped......NOT!!!!

[YvonneCa]

61. You are welcome. and I completely agree...

...about NCLB. :)

[Overseas]

46. How outrageous-- Obama thinks our kids should learn things!

OMG!! He thinks our kids would benefit from learning a second language. What a horror !

[Vinca]

4. Another faux outrage I don't get. If the number of Hispanics living

in the U.S. is increasing - as it is - it would be nice to be able to communicate with them before they master the English language. Kids should learn as many languages as they can.

[Diamonique]

5. That wasn't a goofup.

He mentioned Spanish as an example. But he was saying that Americans need to become bilingual.

[redstate_democrat]

6. This was not a gaffe or a goof.

He meant what he said. He said our kids need to learn how to speak Spanish. He's talking about people being competitive in the global economy.

[NatBurner]

8. yep

i agree too

i've been saying it for years, too

[Carrieyazel]

78. I don't see a huge surge in American kids moving to Spanish speakng countries.

Obama gaffed, you need to admit it.

Do they speak Spanish in China or India? The two fastest growing global economies?

[BigD_95]

7. are you guys for real?

I have no problem if he says we as parents should get our kids to become more bi-lingual but to say " you need to make sure your kids can speak Spanish" is crazy talk

[Mrs. Overall]

11. Ah, your true colors are showing.....

I thought the issue for you was "Spanish" and had nothing to do with language.

[NattPang]

13. Obama coughed crooked on Tuesday.

I hope everyone where you are
survives this development.

[DevonRex]

14. Crazy? Have you looked anywhere in the southerly direction

lately?

[Clark2008]

73. Huh?

I live in the South and I do just fine without speaking Spanish.

(For the record, I was bi-lingual at one time, speaking fluent French. I rarely use it and can't speak it very well at all now, but I can still read an entire French newspaper and know what it says).

[Bluerthanblue]

17. read post 3 again slowly and carefully- you and

Obama are in agreement- 'spanish' was an example.
:hi:

peace~

[cags]

38. Think about that. How many times would have knowing Spanish been beneficial to you? German? French?

I think Spanish wins!!! Unless you'vegot something against Spanish speaking people

[YvonneCa]

50. No, it's courageous, honest and ...

...necessary talk. We, in this country need to discuss the educational needs of our children and grandchildren. Take this from a teacher: future generations need to be multilingual to compete in a world economy.

Kids in other countries know more than one language. Ours should,too. English should be critical. A second language is also critical...and Spanish is high on the list of needed languages. So are Farsi, Chinese, etc....depending on our childrens' employment hopes.

[annabanana]

83. It's the second most spoken language in America.. why SHOULDN'T

we teach our kids to speak Spanish? They should probably learn Chinese too. When kids are little it's EASY to learn another language. We could probably stuff 3 or 4 languages in there if we were quick enough...

[polichick]

9. He said it as a way of skimming over the issue of immigrants speaking English.

They showed the clip on msnbc this morning.

[DevonRex]

12. It's fucking true. Nothing to correct. And since we have Quebec

to our north, French would also be a very, very good idea.

My kids took both. My husband and I were Russian linguists in military intelligence. I took Spanish from an early age, having lived in south Texas at the time. I took Latin and Spanish in high school and my husband took German.

Learning other languages is a GOOD thing.

[redstate_democrat]

20. Yes it is. A very good thing.

Actually, I believe that schools should start teaching foreign language in early childhood education. It is easier for kids to learn it from an early age rather than starting in high school. And there should be a variety of languages for kids to choose from.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. He was right but you're screwed because...

it will be a while before most Americans realize the benefits of being multi-lingual. Last I heard, Spanish is now the most common language in the world, although Mandarin Chinese is catching up fast.

(Try telling them having more than one language means more opportunity and more money in your pocket.)

[Overseas]

16. Not sure. But we need more fresh threads like this for the JSM III team!

Yeah baby, we need more FRESH DOUBT THREADS for the John Sidney McCain III opposition team. Yeah baby, we'd better pile them on. Hey, any more lingering questions? Let's dredge them up and toss them out there eh?

I mean HEAVEN FORBID!! Obama thinks kids should learn a SECOND LANGUAGE!! What an absolute horror !! Oh my god !! They should LEARN MORE THINGS? Oh NO !!

[MarjorieG]

18. And remind there'll be plenty more out of context divisiveness B4 election.

[Abacus]

19. My Republican father told me the same thing when I was 13

I don't understand the issue, particularly in context.

[Colobo]

21. He's right!

[babylonsister]

23. He didn't say anything wrong; it's a non-issue conservatives are running

with, and Lou Dobbs is leading the charge.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6477230&mesg_id=6477230

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=6477078

[NatBurner]

28. lou's about to blow a gasket

i think a mexican stole his girl or something

[newmajority]

37. Believe it or not, Lou's wife is Mexican American

Which leads me to believe his whole anti immigrant hatred is based on suppressed feelings about his in-laws. :evilgrin:

[NatBurner]

45. is that not the weirdest shit ever?

the man could benefit from a few decades of therapy-

talk about conflicted

[YvonneCa]

57. Dobbie is the one...

...with the 'crazy talk.' :)

[cags]

24. Seems to me that Spanish would be the most beneficial for kids in America

A little education never hurt anyone.

My daughters has been taking Spanish since kindergarten, and I think its great

[blondeatlast]

26. I don't see a goof at all there. My 11 year old son is Spanish naturally,

from a good friend of his.

I'm proud of that accomplishment.

[Burma Jones]

27. Good thing he didn't say Chinese

Learning another language is a very good thing. My College required at least one year of a second language to graduate, I already had a smattering of Spanish and German, so I took a year of Latin.... That year of Latin taught me more about English than most of the English classes I ever took.......

[Colobo]

29. Thomas Jefferson talked about the importance of Spanish a while ago...

[ecstatic]

31. So you honestly don't understand that mulilingual people have an advantage

in today's economy? My gosh... no wonder Bush was able to get away with 8 yrs.

[IndianaJones]

34. I think Chinese may be a better choice. nt.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

35. I'm terribly concerned.

What will he say next?

That our kids need to do math and diagram sentences?

[rufus dog]

36. I am guessing those beating you are Hannity listeners

They were going off on this a couple of days ago on the Hannity Forum, which means Sean was making it an issue on his show.

They were parsing a quote as Hannity loves to do.

I suggest you tell your coworkers to review the entire statement and identify what is wrong with it. And ask them why they get their information and talking points from a proven liar!

[shraby]

39. Why would he need to correct himself? Spanish

is a very useful second language. It's based on a language that covers many other derivatives called the "romance languages". Know one, you can figure out a large share of the others. Not to mention we have many Spanish speaking people here in the U.S. and it's always good to understand another's language.

[beachmom]

41. Americans have a very low self esteem on the fact they only know one language.

They're lashing out, but deep down they hate when they go abroad and realize other people have learned English, yet they have not learned Spanish, French, German, or any other foreign tongue.

It is very difficult to learn another language, and Obama is right that the time to learn is when you are a kid.

For once I just don't care about the political repercussions of this remark. It is SO TRUE, and Americans need to bloody hear the truth.

[beachmom]

42. Obama should take this "lemon" and turn it into lemonade.

Really talk it up, how we need our kids to learn another language to compete in a global economy. Introduce an educational program. Spanish is a good place to start because there is radio and TV available in Spanish. But once you learn one language, the second or third is easier.

[YvonneCa]

51. I agree with your sentiment, but it's not a 'lemon' in my...

...opinion. It's a discussion the country needs to have (one of many). :7

[YvonneCa]

60. There are so many educational programs out there...

...to do what is needed. But under the Bush Admininstration, they are out of favor. There is no political will or clout to support them or the teachers that believe in them.

[blondeatlast]

43. What's better than flamebait that fails? LOLcat to follow...

[Mrs. Overall]

49. Exactly! Spanish isn't very divisive, so it's time to move on to religion

or smoking or fast food.....

[blondeatlast]

70. I'm concerned about the width of Obama's ties... nt

[Solon]

47. I don't think its a goof up, I agree with Obama's statement as you put it...

don't know if its accurate or not, but what the hell. If parents are concerned about their kids' future, they need to encourage their children to learn Spanish, and possibly other languages as well.

[YvonneCa]

52. I agree. n/t

[Schema Thing]

48. Tell your work mates to shut the fuck up. In Spanish.

[YvonneCa]

53. Obama didn't goof...

...at all on this. As usual, his words are courageous, honest and necessary talk. We, in this country need to discuss the educational needs of our children and grandchildren. Take this from a teacher: future generations need to be multilingual to compete in a world economy.

Kids in other countries know more than one language. Ours should,too. English should be critical. A second language is also critical...and Spanish is high on the list of needed languages. So are Farsi, Chinese, etc....depending on our childrens' employment hopes.

[Carrieyazel]

79. Of course he did. He was pandering to the audience and ended up looking foolish.

He also mocked Americans for only knowing one language. This isn't going to help him one bit.

[YvonneCa]

80. Obama is about helping the country...

...and putting us on the right track for the future. Americans...especially Americans that are our children and the future of this country... SHOULD know more than one language. It's the only way to compete economically in the future.

[NatBurner]

81. "mocked"?

LOL

[yodermon]

56. He listed Spanish as an *example*.

The full context of his comments make this clear.

He did *not* mean "I will issue an executive order forcing all children to learn Spanish" which is how the right-wingnuts will try to frame this.

[ellacott]

62. This can't be real

This is a troll.

[BigD_95]

63. Look

I love Obama. I shook his hand in Lancaster, PA. Im 110% for this guy and I believe in him more then any other person running in a long time. I also signed up to help out in the York, PA office. With all that said.


I believe him telling me or other Americans that we should learn Spanish or any other language or have our kids learn it is completely wrong! It not going change how I feel about him but it does hurt him with independents.

English is our language and anyone that comes here should learn to speak it. Last time I checked if people don't want to learn a 2nd language it was their freedom as a American not to learn a 2nd language. No one should say that Americans should worry about our kids learning to speak Spanish. No we bloody shouldn't! If we feel it would its something to WANT our kids to learn fine. But it shouldn't be a demand.

The reason I said it was a goof is because how he worded it.


Just for reference I have a 7 year old son and a 3 year old son. I already talked to my wife that I want them to learn Spanish. That is the 2nd language I want them to learn. But the reason I want them to learn is because no matter what field they choose when the get older I believe it will help them get a job.

[jefferson_dem]

66. Uh huh.

Right.

[BigD_95]

67. un huh. Right??

what is that supposed to mean?

[RidinMyDonkey]

69. Learning a second language is smart.

Sure, I don't think it should be mandatory that kids learn a second language. As much as I hate conservatives, I feel that it is their right to be afraid of the Mexicans or Chinese, or whoever they're afraid of this week.

I don't believe he said it as a way of forcing us to speak to the Spanish speaking immigrants. I think Barack Obama had everyone's best interest at heart when he made his comments. Not only is learning a second language going to help you in your chosen career, but supposedly it stimulates brain activity like mad, making all things easier to learn. Why shouldn't Americans push themselves to be more educated?

It seems more goofy to oppose what he said than what he actually said.

[BigD_95]

71. I agree

my whole point is how he worded it.

Its being played all over the place. All the local radio stations. It was a misspeak, a goof.

[YvonneCa]

75. No, what you are listening to is the SPIN...

...not the truth.

[YvonneCa]

74. I'm glad you are concerned about your children's ...

...future. And it's clear you also see that...in your current circumstances...a language will help them get a job. That is a start at understanding where Obama is coming from. (And I agree with you, that some independents will balk on his words, without taking the time you are taking to learn about the issue.) That is a risk, and Obama is courageous to take it.

But, as a teacher, I have watched the futures of many of my students. They have varied goals...and for most of their future jobs, they will have a better chance to be hired (like your kids) if they know another language. The ones who want to do business with China, need Chinese. The ones who want to go into HLS or intelligence fields need Farsi. The list goes on and on.

But the general lesson I learned is...they ALL need a second language of some kind to be successful in THEIR future...which will be very different from my generation, or yours. It isn't about the importance of English...and, by the way, I want everyone to learn English (I have another story on that one, if you're interested. :) )

So you see and care about the future of your children. I see and care about a larger group...my children, but also my students. I think Obama sees and cares about an even larger group...his children, the many children he has met in schools across the country, and ALL THE CHILDREN he will be responsible for helping as President.

I think that is why he said what he said...and I think he means it. It was not a 'goof' or a mistake, although some may not understand (independents, for example) what he means. It was not a 'goof' or a mistake, although some may use it to their advantage and spin it as such (Republicans and some media).

And I think Obama is smart. I think he is RIGHT on this issue. He is making us think about issues that the country needs to think about and discuss. Just IMAGINE four year...or eight years...of doing that, and how good it will be for our country. :patriot:

[annabanana]

84. Show me where any one is demanding that people be FORCED

to teach anybody anything? Do you think that the language requirements in High School should be dropped completely?

[Marie26]

68. Hey, I agree. That's not a goof, it's a policy position. nt

[kevinmc]

76. If you are taking a beating on that .. you must be a whimp ... n/t

[skooooo]

77. Spanish used to be required in grade school..

...at least where me and my siblings grew up it was in the 60s.

[tekisui]

82. Where's the goof up?