Suit Over Test of Teachers’ Skills
Two articles in the Sept. 24 issue should have been juxtaposed: “Minorities, Citing Bias, Sue Over Test of Teachers’ Skills” and “For Bush, a Powerful Lesson in the Peril of Negative Thinking.”
If the English test administered by the state of California to teacher candidates is faulty, the test needs improvement. However, one must keep in mind that, as the article about President Bush poignantly shows, the dilution of an already weak national standard for English will lead to division among Americans, as people become less able to understand one another.
Bertrand Russell once said, “Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it.” A de-emphasis on English in a country whose primary language is English is, however unintentional, a handicap to the intellect.
VAN AJEMIAN
Montebello
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