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.

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