I awoke this morning ready to battle the snow. I put on my winter armor, opened the front door, and tackled the 6-8 inches that had accumulated over the night. As I was shoveling, I was carrying on a conversation with my next door neighbor, Mike, who is a public school teacher in a neighboring district. Conversations of this nature are generally trivial, like "The snow is heavy" and "Is school cancelled today?" After these formalities though, Mike asked if I heard about the bill being proposed to mandate that Minnesota state professors must speak plain English. I said, "No," as I heaved another heavy shovel full of snow off the sidewalk. He said he read it and immediately zipped off a letter to the editor to criticize the bill. I stopped shoveling and paused a moment...quietly thinking, "It is great to have this kind of neighbor." Then, after finishing shoveling (for now), I went inside and surfed the internet looking for this bill. Here it is.
A Minnesota state legislator by the name of Bud Heidgerken (R-Freeport) has "introduced a bill intended to ensure that all teachers use "clear English pronunciation" before being allowed to teach undergraduate students," as reported today in the Star Tribune. According to the newspaper article, "The bill would require that schools in Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) ensure their teachers speak plain English. It would 'request' that the University of Minnesota do the same; the Legislature can technically only request compliance from the U because it is an autonomous body under the state Constitution." Only three other states have such a law in place -- North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
This proposed bill is just ridiculous. First, the university already has a policy regarding language competency that dates back to 1985 when "the Minnesota legislature drafted the following language in Chapter 11, section 7 of its Laws: The university is requested to continue to ensure that classroom teaching assistants for whom English is a second language are proficient in speaking, reading, and writing English." Click here to read more on the university policies. The policy specifically states that "All nonnative English speaking Teaching Assistants (TAs) must demonstrate proficiency in spoken English appropriate to the demands of their teaching assistantship." A nonnative English speaker is defined as a "Person for whom the primary language in the home during childhood was not English. Country of citizenship and language of elementary, secondary or undergraduate education are NOT factors in this definition."
I first learned of this understandable yet poorly operationalized requirement when an Asian American graduate student of mine was questioned about whether she had taken the required language proficiency test. She was shocked by this question because she immigrated as a child, is a U.S. citizen, received her entire education in this country, and speaks fluently. However, none of this mattered because (a) she had an Asian sounding name and looked "foreign" and (b) the primary language spoken in her home was not English, as her parents were immigrants. I immediately began making calls and the situation was rectified. However, when asked if the policy could be changed, I never heard back from the College or Human Resources. The only response given was that it was a legislative policy.
The second reason that this bill is ridiculous is that it is clearly discriminatory. In the case just given, my graduate student has every right to not be questioned about her language abilities. Yet according to current policy, she can be questioned. As my neighbor and I discussed, the bill also would outlaw a deaf person who is capable of teaching a course using American Sign Language, via a interpreter. For that matter, technically, I also would not be allowed to teach (let alone be hired as a professor) because my parents did not speak English as their primary language in the home.
Third, such a bill (if passed) would contribute to the brain drain from Minnesota and significantly undermine our efforts to recruit and retain the best of the best. After 9-11, the inflow of international students declined and we are just now rebounding at every major university in the country. These students are the life force behind many departments and contribute immensely to the education of the general public. Plus, many of these graduates stay in Minnesota to work for major companies. They also contribute taxes just like everyone else.
I urge everyone to contact their state legislators to not just kill this bill but to also encourage their legislators to come out with a strong statement against such future proposals. To find your legislator, click here.
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UPDATE
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This is an email response from my state representative, Frank Hornstein.
From: Frank Hornstein
To: richlee@umn.edu
Date: 13 Mar 06, 12:16pm
Dear Dr. Lee:
I share your outrage regarding Rep. Heidgerken's bill. This is but the
latest in a series of outrageous anti-immigrant bills, all of which I
oppose.
I appreciate your well thought-out arguments against this bill and will
refer to them if the legislation ever gets to the House floor.
Thanks for writing and sharing your stories and perspectives.
Frank Hornstein
State Representative