Bill D. -

The French language issue is quite a different cup of tea. French was spoken in Canada before English. It has spread to other provinces. Canada is officially a bi-lingual country. Our school system requires that both languages be taught.

The Chinese use our schools after 3:00 dismissal to teach their language. Any cultural group intent on keep their language alive is free to do the same thing.

As far as the school system goes, 30-50% of my grade 2 students are just learning English. Most are very good students because their parents value education. They bring with them a keen desire to learn. This motivates some of our more complacent English speaking students. In other words, part of the reason our students rate so highly internationally is because of what they learn from each other.

I have never heard of "crime that is ethnicly based." In this country a criminal is a criminal, regardless of ethnicity. What are you talking about?

As far as your remark, "We add this to the already large communities of African-Americans who retain a VERY different culture and value system, and we have problems NOW." There is a theory that says that the sub-culture that developed was a culture of opposition. In other words, WE ARE NOT THEM. It is no wonder it is a problem. Having lived through the process of integration, I would say that although the U.S. is less than perfect in regards to their treatment of Afro-Americans, much progress has been made. The U.S. has gone from slavery to segregation to integration. The U.S. can change and will change over time.

As to your own fears - Nothing is perfect but if you focus on the similarities instead of focussing on the differences, you will find most immigrant people have similar values to your own. The differences are usually interesting. Believe me - I wouldn't trade my multi-ethnic neighborhood for the suburbs ever! The thought of being surrounded by people the same as me sounds way to boring.

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