HERE'S WHERE I CATCH HELL FROM ALOT OF PEOPLE THAT I THINK VERY HIGHLY OF.

All my Grandparents learned English after they came here. So did he German, Dutch, Norwegan, Swede, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc etc etc. immigrants. I can see no reason to discourage immigrants from keeping their cultural heritage alive. However, I think that bi-lingual education is devisive. Perpetuating the practice of referring to themselves as "Italian-American" , "African=American" Russian-American" and all the other "hyphenated" nationalities keeps us apart.

No, don't discourage old world traditions, but, we and our Canadian fiends will ever reach our true potential until we get rid of the hyphens and start thinking of ourselves as "Just Canadians" and "Americans". TAKE NOTICE OF THE FACT that England did not attain its status as a "World class" nation until they quit the old practice of, "I'm Norman, you sre a lowly Saxon (or the reverse) and, started thinking of themselves as JUST ENGLISHMEN, nor did Ireland achieve it's staus until the people knocked off their hyphens.

One of the first things I insist of with my Karate Students (Traditional Shotokan, just promoted to roku-dan (6th Degree Black Belt)) is that they think of themselves as Americans and nothing else. Unless, of course ,they are foreign nationals, I have several African Nationals in my clsses, and, I make it plain that as soon as their parents (or themselves) attain American Citizenship they will have to start thinking of themselves as, "just Americans". My students who once thought of themselves as Puerto Rican or Guamanian, now think of themselves as "Americans", and, so do their class mates.
I feel very strongly on this matter, that anything else is counter productive to National Unity. Having signs, labels and directions in languages other than English tends to divide us into groups that could eventually become antagonists.
I recall, with much fondness and familial pride, the first time I introuced my new bride (Joyce, Kate and David's Mom) to one of the Sunday afternoon family gatherings where we were used to speaking "Calabrese" Italian, because my Grandmother, Sophia Puzelli, understood and spoke very little English, that after the first exchange in Italian, My Grandmother said, in Italian, "We must speak in English because Roberta (my wife) understood nothing in italian." "Anything else would be very rude" . She went on to say, "Besides, we are All Americans here and we must make Joseph's wife feel welcome in our family gatherings". These were the last words spoken in other than English, except for translations of what someone else had said and Grandma didn't quite understand, or, what Roberta had said. I can't begin to describe how proud I was of my family as they all agreed, whole heartedly, with what my Grandmother had asked of them. "Bobbie" fell in love with my family, as they did with her, at their very first meeting because of this,