Right on! I'm on her side.

What a stupid obnoxious self-centered little b***h.


1. Being required to take a test on your English skills when you claim English as a second language is not racist. She really should look up that word in a dictionary.

2. Lying to the school that English is your second language is not wise. It is also not "disrespect[ful of] my culture or my mother."

If you were born and raised in the US, went to school in the US, etc, English is your first language. The question is not what is your "race". You grew up speaking English as well as Laotian. English & Laotian are your first languages.

If you lied on official forms, claiming that English was your second language then it is understandable that you will be treated as someone who is learning the language and not as someone who grew up with the language.


3. When you do take a test to assess your English skills and you answer every question with the letter "c" you only have yourself to blame.

Her test came back with a failing grade due to her refusal to take a required test, she lied and claimed English was her second language.

None of that is racist in the least.

She may think she is some protester for human rights but she is just a spoiled little girl who thinks the world revolves around her. She thinks that she is too special to have to take even the minimum tests because she "wanted them to look at something beyond the test."

How do you think that sort of attitude would work for her after high school? Can you imagine he refusal to take a test in college, her refusal to answer questions or take some sort of test as part of her job or employment application?

Requiring her to follow the rules - the rules that she is being required to follow due to her lies and deliberate failing of tests will help her in her adult years.

LOL oh yeah!

Years from now when she is paying her student loans off she will look back this moment in her life. Who knows what she will think but I am pretty sure it may be something like "I could really use $86,000".

So, she gets suspended for now 6 days.

She gets lower class grades.

She may lose scholarship money.

And she's doing this all because of an English test? It's not worth the fight. If a proficiency in English is required for graduation, and the test proves it, then she must take it.

Is it discriminatory? Possibly. Is it racist? No. The fact that she doesn't know the difference might possibly show that she still needs some brushing up on her English skills; perhaps the irony is that in her fight she's proving the necessity of the test.

If you choose to lie on a form, declare English as your Second Language, and then decline to prove that you are proficient, who is to blame? Some of the other comments on the story, especially the on about the administrator wanting "in on the action" for her scholarship money, is outrageous. sometimes when you point your finger at someone else, you should look at the three pointing back at you.

Remember, she didn't just decline to prove her proficiency, she made it appear that she was not proficient by deliberately failing an English proficiency test in her junior year.

Maybe she should go to, say, Vietnam and see how well she is able to get around without language skills. Can't be racism then, since they are generally the same race as she is(same geographical area and so forth, I know the ethnic groups are different). Unless we want the government printing forms and documents in 6,500 languages, we need some sort of official language, and that happens to be English.

What a self-righteous prick. If she really wanted to change it, she should have gone about it the right way and gone to the administration FIRST.

P.S. I can't see whatever is in that thumbnail. Damn colorblindness. Edit: I've been told it's a "2"

I think it's pretty stupid that she has to take an English proficiency class when she's got a high grade in English class.

I doubt I'm wrong here, but I'm pretty sure that proficiency in English is one of the requirements to get a decent grade in any US English class.

I also think it's absolutely ridiculous that she or anyone has to take this exam simply because English isn't listed as the "first language." To me, this does make the required exam seem racist or xenophobic.

I think she is picking a very silly way to go about her protest, though. I know a scholarship of 86K dangled in front of me would make me think very, very carefully about my next move (because I agree with her intention, I just disagree with her methods).

Then you haven't seen the educational system I grew up with! Some of the people I graduated with could barely read, and certainly didn't know the basics of grammar.

Absolutely not, many ESL people struggle very much with the english language. Especially in written word, ESL people tend to have far more problems.

Waiving out of the test with a high English class score can make sense, but the lack of it is hardly xenophobic and racist.

But, on the other hand, I'd love to see her pull this s**t in the workplace. Eh, she'll probably sue them. And honestly, the only people who are more idiotic than her have congregated in the comments on that article.
I read something about a Theory of Systematic Whiteness. Fun.

While I can't rightly say that ESL students find English easy. In my experience with them, the written word is a lot easier for them than the spoken one.

Thank you for taking the time to type all that. It saved me from having to do it. :)

This is just another kid who thinks she's special and unique. Well you are unique, just like everybody else. Now take the damn test and keep your unique mouth shut.

I think she should just take the test.
I need to take a English test to prove I can speak the language to go college, and I am a 3rd generation English speaker.
Maybe they should just change the rules, and make everyone take the test.

If the test was required of all non-white people, it would be racist.

The test is required of all people who list ESL on their enrollment. It's a test to ensure you know the E of your ESL.

If a white person, or a Tenth Generation English speaker marked ESL on their form, they'd be required to take the test.


...

She forced the administration to give her this test, then she refused to take the test. Sorry, no sympathy, I think the 86K in scholarships can be better spent on kids who don't lie on their forms out of 'national pride'

Yes. this.

wow. you are kinda a prick. good to know.
she didn't lie...english isnt the first language spoken at her home.


the test is unnecessary. if you aren't proficient in english, you wouldn't be able to fare well enough to graduate. keep in mind that proficiency has a pretty low mark.

if she has to take it, then all the half-literate white and black kids should, too.

FOTM, the lily-white district is a bit upset that a brown-skinned "little b***h" is whooping all their white kids' tails.

Go Connie Sousapanousaphone

Oh god, the lols I just had over that.

However, the name calling in the beginning of your post will get you downvotes...I'd edit that part out to something like "highly opinionated and vocal". :D

As for me, I can see where the girl's coming from. I'd be a little insulted as well if, after tons of academic accomplishments, I was told I wouldn't graduate high school unless I took a test proving I could speak the language I've obviously excelled in over the years. She didn't "lie" about her upbringing, she probably did learn Laotian before English if that's what her parents primarily spoke.

Granted, I would take the test and I think she should too. But I don't think she's being a spoiled brat by refusing...after all, she's not hurting anyone but herself. And I can see why she's refusing to take the test. She's proud of her academic acheivements and thinks they speak for themselves. She probably has classmates who aren't required to take the test that have a much shakier grasp on the language than she does. I certainly do not find her to be self-centered, spoiled or stupid.

Wait, where does it say that she lied about English being her second language?

Somehow, that is just not what I read out of the article.

It's interesting they have someone in the education agency saying that "A kid with a 3.9 GPA shouldn't be in an (English language learners) program."

I guess this means that if the instructors are really good at getting their message across to students who don't have such a good grasp of English, they should still give them bad grades?

She failed a test on purpose because she wants them to look beyond the test? Since when do the students get to decide the criteria the instructors use?

Spoiled brat attention-whore.

I'm pretty sure we weren't allowed to be offended till we were in college. ;)

If you're that good - take the test, get to college, change the world. For someone with a high enough proficency, this test should be cake. Maybe silly or redundant - but cake.