Slate – Sarah Carr
“One afternoon last fall, I watched as a group of young Hispanic students trained to become the best Spanish-language spellers in America. Their thick practice packet for the fourth annual National Spanish Spelling Bee began with examples of the easiest words students might expect to encounter in the bee’s first round, like esperar (to wait for), cuidar (to take care of), and peluca (wig); it extended to much harder 20th-round samples, like fisioterapeuta (physical therapist), otorrinolaringologo (ear, nose, and throat specialist), and nenufar (water lily). The students, many of whom attended Sunland Park Elementary School in southern New Mexico, located just feet from the Mexican border, beamed with pride when they nailed words. At Sunland Park and across the country, the Spanish language is enjoying a cultural renaissance among a somewhat counterintuitive group: Hispanics. For years, middle- and upper-class English-speaking families have clamored for more dual language programs where their students can learn both English and Spanish. By contrast, many Spanish-speaking families have been opting out, believing their children needed to learn English, and only English, as quickly as possible.”(more)