Letter: Education must adjust to changes

Monday, June 4, 2007 | 7:06 a.m.

I want to congratulate the Las Vegas Sun and especially reporter Timothy Pratt for the article about teachers from Clark County participating in a Spanish language and cultural immersion program in Mexico ("Teachers take a lesson, in Mexico," May 28).

The article highlighted the educational challenge of understanding the Hispanic culture to better suit students and parental relationships with the school system. As was noted by an educator quoted in the story, we need a supportive administration that believes in training teachers for a diversified classroom.

In my opinion, our future generations - regardless of ethnicity, color or nationality - are not getting well educated because of the lack of commitment from the federal, state and local authorities to fund such training programs. I am a legal immigrant who came and obtained a doctorate degree years ago, and even though I learned English in my childhood, I understand that our country is populated by immigrants who will continue contributing to this great land - only if they are adequately educated.

We are not living in the 19th century where international trades were done only in a few ports - they are done on a minute-by-minute basis, and the more languages you fluently speak the better prepared you are to compete in this worldwide economy. This is what the government has not understood because of the lack of awareness or bureaucracy from conservative parties that think that we are all ignorant aliens.

We should all realize that by working together this democratic and economically successful country will continue to grow.

Nicolas Saenz, Las Vegas