Fascism at a school
Well, I'm completely against this sort of school rule and it's my personal belief that a multilingual community is always best, but I can't really call it fascism or any other name like that.
All I can say is that the same rule was in place at my (English) school in Hong Kong, though with lesser consequences. Students would get detention for speaking Cantonese at school, but they certainly wouldn't be suspended o_O.
All I can say is that the same rule was in place at my (English) school in Hong Kong, though with lesser consequences. Students would get detention for speaking Cantonese at school, but they certainly wouldn't be suspended o_O.
To Sander :
Are you kidding , right ?? Why is this fascism ??
I didn't know that there was a law about forbidding to speak a language .
That boy was talking in a hallway in the language that he wants , what's the crime, where's the crime ?? . Where is the article at US constitution where it's said that speaking with a friend of yours in a foreign language is a offense ??
Imagine that you arrive to a foreign country and if a policeman listen to you talking in your own language in the streets you are arrested.
If this isn't a fascism conduct/behaviour i don't know why the Constitutions exist and their rights of the citizens.
Are you kidding , right ?? Why is this fascism ??
I didn't know that there was a law about forbidding to speak a language .
That boy was talking in a hallway in the language that he wants , what's the crime, where's the crime ?? . Where is the article at US constitution where it's said that speaking with a friend of yours in a foreign language is a offense ??
Imagine that you arrive to a foreign country and if a policeman listen to you talking in your own language in the streets you are arrested.
If this isn't a fascism conduct/behaviour i don't know why the Constitutions exist and their rights of the citizens.
Myself,
Fascism,was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Similar political movements spread across Europe between World War I and World War II and took several forms such as Nazism and Clerical fascism. The term neo-fascism is generally used to describe post-WWII movements seen to have fascist attributes.
More generally, fascism is typified by attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic.
This situation does not live up to the criterea.Therefore using a term like it is just exaggeration.
Fascism,was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Similar political movements spread across Europe between World War I and World War II and took several forms such as Nazism and Clerical fascism. The term neo-fascism is generally used to describe post-WWII movements seen to have fascist attributes.
More generally, fascism is typified by attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic.
This situation does not live up to the criterea.Therefore using a term like it is just exaggeration.
To Sander:
At least in my native culture, the adjective " fascist " can be used metaphorically to talk about a mesure typical for the fascist political movements , and exactly one of the typical measures during fascist dictatorships was the prohibition to use certain languages.
For me , a shool where it's a rule that forbids to speak a foreign language in the hallfway , for me that's a fascist rule, and i'm glad to see that at least in Europe , in my continent, i don't remember a simliar case and boys and girls can talk at school playgrounds the languages that they want to speak without being suspended. We are talking about constitutional rights .
I'm only criticizing that concrete school, i'm not telling that US schools have fascist rules at all . As my headline said , " fascism at A school "
At least in my native culture, the adjective " fascist " can be used metaphorically to talk about a mesure typical for the fascist political movements , and exactly one of the typical measures during fascist dictatorships was the prohibition to use certain languages.
For me , a shool where it's a rule that forbids to speak a foreign language in the hallfway , for me that's a fascist rule, and i'm glad to see that at least in Europe , in my continent, i don't remember a simliar case and boys and girls can talk at school playgrounds the languages that they want to speak without being suspended. We are talking about constitutional rights .
I'm only criticizing that concrete school, i'm not telling that US schools have fascist rules at all . As my headline said , " fascism at A school "
Interesting article although this tug of war has been going on in the United States for the last 35 years now, starting originally in the southwestern states. Rightly or wrongly, the United States has never been friendly to second languages. For instance, there has never been a Gaelic speaking community in the U.S. even though Scots and Irish were some of the first immigrants to come to the United States. German tends to dissappear after a generation or two. I've never known anyone in the U.S. who spoke Plattdeutsch despite stories about it persisting among the Amish and the Pennsylvania Dutch. The indigenous American languages, with the possible exception of Navajo, are all but gone.
This is really a nationalist issue however and not one of 'Fascism'. The English and The French were both surpressing minority languages in their own countries long before Mussolini and Hitler arrived on the scene ; so were the Muslim Turks in Asia Minor which had a large Greek speaking population until the 17th century.
This is really a nationalist issue however and not one of 'Fascism'. The English and The French were both surpressing minority languages in their own countries long before Mussolini and Hitler arrived on the scene ; so were the Muslim Turks in Asia Minor which had a large Greek speaking population until the 17th century.
Yeah, but wouldn't "authoritarian" be a better term?
And just to let you know, Myself, this sort of rule is really NOTHING unusual.
1. As I mentioned, people at MY school could receive detention for talking in a language other than English. Hong Kong might not be democratic, but it certainly isn't Fascist. And plus, we DO have fundamental human rights here, including freedom of speech.
2. In Taiwan of the 1960s and 1970s, it was illegal across the nation to speak any local dialects in schools. All schools required that students and teachers speak Mandarin at all times, and those who violated the rule would be subject to corporal punishment and fines. Taiwan under the KMT was certain authoritarian and dictatorial, but not Fascist either.
3. There was one court case in the US... was it Hazelwood vs. Spectrum or something like that? Well, I know a school board called Hazelwood and a student publication called Spectrum were involved. The school censored the publication and got a lawsuit in return. Anyway, the Supreme Court ruled that schools have a fundamental duty to educate (in both knowledge and morals) and are hence exempt from granting students full freedom of speech and expression under some circumstances.
And just to let you know, Myself, this sort of rule is really NOTHING unusual.
1. As I mentioned, people at MY school could receive detention for talking in a language other than English. Hong Kong might not be democratic, but it certainly isn't Fascist. And plus, we DO have fundamental human rights here, including freedom of speech.
2. In Taiwan of the 1960s and 1970s, it was illegal across the nation to speak any local dialects in schools. All schools required that students and teachers speak Mandarin at all times, and those who violated the rule would be subject to corporal punishment and fines. Taiwan under the KMT was certain authoritarian and dictatorial, but not Fascist either.
3. There was one court case in the US... was it Hazelwood vs. Spectrum or something like that? Well, I know a school board called Hazelwood and a student publication called Spectrum were involved. The school censored the publication and got a lawsuit in return. Anyway, the Supreme Court ruled that schools have a fundamental duty to educate (in both knowledge and morals) and are hence exempt from granting students full freedom of speech and expression under some circumstances.
I think the teacher must have been in a mood! I studied at Frisby's School of English in the UK and we were asked to speak English in the school but if we didn't we were just asked to stop uing our own language (French). It is for our own good as it helps us to speak English.
I am come from Myanmar. Now i am looking for SAT School in Hong Kong because i want to join any University in Hong Kong to get Degree. But I have a job every Mon-Fri (9:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) So I want any class after 6:00 and between Sat and Sun. I have passed Matriculate examination in Myanmar. I would be very appreciate if u will send any information about SAT or GCE Class in Hong Kong to my e-mail (aungaungalex@yahoo.com).
Thanks you very much,
with regards,
Alex.
Thanks you very much,
with regards,
Alex.
You should always speak the language of the country in public. IMO it seems rude to speak your own language. Maybe that 's just me being intrusive and wanting to stick my nose in and know what's going on.
"You should always speak the language of the country in public. IMO it seems rude to speak your own language."
That's just silly.
If I'm a UK citizen but a Polish speaker and I meet another Polish-speaking friend on the street in Birmingham, why should I not chat with them in Polish?
How is that "rude"?
That's just silly.
If I'm a UK citizen but a Polish speaker and I meet another Polish-speaking friend on the street in Birmingham, why should I not chat with them in Polish?
How is that "rude"?