Basic Common Sense, Where Are You Hiding?

There are members of my husband's family that qualify for the category known as "Special Kind Of Stupid". It's embarrassing. If they'd spend 6 seconds thinking something through, they'd see the problem with what they repost and what they say about it.

For instance. This morning oldest DIL posted a question about states being allowed to teach English only in schools. To this post she added the words "English only". So. Tell me. How many English speaking families have sent their children to school and had them come home speaking a language other than English? What part of English speaking children can't learn from a teacher who only teaches in Swahili or some other foreign language escapes them? Obviously if the kid is leaning anything at all it's being taught in English, so why is this English Only an issue?

Illegal immigrants from Latin America are sending their children to American Schools and guess what? They are going home speaking English. Are they learning this from teachers not teaching in English? It's a miracle, right?

We have a First Lady born in Slovenia who comes to the US with the ability to speak 5 languages fluently. Can someone explain to me why our kids can't have the same level and quality of education as that? Oh no, we have to dumb down what is being taught so our kids don't have a chance at competing in a global economy. Good paying jobs are just so plentiful here that our kids don't need that kind of education?

Exactly what language do people think these people from India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam and other countries where our tech corporations recruit employees, are speaking when they come here? To the best of my knowledge, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard don't bring them here and pay them a salary to learn to speak English. They learn that in the schools they attend in their home countries.

Out of 40 countries the US ranks 17th in educational performance. We're also 24th of 60 countries when it comes to literacy. With what remains of my basic common sense I'd call that embarrassing rather than exceptional.