English Plus

1.) The discussion this week on English opened my eyes to the positive and negative affects having English as an official language. My position on English is that it should be the official language. I prefer English plus in the U.S. My stance on this issue is that we started this coutry with the English language. I personally feel a pride that comes along with being an American and speaking English. I beleive that no matter what country you live in that people should learn that dominant language if they want to be a part of that society. I do beleive that it is appropriate to have systems in place to help those people who do not speak english.
2.) The discourse that took place on Tuesday was different in my opinion because many people spoke their mind without filtering any of their thoughts. This raised a lot of conflict in the class that made the discourse very different. On thursday we all had a chance to think some of the issues through and speak our thoughts while keeping other in mind. I also think that because the class was circled up rather than sitting towards the teacher, it created a discussion rather than a debate. Having a circle enforced that we listening to all opinions and to be respectful. I personally learned more on thursday because I felt like the discussion was more open. At the same time I did not speak much, so I was very aware of what was going on as well as listening carefully.