Longtime Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini used to be a man concerned about young people. I met him shortly after the death of my English learner student Omar Rivas, who was killed sitting in a car in front of his house when two cars sped by, firing guns back and forth. One of the bullets strayed and ultimately took the life of 17-year-old Omar.
My concern at the time was that the public would assume Omar was a gang member asking for trouble, when actually he was a wonderful kid, never absent or late to class, and careful not to involve himself with gang members. I handed over Omar’s journal, which contained Omar’s personal opinions and observations, to Montini so he could make that point to the public. His article was amazing. I have saved it and read it from time to time in remembrance of kind, thoughtful Omar who lost his life for no reason.
It disappoints me, twenty-nine years later, to read columns by Montini that lack the compassion and in-depth analysis that used to be his trade-mark. Surely, he realizes, for example, that Spanish-speaking children will be more successful in securing a good future for themselves in this country if taught totally in English. Nevertheless, he advocates that they learn in Spanish for at least half the day through dual-language programs, a form of bilingual education that has proven disastrous.
EJ Montini has overlooked the actual reason that parents are pulling their children out of district schools. Instead, he seems to be of the mind that the students should be FORCED to attend schools where the biggest complaint leading to teacher flight is a lack of support regarding unacceptable behavior of students, not teacher pay as Montini asserts. Consequently, Arizona district schools score at the bottom or near the bottom in achievement when compared to other states.
Home-schools, private schools, and charters such as Basis, Great Hearts, and several others rank at the top in academic achievement nationally. Those schools maintain discipline and are famous for rigorous instruction from their teachers. Of course, parents prefer such schools to ones that accept mayhem!
Montini’s sympathy for LGBTQ youth is a case of “bait and hate.” Children in district schools have been ENCOURAGED by teachers and school counselors to question their sexuality and gender at ages in which they are not capable of making such judgments. It is understandable that parents are outraged at what is going on with their children without their permission. Montini accuses those concerned parents and Republican officeholders who support them to be guilty of “the state’s Hoover-sized dam of educational intolerance.”
In Montini’s opinion, the so-called LGBTQ students need to be assigned to their own separate school. Sadly, the confusion caused to these young people, especially transgender children, has resulted in depression and suicide attempts. These children most likely need professional help to enjoy their childhood again – free from despicable attempts to interfere with their natural development.
Montini complains that the “universal voucher plan” is too expensive and will put the state “in a big hole, possibly bankrupting us.” However, parents can receive no more than $7,000 per student from the state through the Arizona Education Savings Account program to cover expenses at a school of their choice. District schools receive at least $14,000 per student! Thus, the solution is for districts to close schools and put in effect “reduction in force” as schools have always done in the past when faced with declining enrollment.
Please, parents and legislators, ignore Montini’s “bait” and realize the “hate” belongs to him, not you.
Johanna Haver is author of Vindicated: Closing the Hispanic Achievement Gap through English Immersion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).