1. What announcement did a Texas middle school principal make over the intercom last month?

2. a) Why are Spanish-speaking students at Hempstead Middle School upset?
b) Why do you think one teacher told a student, "if you speak Spanish in my class, I'm going to write you up"?

3. How did the school district respond to parent complaints about the principal?

4. What percent of Hempstead Middle School students are Latino?

5. a) Why is the parent quoted in the article upset - how does she view the principal's ban?
b) Do you think Mrs. Zamora's concern is justified? Explain your answer.

6. A news report should answer the following questions in the first paragraph: who, what, where, when, and answer the why and/or how in the rest of the article.
List at least 3 important questions that were not answered in the article (that the reporter should have investigated and reported on to give readers a balanced news report).

7. Discuss the following questions:
-Should American public schools require students who are able to communicate in English to do so in class?
-Should American public schools allow students who speak other languages to speak them during class?
-Should students who can communicate in English be permitted to speak their native language in a classroom where half of the class and/or the teacher do not understand them?
-Should public schools try to accommodate students so they feel comfortable at all times?
-Do teachers have control over the classroom when they don't know what the students are saying?
-Why might students who speak only English feel upset when their classmates are speaking Spanish to each other?
-Do students have the "right" to speak any language they want in class?
-Did the principal make this rule to discriminate against students who don't speak English?
-If there were students in the school whose first languages were all different (e.g. four who spoke Chinese, five who spoke Arabic, ten who spoke Spanish and ten who spoke English) should they all be permitted to speak their own languages during class time?
-Is there a valid reason for requiring all students who are able to communicate in English to do so in class, even if it is not their first language?