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Century 21, the world’s largest real estate franchise, realizes the purchasing power of the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population of the U.S. For more…

PATERSON — The name Casa Real — royal house — suits a real estate company run from an idyllic property with neat shrubs and white columns.

Now, the worlds largest real estate franchise has picked this Madison Avenue house, and those who run the company within, as an emblem of its new nationwide push to serve Hispanics — the hope for the flailing housing market, as some see it.

Century 21 Casa Real Latino officially debuted last month. The name reflects the marriage of two unlikely partners: a division of a $9 billion company made up of more than 8,000 franchises, and a single office located on a hardscrabble street in Paterson.

Century 21s decision to lend its name centered on the husband and wife team who have specialized in real estate services for Hispanics for more than a decade, said Saul Serna, a Century 21 executive spearheading Casa Real Latino.

“I wanted to start with people like this,” Serna said Wednesday. “They have an excellent reputation in the market.”

This may seem like a bad time to start a real estate endeavor. Values are plunging and dozens of mortgage companies have folded because of the implosion in the market providing risky sub-prime loans — what many Hispanics used to buy their properties.

Still, Census estimates released Thursday show that the countys Hispanic population is growing faster than other racial groups.And a recent study and the on-the-ground experience of Casa Real employees indicate that Hispanics and new immigrants are more likely to take the homeownership plunge.

A very interesting listen. You can learn a lot from just asking people “Hablas Español?”. It’s really interesting to hear how José copes when confronted with people who can’t speak Spanish - pointing to pictures, miming… Listen.

Anchor Aaron Schachter speaks to BBC reporter José Baig, who is travelling across the United States while speaking only Spanish. Baig asks everyone he meets, “Hablas Español?” So far, he’s doing just fine.

This essay collection highlights experiences surrounding learning English and the sublties of language, including where certain slang and accents are and are not acceptable.  Follow this link to a more detailed book review.

When I was six years old, I began taking a bus to my assigned public elementary school west of Mile High Stadium, about a thirty-minute ride away from my southeast Denver home. At school I encountered an entirely different world from that of my neighborhood: many of my classmates were the children of immigrants, and while classes were taught in English, the school encouraged expressions of different cultures and the use of Spanish language.

Most of the writers in this collection entered the American educational system before the Chicano rights movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s brought about changes that welcomed multiculturalism (like that mural on my elementary school’s wall), and so several writers report that a teacher asked their parents to speak in English at home to promote the children’s fluency.

The following article discusses the concern about establishing an official state or national language.  As the author points out, research has proven that immigrants assimilate naturally.  English, as a language, is not in danger of “dying out,” and it remains widely used, both in the U.S. and the world.

Quien puede leer este? Here in California, and in many states, most people can answer that question. (Who can read this?) More than 32 million people in the United States are fluent in Spanish, according to the 2005 Census. With the exception of English (English, too, was brought to this country by foreigners), no other language has grown to such numbers in the history of the United States. With the recent ruckus about illegal immigration, most people have probably heard the argument pushing for all immigrants to become fluent in English.

The widespread use of Spanish worries some people. They are mandating Congress to make an amendment declaring English the official language of the United States, something that has never been done before. The legislation would force all matters concerning the government to be conducted in no other language than English. This may sound unlikely, but as of 2006 two partisan amendments to the Immigration Reform Act have been passed through the Senate—initial legislation that has started down that road.

Call it patriotism or pride, this push to secure English by means of government restriction is not necessary. There are not hordes of reluctant immigrants who just can’t see the social and economic advantages of learning English. The government does not need to put its hands on this issue.

Historically, no great influx of a foreign language has brought a lasting and negative impact to this country. Nor has there been a need to expedite the integration process. Notwithstanding a little friction, The Ol’ Melting Pot has succeeded to high measures in bringing people of all cultures together, by relying on immigrants to assimilate naturally—which immigrants have and will continue to do.

Creating and maintaining a welcoming and positive working environment is often underestimated.  The following article
points to the many reasons employers should prioritize fairness in the workplace, both institutionally and at the micro-level, in the everyday interactions among staff.  HR departments go to great lengths to increase diversity among staff, but this does not do much good if employees do not feel welcome at work.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new study reveals that workplace unfairness costs U.S. employers an estimated $64 billion per year in turnover of managers and professionals, in addition to costs from decreased sales of products and services and damaged employer reputation.

“The Corporate Leavers Survey,” conducted by the Level Playing Field Institute and sponsored by Korn/Ferry International, finds that each year more than two million professionals and managers leave their corporate employers due solely to workplace unfairness. According to the survey, people of color are three times more likely and gays and lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual Caucasian males to have left their jobs due solely to workplace unfairness.

“The study highlights that unfairness in the form of everyday inappropriate behaviors is a very real, prevalent and damaging part of today’s work environment,” said Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D., founder and board chair of the Level Playing Field Institute. “The cumulative impact of stereotyping, subtle slights and being excluded is extraordinarily costly for individuals, employers and the society as a whole. It is sadly ironic that so much money is spent on recruiting and so little attention is devoted to creating a fair and welcoming work environment. Many companies become revolving doors for people of color, gays and lesbians and women.”

Ensuring safety in any environment requires clear, effective communication with all community members. This article describes what happened when a county in Virginia left monolingual Spanish-speaking community members uninformed of a water main break.

JAMES CITY - Last September, a water main broke in James City County, possibly contaminating the water supply of 17,000 residents. For three days, locals were ordered to boil their tap water, or not use it at all.That same week, Gloria Morales said she was alarmed to hear of Hispanic families using the water to cook, or mixing it with their babies’ formula.

They weren’t intentionally violating the boil order, she said.

They just didn’t know.

“All the information available was only in English,” she said.

Since then, Morales, coordinator of the nonprofit Network for Latino People, has been working with local authorities on an emergency preparedness plan for the Hispanic community in the Williamsburg area. The Hispanic population in Williamsburg, James City County and York County is estimated at about 3 percent of the total population, according to U.S. Census data.

While local emergency responders have been receptive to the plan, Morales said many didn’t know how to reach non-English speakers, or realize that language could be an issue in a disaster situation.

Immigration is not the only force that changes the ethnic demographics of the U.S. This article focuses on the “Latino baby boom” in California and its implications for early childhood education and for future questions surrounding racial and ethnic identity.

Preschool teacher Sara Porras leans down to speak, first in English, then in Spanish, to one of the toddlers she cares for at the Parkway Child Development Center.”Which one do you want?” Porras says to 2 1/2-year-old Alicia Molina Correa, holding up a game and a puzzle with children on it. “Cuál quieres, el juego o los niños?”

State demographers predict Latinos will be a majority of Californians by mid-century, but in preschool classrooms like Porras’, the future is now.

For the first time in modern history, most of the babies being born in California are Latino, according to an analysis of state birth records through 2005 by the Mercury News. Population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau also show that for the first time in 2004 more than half of the children under age 5 in California are Latino.

2004 was the first full year when the number of babies born to Latina mothers nudged past 50 percent of the children born in California; it reached 51.5 percent in 2005. These newest Californians are the leading edge of a Latino demographic surge that will remake the state in unknown ways during the coming decades. But those changes, say demographers, will be driven primarily by the birth of native-born children - not by immigration.

Every toddler in Porras’ San Jose classroom one recent afternoon was Latino, and demographers and educators say the state’s future quality of life will be determined - starting now - by the quality of education produced inside thousands of similar classrooms. While more Latino babies are being born, state birth records show the transition to a Latino majority among California’s youngest children is also caused by a 40 percent drop in the number of children born to white and African-American mothers since 1990.

“The implications for the future are: We aren’t talking about an ethnic immigrant community, but an ethnic citizen community,” said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute in Los Angeles, a think tank that studies issues relating to Latinos.

But with more than 40 percent of Latinos marrying into other ethnic groups, Pachon thinks the emerging majority will remake racial and ethnic identity in California. “It might be that the white category might get a little bit darker in California in the next 20 years,” he said. “It’s going to be harder to talk about `them,’ when it’s really `us.’ That’s what the figures seem to indicate.”

This article describes some serious “foot-in-the-mouth” moments. These embarrassing and deal-breaking blunders remind us to prioritize cultural competence in the communities where we do business (or even visit as a tourist).

Globalization has made cross-border business deals more common than ever. But, every day, deals are jeopardized or lost when foreign associates are offended by Americans unaware of other countries’ customs, culture or manners, etiquette experts say.

 

They commit a faux pas (a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners or conduct) while traveling, meeting a foreigner here or communicating on the phone or Internet.

“Americans are way too informal in their dealings with their counterparts abroad, and they end up perceived as uncouth and even obnoxious,” says P.M. Forni, a professor of Italian literature and civility at Johns Hopkins University. “Innocence, stupidity or arrogance make them behave in Cyprus the way they would in Cleveland.”

Politicians and celebrities are not immune, generating highlight reels of faux pas for late-night talk shows. In May, actor Mickey Rooney caused a stir in Great Britain when he violated protocol by kissing Queen Elizabeth’s hand at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. In April, Richard Gere repeatedly kissed actress Shilpa Shetty on the cheek at an AIDS awareness rally in April in New Delhi, India, a country where public displays of affection are generally taboo. An Indian court issued a warrant for his arrest and irate protestors burned effigies of the actor. The warrant was later suspended.

President Bush used an expletive while talking to British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a meeting in Germany last year. He also gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a shoulder rub while she spoke to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Many Europeans were offended because the summit was a formal occasion and they viewed the actions as demeaning.

Many American business travelers also commit faux pas, making, in many cases, already-challenging deals all the more elusive.

Robert Burns, the American owner of CC Bloom’s Hotel in Phuket, Thailand, says he’s inadvertently insulted or embarrassed Thais several times. During his first business meetings in Thailand a few years ago, he started the gatherings by talking about business.

“That’s a no-no,” he says. “I quickly figured out that I was creating problems by talking business before eating lunch and by initiating the talks.”

The conclusion of this article offers some final wisdom:

Learning the customs and culture of a foreign country “signals respect for the other side, and respect is important in developing a business relationship,” says Tufts’ Salacuse. “The fact that you haven’t learned the history and the customs raises questions about the sincerity of how committed you are to doing business in the country.”

Of course learning language is about global business and cultural competency, but in today’s post 9/11 world, it’s also about national security. There are efforts to bolster language skill’s of the US’ future workers through teaching foreign language, especially less common US spoken languages such as Arabic and Mandarin. CNN has this story.

The US was founded by immigrants and we have a history of opening our hearts to people of immigrant backgrounds. In today’s political environment people at times forget that we are dealing with people and regardless of our political position on immigration reform, we need to embrace the people in our communities - no matter what their primary language may be. In that sense, this came as a shock to me.

One day after the Huntington School Board reinstated its high school principal, tensions continued to mount in the district with the disclosure of a series of e-mails detailing how a second principal was chastised for efforts to translate for Hispanic parents.

The e-mails, obtained by Newsday a day after another principal, Carmela Leonardi, was reinstated to Huntington High School, reveal that Jefferson Primary Principal Margaret Evers was pressed into apologizing to some parents after Back to School Night last year because they were offended by her attempt to accommodate Spanish-speaking parents by having her speech translated during the meeting.

“I have remained silent in the past and I see now that it was a mistake,” Evers told board members Thursday night, her voice cracking. “This kind of power is insatiable. After one conquest it frantically seeks another.”

She came before the school board in support of Leonardi. While she read from the e-mails when she addressed the board, Evers would not divulge the author but said it was a board member. Though the author’s name was blacked out, a source close to the situation said it was board member Richard McGrath, who is now school board president.

McGrath, the district superintendent and the six board members did not return calls.

…The e-mail attributed to McGrath said some parents were angered by her actions. He said one parent was even “convinced that you are illegally and improperly pushing Spanish on Jefferson students and parents who live in a country where English is our official language.”

Evers said she apologized.

Now she said she is adamant that the healing for the district begin.

“I just want to go back to being a principal,” Evers said. “And answering the questions I posed last night: How do we best educate the children of wealth and children of poverty? How do we build bridges to families with language barriers that exist?”

One Huntington parent who attended the meeting last fall, Arlene Robins, recalled her shock at hearing angry muttering from some other audience members in the school’s gym. Robins said the whispers began shortly after an interpreter standing at Evers’ side started translating her welcoming remarks.

“I was very surprised, because I thought it was a wonderful thing,” said Robins, a freelance writer with a son who is entering second grade. “I thought she was just trying to embrace as many people as possible. Apparently, there’s a latent racism that we’re not willing to own up to.”

Carmela Leonardi, who was reinstated at Thursday’s meeting after being demoted two weeks ago and filing a discrimination lawsuit against the district last week over the transfer, said Evers is courageous.

I know schools in my area make efforts to support Spanish speaking populations and without this, their students would be at a great disadvantage. I hope the people involved in this story can find a sense of healing and find ways to bring their community together.