May 7, 2013
Mayor Mirisch, Vice Mayor Lili Bosse and Council members:
My name is Esther Caporale, and I have been a teacher of English as a Second Language in Beverly Hills since 1998 and served as the ESL Coordinator from 1998 to 2008. I have seen firsthand the profound improvement of the personal and professional lives of my students when they gain mastery of this challenging, non-phonetic language. I am deeply devoted to our immigrant community, all of whom in one way or another seek to realize the great American Dream that built our fine nation. This is the dream my grandparents and parents dreamt in a second language, Italian an Sicilian, the manner in which your forefathers may have dreamt as well. Alas, over the past 15 years, I’ve often been a solitary voice for adult ESL students, and beseech you with the utmost respect to consider the continuation of English classes in our city. When non-natives come here, they enhance our renown, our reputation, and also our revenue. I realize it’s a challenge to work out the logistics of the City taking over the ESL classes, but consider the fact that we welcome the world entire to tour, dine, shop, have medical procedures --- let us not draw the line at the most noble of all human pursuits, that of learning. Many of my students are the parents and grandparents of the children in our K-12 schools, and need English to help with homework and to cogently discuss their children’s progress. Many of the mothers are embarrassed to attend a PTA meeting. Think about that! As we prepare to celebrate the 100th birthday of Beverly Hills, let proudly raise the flags of Iran, Spain, Israel, Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, France, Ecuador, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Armenia, Latvia, Bolivia, Mongolia, Portugal, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Germany, Chile, Colombia, LebanonNigeria, and last but not least SWEDEN… If I’ve left any countries out, I apologize. I’ve been honored to teach adult students from all these countries, eager individuals whom we’ve hosted either permanently or temporarily. They come to us from all disciplines, teachers, engineers, attorneys, doctors, rabbis, priests, visiting scholars from UCLA and USC, consulate members --- and all these fine people deserve to be acknowledged, honored and included in our centennial celebration. How much more poignant our celebration would be if we continue to offer them the study of English, the official language of the land. These worthy people desire to be a part of the elegant tapestry of our city and of our United States, but without a mastery of English they will only participate in the shadows and in subtitles.
