Errors in the U.S. school system have made it possible for African-American students to be involved in bilingual classes. So far, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, but the strange thing is that they've been put to learn alongside Chinese speaking students also involved in bilingual programs. The motive for this is that the only available places that the black students could fill had been in the Chinese bilingual classes. (Chavez & Lyons)
Parents are not willing to accept having their English-speaking children being sent to bilingual classes any more. Students that aren't literate in English or Spanish are being prevented from learning English and from fitting in the American society.
The people that are not fond of bilingual education programs claim that the theory that children have to learn and write in their maternal language first in order to learn English properly is a myth. Californians are among those most unsatisfied about bilingual education. "Bilingual education is working so poorly in California that the state Board of Education is backing off from forcing school districts to use native-language instruction." (Chavez & Lyons)
Hispanics from Santa Ana appear to think differently than the rest of California when regarding bilingual education. As Valerie Richardson claims, a numerous number of parents have asked for their children to be kept in bilingual programs. (Richardson)
The reason for why bilingual education isn't working properly is that its supporters have often forgotten what the initial purpose of the programs was. "Bilingual education too often falls victim to political, economic, and social forces that feed on unfavorable attitudes toward bilingual programs, teachers, students, their families, languages, and cultures." (Brisk, Maria Estela pp.161)
Bilingual education has been one of the most controversial school programs ever since its appearance. An issue with the act is that most people fail from understanding it correctly and they hurry to give a verdict.
Bilingual teaching helps students to carry on with their English-speaking colleagues in matters such as math and sciences. It is easier for Spanish-speaking children...
Bilingual programs had appeared as a result of the Hispanic children that have mostly been illiterate.
As most Hispanic children are being enrolled in normal schools, their national identity is being lost little by little. The American people initially wanted to make the Native-Americans assimilate and behave as white people did.
Bilingual programs help children of mostly any ethnicity integrate in the U.S. society. Furthermore, students are not being left behind because of the fact that they are not familiar with the English language. It is extremely hard for a non-English speaking child to deal with everything that implies living in an English-speaking country.
Bilingual education programs are very effective when they are being done according to the rules.
Works Cited
Krashen, Stephen. "Why Bilingual Education?," Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Ericdigests Web site: http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-3/bilingual.html
Linda Chavez, and James J. Lyons, "Q: Is Bilingual Education Failing to Help America's Schoolchildren?," Insight on the News 3 June 1996, Questia, 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000358053.
Mar'a Estela Brisk, Bilingual Education From Compensatory to Quality Schooling (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998) 1, Questia, 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14165477.
Natalie Cerda & Christina M. Hernandez, "Bilingual Education,"Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Bilingual Education Web site: http://www.freewebs.com/cerdahdz/historyofbilingualed.htm
Richard Rothstein, "Bilingual Education: The Controversy," Phi Delta Kappan 79.9 (1998), Questia, 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001343556.
Valerie Richardson, "Bilingual Education, Race to Collide in California Recall," the Washington Times 28 Jan. 2003: A03, Questia, 23 Feb. 2009 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000648938.
