Bilingual Education Essays (2455 words) - Linguistic Rights

Bilingual Education Bilingual education programs have been implemented for decades. Non-English speaking students in bilingual education programs, however, have shown no academic or social improvement compared to similar students in English-only schools. The disadvantages of bilingual education programs outnumber the advantages. In addition, recent statistics suggest the need for reconstruction of the present bilingual education programs. Schools began teaching academics in languages other than English as early as the 1700's, but not until the 1960's did society recognize the hundreds of thousands of non-English speaking students struggling in the current system. Before that time, immigrants were enrolled in non-English schools. The fight for a bilingual education program started during the Civil Rights Movement. Immigrants, especially Latin and Mexican Americans, observed the progress that African Americans were making and decided to fight for "equal education." More than 50 percent of Spanish speaking students were dropping out of school each year. The schools found a definite need for intervention. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Bilingual Education Act which provided federal assistance to school districts to develop bilingual education programs. Bilingual education programs were designed to teach non-English speaking students in their native language. Theoretically, with this kind of instruction, students' test scores and college admittance would increase and lead to brighter career paths for students not proficient in English. Federal law was expanded in 1974 when the Equal Education Opportunity Act was signed in order to strengthen the rights of non-English speaking students. This act ruled that public schools must provide programs for students who speak little or no English. Rosalie Porter, author of "The Case Against Bilingual Education," additionally points out that this was the first time that the Federal Government "dictated" how non-English speaking students should be educated (28). With such government support, bilingual education looked like a program that would be the solution for the education of non-English speaking students. Erie 2 The bilingual education program has a noble purpose and worthwhile objectives. The purpose of the bilingual education program is to teach non-English speaking students in their native language, therefore improving their academic achievement and giving them more educational opportunities. Noted writer Brian Taylor author of "English for the Children," points out the many objectives of the bilingual education program: the first objective is to teach students basic academic subjects in their native language therefore increasing their academic progress. The program was also designed to teach the students both reading and writing skills in their native language and eventually to immerse them into classes taught in English. Students in bilingual education programs learn English from the time they enter school. All their academic classes, however, are taught in their native language. After three years of English instruction, students are put into English-only classes. The purpose of these objectives is to preserve the students' culture at school (Taylor). As reported from "Education Week on the Web," bilingual education programs are based on a maintenance program which preserves the students' native language skills while teaching English as a second language ("Bilingual Education"). This program would make it easier for the student to learn English without risking success in academic classes. Bilingual education programs sound beneficial; however, after implementation for over 30 years, the results seen from bilingual education are not as positive as one would expect. Bilingual education programs have not lived up to expectations. Bilingual education programs are costing the United States billions of dollars. Statistics show that students in these programs are not showing academic improvement. The programs rely too much on native languages which leads to further segregation. Students in California have suffered the most from bilingual education programs. More than 25 percent (1.4 million) of the students in California public schools are not proficient in English, and only five percent are gaining proficiency each year. Many students leave school with limited spoken English and almost no ability to read and write in English (Taylor). In some cases, California students in bilingual education programs have taken more than eight years to complete, rather than the expected three years. Each year, only six Erie 3 percent of Californian children in bilingual education classes are adequately prepared to move into English classes. Unfortunately, drop-out rates are also increasing. Seventeen percent of Hispanics in bilingual classes drop out compared to the ten percent in English instruction classes. Latinos in bilingual education programs have statistics similar to those of students in English-only schools (Taylor). Bilingual education programs are not solving the problem they were intended to solve. National test scores have shown that bilingual education students are improving at the same rate as students taught only in