This is precisely why I believe in this and this, there are so many good arguments on both side of this issue, both sides seem to be passionate about it, that is why it is really just best to open it up to the free market, and let the best man win.

In that same time, however, there has been a significant increase in designation of RSP students. RSP is the politically correct replacement for special education designation. A disproportionate concentration of these RSP students are 2nd language learners.

Do you see the connection? I’m not putting forth anything racially motivated conspiracy, but rather revealing a breakdown in the educational results mandated by the elimination of bilinugal education.

As an example, History can be taught by lecture, video, simulation exercises, textbooks, etc. Evaluation of which lectures, videos, textbooks, etc. is legitimate & necessary. But mandating the singular use of lectures only - and now videos, simulations, or textbooks - is asinine.

The goal of bilingual education is English language fluency. That is where Unz & 227 presented a revisionist misrepresentation of bilingual education. The difference between the DIFFERENT MODELS for bilingual education is HOW English fluency will be best be taught.

Actually, I tend to agree with you. If a voucher system were implemented, I would have no problem at all allowing parents to choose which school to send their kid to, a bilingual one or an English only one. In addition, I would also not have a problem with each individual school choosing which program to follow, English only or bilingual.

However, being that we don’t have that, I would still err on the side of English only, albeit reluctantly. English only is more than just a method to more efficiently teach children English, you can also make the case that it is a funding issue; after all, if we can’t properly fund it, it is doomed to failure. And one can make the argument, again, on even shakier ground, that it is a cultural assimilation issue. Everybody should, while also retaining his or her original language, be able to speak English. And on top of all of this, I take what the educational establishment, specifically those running the schools at the local level, says with a grain of salt. History has shown that they know very little about what education works and what don’t. Granted, the politicians in Sacramento don’t know anything either, but at least they are the ones doing the funding.

So just as Sacramento can require schools to teach history, to teach math, or to teach biology, I can see a legitimate argument to allowing them to force schools to teach English only, but again, this also rests on my hunch that English only works better than bilingual education. So I am not 100% in agreement with my belief, but I am a bit more than 50% in agreement.

Your reference for increased scores in grades 2-5 could also reflect the ’survival’ language skills that I earlier referenced. Because the standardized tests follow a singular form that is reproduced across a wide audience, teacher’s can (and often are forced) to prepare students for test success, not long-term development.

Getting back to 227 & its connection to vouchers, don’t you - as a high-proponent of choice - believe that the choice for bilingual education should be handled like school voucher’s, where the decisions can be made locally, instead of being mandated & controlled by the state?

Israel,
Your 75% example is valid, though it is somewhat out of context. Again, there are various different models for bilingual education, all of which (except dual language instruction) aim at full-language immersion as the concluding point. Therefore, it is not dangerous to have a 3rd grader - who will continue on a progression - being instructed at 75% English, if it will increase their overall success. That is different than having a high-school senior being instructed by this model.

If you respond, please at least acknowledge that you are referring to 1 of several models - that vary by age, language proficiency, etc. - for bilingual education.

Interesting you mention the two students. I have a similar story. I have a little sister who is about the same age as my female cousin, they are less than a month apart in age. The two were going to overall the same quality of public school, but my sister was taking bilingual education and the cousin was not.

My dad, who primarily speaks Spanish, didn’t know which one was the better option. But after a few years, he noticed that my cousin could speak a lot better English than my sister. He immediately requested my sister be put in an English only environment, and to this day talks about the huge improvement that had on my sister.

Of course small studies like this are prone to error, since the sample space is very limited, but it adds a bit more credence to my already held hunch that English only is better for our children.

Scott, I check the website. The one thing that struck me was on line 13 which mentions that as much as 75% of the classes are taught in english. Well, most college classes and business are well over 75% and that is the crux of the problem. While I can agree that all children should learn more than one language, I still believe that it knocks those latinos down a peg which could be detrimental in this hyper competetive world.

My hunch is that the practical argument would still play a role here, but I don’t know much about it to say for sure. Again, I don’t get much into these day to day disagreements about how to educate our children; my focus is on the 600 lb gorilla, getting at the core of our educational problem, in other words, attacking the monopoly anti-market place structure of the system that encourages inefficiency and a lack of innovation. Or, to say it another way, I focus primarily on vouchers.

In this, I am focusing on younger students, K-5. Which reinforces my point. Different models need to be utilized for different stages of development. My wife, for example, came to the US when she was 14, having had a strong education in Mexico. She learned English well enough in 4 years to be accepted & attend a top 25 school.

But she already had Spanish language skills with which to build on. Her younger sisters, by contrast, speak “better” English (less accent) than her, but have performed less well in school.

So, seperate from teaching foreign language, where we agree, I am also talking about the best program for immersion of students into English.