Term Paper on "Bilingual Education Controversy"

Term Paper 10 pages (3205 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Bilingual Education:

The Controversy

The controversy over the concept and practice of bilingual education is hardly new. Although most people trace the beginnings of the debate to the 1970's Supreme Court finding that non-native English speakers (particularly new immigrants), were not receiving the equal education guaranteed them by the law (CPJ, 1997), the debate has actually long been a part of United States History. Interestingly, however, most American voters have little knowledge about the long history of bilingual education, and instead somehow imagine that the best and only "logical" way to immerse new immigrant students into the "mainstream" is to immediately place them in an all English setting. Although this is the view of many, it is particularly telling that large numbers of politicians and political parties jump on the bilingual bandwagon -- either for or against, seemingly pointing to a larger issue of the importance of "assimilation" that has nothing to do with academic success.

Few native English speakers who have attended public schools in the last 30 years or so have not had the experience of passing by the "Spanish classroom," (or Russian, Vietnamese, or any other representation of a local immigrant demographic), while perhaps catching a glimpse of the "goings-on." There, one might see math, social studies, or even personal economics classes being conducted not in English, but in another language. Of course, the idea behind this practice is that it (in keeping with the 1970's Supreme Court finding), helps to prevent non-English speaking students from falling significantly behind their peers in key subjects other than English while they master the language (Rumbaut, 1995). However, there is also significant controversy concerning this view -- the official line of reasoning seems to be that it delays the learning of English in a way that total immersion would not -- thereby placing the student at a distinct disadvantage overall in an all English society.

Indeed, many against bilingual education argue that the value of English above all other languages presents a de-facto argument that its mastery is of paramount importance -- almost above all other factors. Although many foreign university students clearly demonstrate that their preparation in other subject areas in their native languages prepare them well for a future in higher education, this notion is ignored by the pro-total immersion camp. Instead, they argue that the place of English as the lingua franca (Farlex, 2004) of the entire world, "due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the United Kingdom and later the United States (Farlex)." As such, the language is essential for success in later life in any higher endeavor or occupation.

However, just how the opponents of bilingual education know that total immersion is the "way to go" is unclear. Indeed, as many point out, past experience certainly does little to support this assertion. As Richard Rothstein, author of the 1998 book, the Way We Were? points out:

Immersing immigrants in an English-language school program has been effective -- usually by the third generation. On the whole, immigrant children spoke their native language; members of the second generation (immigrants' native-born children) were bilingual, but not sufficiently fluent in English to excel in school; members of the third generation were fluent in English and began to acquire college educations. For some groups (e.g., Greek Americans), the pattern more often took four generations; for others (e.g., Eastern European Jews), many in the second generation may have entered college (Rothstein, 1998).

Thus, as Rothstein points out, one has to wonder just what the anti-bilingual education camp draws upon when it makes the claim that the abolition of bilingual classrooms will necessarily solve the problem of acquiring high-level functionality in an English-only curriculum setting. The simple truth is, there is no historical precedent that points out the superiority of all-English immersion programs rather than a bilingual system. In fact, again as pointed out by the Supreme Court finding, the opposite seems to be the case. As Rothstein writes, "...if we've never successfully educated the first or even second generation of children from peasant or unskilled immigrant families, we are dealing with an unprecedented task, and history can't guide us (Rothstein). if, then one has to wonder...if history is not prompting those against the practice of bilingual education to oppose it, what exactly is?

Of course the issue of immigrant assimilation is an underlying component to this issue that cannot be ignored. As many have experienced, the view of many "mainstream" Americans represented coarsely by the statement, "You're in America now, speak English!" Few who have heard this statement spoken in any real-life situation can fail to notice the faint (or, perhaps more commonly, obvious) tone of anger often accompanying the words -- an anger that perhaps points to more than a mere frustration at the unfortunate immigrant-in-question's poor communication skills. Instead, what really seems to be the subject at hand is "You're in America now, be American!" Not only does this seem to be the real issue, but it also seems to represent the large majority of anti-bilingualism that is represented by the political "Right," and their representatives.

Take, for example, the following excerpt, taken from an article on the "Intellectual Conservative" website, entitled, "Fast Track Assimilation Could Offer Escape from Poverty":

Fluency in English is an obvious first step that alone creates more opportunity than any other element of assimilation, since it not only increases an individual's marketability but makes possible the further acculturation upon which future progress rests. Immigrants have a long road to travel under the best of circumstances, and bilingual education programs that retard their entry into the English-speaking world serve only those who make their living teaching in such programs (Myers, 2004).

Obviously, this viewpoint seems to be based on many assumptions that are hardly proven. First, of course, one has to wonder if the salaries are so high for ESL teachers, particularly in the nation's public school system that there could really be a temptation to further those programs at the expense of unsuspecting immigrant students and their families. Second, once again, there seems to be a "given" assumption that the bilingual system of education necessarily retards English acquisition -- or that other factors might be involved. Further, there is a clear and unapologetic leaning toward the necessity of stripping "all things foreign" from this great land that seems to be the real underlying issue. Consider Myers continuation of his argument:

Along with the acquisition of English, immigrants need to feel a sense of belonging to a culture and nation bigger than themselves or their pasts. For that reason, American history should be taught from primary schools all the way through the undergraduate level. And here let us stipulate that this must include the founding and the Founders, the struggles to carve a free land out of both wilderness and foreign empire, and the success of earlier generations of immigrants - be they English or Latinos - in building America into the greatest nation on earth. Bowdlerized texts and politically correct interpretations have no place in this curricula (Myers).

Of course, one has to wonder just what place the Native Americans had in the "carving out" process he refers to -- again, a point that seems to raise the real issue of "otherness" as offensive to mainstream American culture. However, if this is the "real" issue behind the push against bilingual education, some might ask just why so many immigrant rich communities also seem to oppose it.

Again, much can be learned from the history of bilingual education in the United States, even on this issue. Take for example, again, Rothstein's study on the past experiences of the educational system with bilingual education. He writes:

Many immigrant children...did not attend school at all if they could not have classes in their native language. In his 1840 address to the New York legislature, Gov. William Seward (later Lincoln's secretary of state) explained that the importance of attracting immigrants to school -- and of keeping them there -- motivated his advocacy of expanded native-language instruction: "I do not hesitate to recommend the establishment of schools in which [immigrant children] may be instructed by teachers speaking the same language with themselves." Only by so doing, Gov. Seward insisted, could we "qualify... [them] for the high responsibilities of citizenship."(Rothstein, 1998).

Although then Gov. Seward seemed to think that education (perhaps, more than linguistic uniformity), could help to "qualify them for the high responsibilities of citizenship," there existed a phenomenon, even in his day of immigrant parents and communities, themselves, in opposition to the practice of bilingualism in schools. Take, for example, the findings of a 1843 committee established by the then, Public School Society, charged with determining whether an Italian-language school should be established in New York City. As Rothstein relates, the Public School Society eventually recommended against the establishment of the school, claiming that "...the Italian community was itself divided," and that, in the words of the committee:

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