Sociological / Psycholinguistic   Bases of Bilingual Education

Notebook: 08, AZ, CO, look to curtail Bilingual Education

I really try to have empathy with the Unz group, an organization whose purpose is to drastically reduce the number of children served by bilingual education. They believe that bilingual education has failed, that many bilingual programs exist simply to hoard power for their linguistic sub-culture. I try to understand their point of view and I just can’t make it work from what I know.

 If Unz and his minions have there way, AZ and CO will join California as one year English Immersion programs take over the task of educating English language learners.

 I have yet to come across a parent or student for that matter, who did not want to learn English, el mas rapido possible, parents often come to me asking how they can help their sons and daughters improve their English language abilities (I tell them to take their kids to the library and to be sure to practice their own English at home even if they only know a little bit –half an hour or an hour a night but not to go overboard and do it all the time as the second best thing they can do for their kids is model their profound first language skills, and engage their kids in intellectual conversations that they find interesting- ).

 I think that it is true that there is pressure on teachers in Texas to teach to the TAAS, and only teach to the TAAS, thus leaving little time for ESL. Bilingual education is taking the fall for high stakes nature of the TAAS, a test that by the way offers little assessment outside the area which Alma Flor Ada calls the Descriptive Phase. 

 I am on one hand glad that AZ and CO’s voters may have the opportunity to decide the manner in which their English language learners are educated. It will lead to higher awareness. People will have to think and talk about education, something few non-teachers often do.

 The down side to the debate is the sure presence of propaganda and rhetoric on both sides. Making it difficult to choose one as superior to the other as you suspect that both are painting their grass a little greener than what it really is.

Course Components:

1. Cognitive Theories Paper  
2. Legal Cases Analytical Paper  
3. Presentation 
4. Notebook  
5. Paper  
6. Professional Development