Bilingual turnabout
Editorial
Two years ago, Californians went to the polls to express themselves on the subject of bilingual education. They had done so previously on the issues of affirmative action and illegal immigration, and both of those had produced really rancorous public debates. There was some fear that it would be the same with Prop. 227, the bilingual education measure. But it didn't happen. As it turned out, a lot of Californians were ready to make an outright rejection of the old, patient approach to bilingual education. And, as it turns out, a lot of those Californians are beginning to feel vindicated. Annual test scores are showing the beginnings of a quick upturn in the performance of limited-English students. So sharp is the apparent improvement that it's made a believer out of Oceanside schools superintendent Ken Noonan, who founded the California Association of Bilingual Educators 30 years ago. After long reliance on the conventional wisdom, that it would take seven years to give practical English skills to Spanish-speaking youngsters, he dutifully embraced the faster track of Prop. 227 -- and his schools have improved faster than most. He acknowledges it freely -- a dramatic shift that compliments his dedication as an educator. That's the spirit in which this whole issue ought to be reviewed (and, note, that review is only just beginning). It is, after all, a quest for success. Well before the Prop. 227 vote, waves of poor test scores had exhausted a lot of public tolerance for the slower approach to bilingual education. The State Board of Education had already given local districts some freedom to explore other methods. But the June 1998 vote demonstrated how broad was the public dissatisfaction. Prop. 227 became one of the most successful initiatives in state history, winning 61 percent of the statewide vote. In Riverside County, it pulled 67.3 percent; in San Bernardino County, 64.5 percent. There was even a notable showing of core support among Asian-Americans and Hispanics. This newspaper shared that public dissatisfaction, but disliked Prop. 227 for its rigidity. It was a fast-track to full immersion, with a one-year transition from Spanish to English, and that didn't seem like one size that would fit all. It didn't seem to leave much room for local option, local decision-making. But districts, schools, teachers and students did adapt, and in their own ways. Some districts did a sharp about-face, some wheeled more cautiously into line, some dug in and sought waivers. Now that the flow of feedback is beginning, the process of appraisal and adjustment -- of picking out models to emulate -- can start in earnest for everyone. And, it appears, we can start that process from a positive point: California's kids seem to be capable of more than many of us had given them credit for. |