Fixing Bilingual Ed
Any policy that's been around for 25 years ought to be reexamined. But when the likes of Randy Mastro and Ron Unz take the lead, examination of bilingual education means something else. Where have these two been in advocating for better education for Latinos during the last eight years? Nowhere. But now, playing on the known inadequacies of the educational system, Rudy Giuliani confidant Mastro and the Task Force on Bilingual Education that he heads are ready to exploit parents who are desperate for their children to succeed — all for political gain. We ignore the real issue when we engage in a debate about "bilingual education," just as when the mayor talks about "blowing up" the Board of Education. Both are nonissues. The real issue is improving the education of all children, white, black and brown. Without doubt, bilingual ed needs to be reformed. So does the entire system. The percentage of students who participate in bilingual education is small. Of all the Latino students, only one-third require it. When we focus on this issue, we miss the larger point: Teaching must be improved for all children, in all classrooms. What about the two-thirds of Hispanic kids who don't need bilingual ed? They don't need a debate about a program that's irrelevant to them. They need leaders who give them the best education possible. It is a disgrace that so many English language learners are taught by uncertified individuals who are not even bilingual themselves! It is a disgrace that we dump young people with certain surnames into bilingual classes, just as we do into special education because of their race. We need to defer to the Board of Education's Committee on Bilingual Education, which has provided excellent research and sound recommendations. There are real problems with bilingual education, but our drive to fix them must be grounded in science, not political science. I refused to testify before Mastro's task force because I don't believe in legitimizing a body whose chairman is not an educator and who sees the speaker who best embodies his views as Ron Unz, a California millionaire. If such a body were important to the mayor, he would have appointed an expert to head it. It offends me that the commission wasted the time of the many parents who testified believing they were influencing the debate. They weren't. Giuliani's mind was already made up, and he should have just said so. Has anyone forgotten that the schools are under a consent decree, arrived at by Aspira, a Puerto Rican youth agency, and the Board of Education pursuant to a federal lawsuit? We must not be so arrogant as to think that knowing English is all that is necessary for success. As our world becomes more global, knowledge of a second language is critical. We should want to foster a truly multilingual school system. To say you want to end bilingual education is to make a political statement. To say that you want to improve educational opportunities across the board is to speak for all New York children. Ferrer is borough president of the Bronx |