Californian lining up key English-only endorsements
DENVER - A California entrepreneur is lining up key endorsements for a constitutional amendment that would require Colorado teachers to teach only in English. On Friday, two former Denver Board of Education members - Laura Lefkowits and Lynn Coleman - voiced their support for the English for the Children measure. If the amendment makes it to the November 2002 ballot and passes, students who do not speak English would be given one year in a language immersion program before being put in English-only classrooms. "Bilingual education doesn't work," said Lefkowits, who served on the board from 1995 to 1999. "It relegates kids to a lower status in the education arena." English for the Children is being pushed by Ron Unz, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who successfully passed a similar initiative in California and is trying to put another on the ballot in Massachusetts. English as Second Language teachers at Colorado Springs District 11 have said the proposal wouldn't work in the classroom. Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, a substitute teacher and ESL instruction, also criticized the plan. "The problem is a forced timeline," said Cloer, who taught English in Mexico. "Every child learns at a different level and at a different pace. "To throw them into English-only classes only hampers their growth opportunities in other classes, such as history, math and science." For now, the measure has many hurdles to cross before it can go on the ballot. Next week, the secretary of state's office will review the measure to see if it meets the constitutional requirements to be an amendment. If the measure is approved by the state, the group would have to gather enough signatures - more than 80,000 - to get the issue on the November ballot. The measure has backing from some members of the state's Latino population. Many Spanish-speaking parents want their children to learn English and be taught in English. Denver resident Lupe Martinez, who speaks Spanish, petitioned her local elementary school to keep her two boys, ages 9 and 6, out of bilingual education classes. "This is their country, and English is the language of this country," Martinez said. "It should be the language of my kids." BILINGUAL EDUCATION Often, school districts give lessons to non-English speaking students in their native language. At the same time, the students are often enrolled in programs to help them learn English. Students may stay in bilingual education until they are able to move into the regular English-speaking classrooms. There is not a time limit on how long they have to learn the language. But a California businessman wants to put a constitutional amendment on Colorado's November 2002 ballot that would give students one year to learn English before they are put in English-only classrooms. |