America—the nation of immigrants—has avoided Balkanization in part because each succeeding wave of immigrants has learned the national tongue, English.

Most families have stories of members or ancestors who, “just off the boat,” knew not a word of English, but soon learned the language well enough to prosper in a free land. Until about 30 years ago, the successful method of learning the language was what’s called “total immersion”: Just get in there and learn the language in whatever way one can: books, radio, conversation, at school, etc.

Only in recent years has a new system been imposed by government: so-called “bilingual education,” in which schools are compelled to teach non-English speaking students in their own language, presumably until they master English.

In practice, bilingual education has seen generations of non-English speaking students get through school never mastering English.

California’s Little Hoover Commission recently branded bilingual education “inappropriate, unwarranted, not feasible, and counterproductive. “

Bilingual education survives because it is highly lucrative for schools, which receive subsidies for the programs from both California and U.S. taxpayers.

It’s worth noting that private and parochial schools disdain bilingual programs. When parents have to pay their own money, they most often choose to have their kids taught English the old, total-immersion way.

Bucking Willie Brown’s support of bilingual programs, fellow Democrat Dede Alpert of San Diego has introduced Assembly Bill 1041.

Although not entirely repealing bilingual programs, it would curtail them. Hearings are scheduled in the Assembly Education Committee early next month.

According to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, the bill would repeal the Bilingual-Bicultural Act of 1976, which required school districts to impose bilingualism. The Alpert bill “would require the State Department of Education to develop minimum pupil performance and achievement standards for limited-English-proficient pupils, for use by school districts . The bill would require each school district to determine the method of, or approach to, instructing limited-English-proficient pupils . ” Translation: School districts could develop their own programs to teach English. Some districts probably would keep bilingual programs.

But other districts could replace them with programs that just teach English.

This bill commands a vote of si , ja , da , or oui .



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