Carlos Banuelos remembers the daily humiliation. It came each morning of the 1st grade, when his teacher called his name during attendance.

“Beenweelos,” she would shout.

“She never got it right,” said Banuelos (pronounced bah-nway-loce), whose family came to Chicago from Mexico shortly before he was born.

Banuelos grew up speaking Spanish at home but attended schools in which only English was spoken. As a result, he said, he flunked 1st grade.

“It lowered my self-esteem,” he said.

Now 39, Banuelos is the bilingual coordinator at Jane Addams School on Chicago’s Southeast Side. He and others hope never again to see children endure humiliation for not knowing English.

That is why Banuelos and 50 teachers, parents and children marched along South Ewing Avenue on Saturday to protest a new state law that the group fears could result in schools doing away with bilingual education requirements. They plan to take several busloads of parents Wednesday to Springfield, where they will protest the law on the state Capitol steps.

Under the law, Illinois schools can seek waivers from state education rules if they can prove that the schools can operate more economically and efficiently without the requirements. Only special education, teacher certification and union bargaining are.

The law’s aim, supporters said, is to put control back in the hands of the schools. Public hearings must be held by local school boards before any requirements are waived. All waivers also must be reviewed by the Illinois State Board of Education, and those that are denied can be appealed directly to the General Assembly.

Marta Gomez, president of a Chicago bilingual parents committee, said the state needs to provide more money to improve bilingual education and should not be opening the door to the possible elimination of the programs.

For example, at Addams Elementary, 10810 S. Avenue H, pupils from 1st through 4th grades who are taught in English and Spanish are placed in the same classes.

“And they don’t even have their own classroom. They meet in the school library,” Gomez said. “When they have tests, some of them take them in the bathroom.”

Banuelos teaches another bilingual class of 15 older children in the hallway.

“We need to give more support to all the programs,” said John West, principal at James Thorp Elementary School, 8914 S. Buffalo Ave., who joined the marchers.

Representatives from five area schools carried placards with messages such as, “Two languages are better than one,” as they walked from Addams through the heart of the Southeast Side neighborhood and back to the school. They chanted, “Queremos ser bilingue. We want to be bilingual,” and several passing drivers tooted their horns in support.

One passing man, however, shouted, “Habla Ingles,” which means, “Speak English.”

Banuelos said, “We are teaching them English. The whole point of bilingual education is to teach them both languages.”

Thorp students Kenia Bugarin, 12, and Michelle Arceo, 11, agreed.

“There are kids in my class who don’t know English,” said Kenia.

Michelle said, “If there are no (bilingual education) teachers, who is going to teach those kids?”



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