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I learned English in Texas Fred Z. Rosas
A recent article in the Gwinnett section, "Getting children launched in school," reflected on accommodations made by the Gwinnett school system for students needing language training. Appalling is that "It takes years for children, even young ones, to learn English well enough to keep up in school." My first-grade teacher would have been shocked at the amount of time and money being spent on bilingual education. She was a highly professional teacher dedicated to getting her students academically qualified and proficient in English for the next grade. It would have been incomprehensible for her to teach both in Spanish and English. My Texas elementary school was composed of 100 percent Hispanic students, one Hispanic teacher (first grade) and the rest Anglos. One of the school rules was that Spanish was prohibited in the classrooms and on the school grounds, with strict discipline for those who ignored the rules. This encouraged us to practice our English at recess, during lunch and at home. It became a competition among us to see who learned more words and clearly articulated them. Using a similar concept, the Army Language School in Monterrey, Calif., has been teaching foreign languages for decades. Local school systems today are trying to teach in world languages at a high cost to taxpayers and to the detriment of the majority of students. California's Proposition 227 was a message from parents to educators. There are better ways to integrate and educate aliens than by jeopardizing the education of our children. |