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"My Story"

September 1, 1997

I too wasted my time as a young child in a so-called bilingual program. Luckily, my parents realized that I wasn't being taught English and placed me in a different school. That was 1962, I was six years old and in first grade. My family and I had immigrated to the US from Cuba the year before. It is amazing to me to see how little has changed.

I think that non English-speaking children should be taught basic English, and nothing else, before being placed in the regular curriculum. The definition of "Basic English" will be different for a first-grader than for a tenth-grader. The English course could last a few days for the former and a few months for the latter due to its greater content.

Being main-streamed may be hard for a child, as it was for me 35 years ago, but not as difficult as a life with limited opportunities.

Diogenes, the Greek philosopher and teacher, is credited with saying: "The foundation of every state is the education of its youth." It is as true today as it was in 300 B.C.

Gene Delgado
Washington, DC