Teaching English

Thomas Fuller
San Francisco Chronicle (Letters)
May 9, 1998

While I heartily agree with Margo Freistadt's Open Forum article regarding the merits of a bilingual education program ("Another View on the Unz Initiative," May 6) the big issue at hand is not about bilingual education. It is about how to quickly get all non-English speaking children proficient enough in English to be able to excel in the majority of California's public schools, where bilingual education will probably continue to be the exception, rather than the rule, for many years to come.

Based upon my experience, I believe that Proposition 227 will help to achieve this goal. My two oldest sons moved from San Francisco to Europe at the ages of 6 and 9 without any knowledge of a foreign language. Only after a few months of intensive French language courses, they plunged into a French school where they both did very well academically.

We must quickly improve the capacity of non-English-speaking children to acquire an English- based education if they are to have any chance of succeeding in today's competitive world. Setting a time limit is worth a try.