"My Story"

September 1, 1997

My parents along with several other relatives came to the US between 1955-1961. All of their children were raised speaking only Spanish at home. When it was time for us to start school none of my cousins or myself spoke English. We absorbed the language like a sponge plus we were able to bounce back and forth between English and Spanish. If anything we were ahead of the game being able to speak two languages at an early age. Today we are also fluent in both languages and the majority of us continued into higher education and currently have successful careers.

I do not see any advantage in bilingual education. It only perpetuates segregation in the classroom and not allowing the child to grow and develop at the same level as his or her peers. I have no objection in teaching children a second language -- as a matter of fact it would be ideal. Being a Latina I know my views are probably not very popular among the Latino community. But it is my firm belief that Latino children will not benefit from bilingual education.

Arlene Jimenez