Bilingual 'joke'

By: Pedro A. Romero
Letters, The Fresno Bee
October 16, 1997, p. B6.

Bilingual education? What a joke. I wish all non-English speakers would be sent through a crash course in English and then put into the mainstream, and bilingual education elimated from the curriculum at all schools.

To be successful in this country, you need to speak fluent English. What are we preparing non-English speaking students for with bilingual education? An exciting career mowing lawns? Or maybe a job washing dishes or working in the fields. These are not dishonorable jobs, but these students can shoot higher if they can speak fluent English.

The liberals are the ones trying to keep our children from learning English. Why? So our children can be led like sheep into the liberal agenda. This is more callous than any other practice I have witnessed in recent years, because it involves our children.

We are responsible for our children, and I will not let my children be kept from learning English. Barring students from English is the most heartless thing we can do to our children. We need to end this cruel practice called bilingual education.