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May 27, 1997 Dear Gloria Tuchman, I read with great interest the article written about you in the "Accent" section of the Orange County Register and it inspired me to write this letter. Let me tell you about myself. I am 26 years old and it is my third year teaching at Ramona Elementary located in Montclair. I taught 2nd grade my first year, but for the page 2 years I have taught 3rd grade. I have always had a monolingual class (Spanish). At Ramona, K-2 is taught Spanish. I fought to change 3rd grade to Transition English. Luckily, I have a great principal who believes the same way I do. My parents were immigrants from Portugal and only spoke Portuguese to me. So when I entered school I did not know English. I was immersed into English and succeeded very well. Did they have Portuguese classes for me? No. I did just fine. So why can't we eliminate this nonsense called bilingual education? I think it is the government's way of keeping Mexican-Americans as second class citizens. It is segregation and it is wrong! My students are so excited to come to third grade because they get to learn English. Then there are those students who are too embarrassed to speak English and don't want to try. I think immersion in Kindergarten is the best solution. Otherwise, limited English speakers will always be behind the other students. I have found that at many schools there are those who are for bilingual education and there are those people, like myself, who think it is insane. I want to see it change. I don't know how to go about it. I am writing you to let you know you have my full support. I would like to help you, if I can. Everyone says it is a hopeless cause because it is such a political topic. Are they right? In full support, |