Bilingual Education Essay -- essays research papers fc

Bilingual Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education is very important. There use to be a time when you didn’t have to go to school. When it was only important for men to have an education. Times have really changed. Now it is crucial for everyone in our society to have an education. Survival is the main reason: a cohesive society is another. Our schools today need to keep Bilingual education as a tool for teaching: not only for the sake of our society but also for the sense of our culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bilingual education in our schools is crucial: but still there is talk about banning the use of foreign language in the instruction of our young children. We have to work to change that kind of attitude. We have to proceed from the assumption that bilingual Marquez 2 education is a sound educational proposition for all children and that it addresses the needs of all the constituencies of education. Now more than ever the words of Thomas Jefferson ring with special meaning: in 1977, in a letter to his nephew, Jefferson said: â€Å"Bestow great attention on Spanish and endeavor to acquire an accurate knowledge of it. Our future connections with Spain and Spanish America will render that language a valuable acquisition. The ancient history of that part of America, too, is written in that language†. (qt. in A Relook ’66). Hispanic leaders should plan an initiative to help Hispanic youths do better in school. It's a coming-together as a community to deal with a very pressing issue. The organizations should be composed of public officials, Marquez3 students, educators, administrators, and business people and should try to determine the biggest problems facing Latino students in their community. These groups need to work together to develop a statewide agenda. Hispanic students, according to some studies, lag behind other students in classroom performance; have the highest dropout rate of any ethnic group in the country; and, according to federal data, are less likely to pursue higher learning(Tucson ’66). We as a society, need to have a school system that prepares our students for higher education if that is their choice. Society needs to work together to change the educational process for Latino students. Consider these numbers, which we drew from As A Relook at Tucson ’66 states† Minority groups are being shortchanged by more than 20... ...important factors that influence student outcomes. There is much more work left to do by the schools if we are to enable LEP students to achieve at high academic levels. Improvement would have to focus on teachers, teaching, academic content and standards, Marquez14 accountability, school-wide leadership, program integration, parent involvement-and effective use of the native language to assure high level and meaningful learning for all students from the time they enter school. Proposition 227 removes an important tool -- use of the native language -- from the hands of educators it would only serve to make even more difficult the challenges of school improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A society with no education cannot compete in the modern world. We as a society need to fight to keep Bilingual education as a teaching tool in the schooling system. Marquez15 Works cited A relook at Tucson ’66 and beyond. Washington D.C. 1973. Leibowitz, Arnold. A bilingual education act: a legislative analysis. Virginia, 1980. The world book encyclopedia. (E vol. 6) Chicago: World Atlas Krashen, S. Under attack: The case against Bilingual Education. Culver City CA: 1996