Pros and Cons on Bilingual Education

The bilingual approach is only one of several alternatives to the integration of large numbers of non-English speakers into American society. The editorial employed catchy terminology and assumptions cloaked as pure truths.

The editorial called the results of the Los Angeles teachers’ poll “distorted,” yet you didn’t explain why you said the results “can safety be ignored.” That is like saying an opinion which differs from mine is not valid. The editorial said “the bilingual approach has proven itself over the past 10 years.” In reality we have low test scores and a high drop-out rate. Worst of all you called the people in favor of total immersion “a small minority of teachers.” I welcome your polling all teachers in California to find out why the majority of teachers is against bilingual education. It is a failure.

I have taught bilingual elementary students for two school districts in five schools. I am presently a bilingual resource teacher. In my present position I have taught all elementary grades. I have the California Bilingual Certificate of Competence and I am multilingual.

A bilingual class would frustrate Sisyphus more than his stone. A bilingual teacher works in a room just as overcrowded as that of the monolingual teacher and gets less consideration. In Los Angeles a monolingual teacher in a bilingual class gets a part-time aide and four years to pass the BCC. Until a teacher passes the test, the teacher is threatened and harassed. I was. A teacher who has lived and taught in the West Valley for 30 years can be bumped by a Spanish speaker with 90 college units and an inability to communicate in English.

I worked at one school where we had an imported teacher from Madrid who could not speak English. If the teacher does pass the BCC test, the reward is that the aide is pulled out to save the district money since the teacher now has a paper saying, “I can do it alone.” Next comes double the reading groups, double the preparation time, sacrificing any personal life while receiving the same pay.

A true, workable bilingual class would have fewer students, a full-time aide and equal status for English and the other language. Instead, politics leaves us with overcrowded classes minus decent texts and resources. There are two major problems: 1) There is not enough correctly spent money. 2) Supporters of the present bilingual education are too vocal and too stubborn to concede failure. In these days of overcrowded classrooms, total immersion can work better.

I have had success with both styles; however I enjoyed total immersion more. My students were very successful and proud of themselves.

There are many ways to teach children of other languages. In lieu of smaller class size and better resources to make our bilingual classes workable, we need the freedom to implement manageable programs.

MICHAEL KLEMPNER

Yucaipa