Bilingual Education

Trying to cope with the bilingual flood by hiring more aides is like trying to shore up a crumbling dike with a handful of people (“Coping With a Bilingual Flood,” editorial, Nov. 22). The solution to educating almost 200,000 non-English speaking students is complex and involves a restructuring of the current program and rethinking about the best and most realistic approach available to schools and teachers.

The new program which went into effect this year (Bilingual Master Plan) is unrealistic in dealing with the current problems in that it has made the criteria for exiting from Spanish to English instruction incredibly difficult. Students must pass a test in Spanish reading, comprehension and written composition and show evidence of skills beyond most native English-speaking students at the same grade level.

Teachers need the freedom to try alternative methods and techniques which will take into account the particular needs of their students. Schools are now restricted by the rigid, unrealistic mandates of the Bilingual Master Plan which limits rather than encourages creative solutions to helping students succeed in school. Instead of a gradual transition to English instruction, students may be instructed in Spanish well into junior high school. This is not an acceptable solution to an overwhelming problem.

MARJORY WOOLF

Woodland Hills