Bilingual Classes

Re “Bilingual Is a Damaging Myth,” Commentary, Oct. 19: As a rookie first-grade teacher at an inner-city school with a student population roughly 96% Latino, I too have seen negative aspects of the bilingual program. However, it is vital that we examine the whole picture instead of viewing the repeal of bilingual education as a cure-all for public schools’ woes.

Schools implemented bilingual education because the former sink-or-swim method of English immersion did not work. If such a program successfully addressed the needs of immigrant children, it would still be in place. Public schools have a host of other issues that society must attend before any educational program will succeed.

How can we recruit more experienced teachers to work in inner-city schools? How can we encourage new teachers to stay in the profession more than a year or two? How might we help parents to better aid their children in learning the “three Rs” in English when many parents can’t read or write in their native tongue? These are a few of the questions we must consider before launching any initiative that threatens to undermine the little stability there is in our educational program.

SIMON JOHN LAKKIS

Los Angeles