Bilingual Education and Dropout Rates

The concern and historical perspective given by Richard Rothstein about the history surrounding bilingual education in the U.S. provides good background in understanding how past immigrants were educated (Opinion, Oct. 26).

He may be drawing incorrect inferences in reference to the Jews of 1910 who had a higher dropout rate than the Latino population of today. This inference was also drawn about the Italian population. While it is worth noting the statistics of the Latino school population today, they don’t compare to those of the Jews of 1910. Child labor laws did not take effect until 1938. Children of that era did drop out of school to work and help their families. Their education may have not been related to dropping out.

Nevertheless, adopting school curriculum by initiative would be a dangerous precedent. We look to expert studies and data from that information to drive the curriculum that benefits children, not political movements.

SHEILA HOFF

Rancho Palos Verdes

Is Rothstein implying that the Jewish immigrants of 1910 dropped out of school because of language difficulties? Make him read a little about economic history. He’ll find out that the high school dropouts did that not because of language difficulties but because they had to go to work and didn’t have time for the “higher education” of high school.

DAVID FEIGN

Santa Ana

As a perpetual immigrant who has lived the greater portion of my life in Southern California, floating in and out of two cultures and two languages (Amharic, i.e., Ethiopian) on a daily basis, it was a great delight to read Sandra Cisneros’ article (Opinion, Oct. 26). She speaks so loudly on bicultural-bilingual reality, with so much love, sensitivity and courage, using her personal experience to speak for millions of us across this land.

Many are quick to remind us how heavy or light our accent is, not willing to recognize the amount of effort one has to put in to acquire a foreign language. There should be little argument why one has to have a working knowledge of the English language, if success is what one has in mind here in America, but not at the expense of disowning deeply rooted cultural wisdoms by writing them off as simple-minded, or as Cisneros reminds us as “superstition.”

In light of the heightened awareness facing bilingual education in California, this article should be considered as a vehicle to greater understanding of cultural diversity in California and perhaps this nation.

BETE WOLDEYOHANNES

Pasadena