Thursday, March 19, 1998
Initiative will put bilingual programs
to the test
EDUCATION: If passed, Prop. 227 would totally eliminate
California’s current system
By Karla Pleitez
Daily Bruin Contributor
The faith of California voters in bilingual education will be
put to the test on the June ballot.
An initiative: "Children in Public Schools," written by Ron Unz,
chairman of One Nation/One California, and Gloria Matta Tuchman, a
Santa Ana educator, was subtitled the Unz initiative and is now
Proposition 227.
This initiative proposes to completely rid California of
bilingual education programs.
Bilingual education consists of a bilingual teacher, who fosters
the growth of the child’s acquisition of English by using the
child’s native language as a tool while mandatory time is set aside
for English instruction.
After three to five years, students are then completely immersed
in English-only instruction.
Proposition 227 argues that the best method to teach children
English is by only teaching them in English and not using the
child’s native language.
However, former bilingual education teacher and current UCLA Law
and Urban Planning graduate student, Jeff Hilger, believes
bilingual education is vital and is the best method to use so that
the child acquires the English language quickly and
effectively.
Educational experts believe it is absurd to try to force a
foreign language upon a child without offering the child’s mind a
"mainstream into the English language."
The initiative sets a "sheltered English immersion (for) a
temporary immersion period not to exceed one year." This criteria,
Unz has noted, is based on "common sense."
However, statistics have proven that children in K-3 need at
least two years of English in order to become moderately active
participants of an all English-speaking classroom. As the child
gets older he or she needs at least three to five years of English
instruction.
"It is of great value to teach in both the child’s native
language and English to allow an acquired transition to occur,"
Hilger said. "Such guidance, which includes both languages, helps
children avoid the trauma of total isolation."
Opponents also point out that the proposition will have
tremendous impact on culture issues.
Lina Velasco, the high school outreach coordinator for
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MEChA) believes that
Proposition 227 will give a child the message that his or her
native language is no longer necessary.
"The child is forced to forget his/her cultural memory by being
denied of the legitimacy of his/her language," added Enrique De La
Cruz, assistant director of the Asian American Studies Center.
If passed, Proposition 227 will go into effect 60 days after the
vote, which will force 1.4 million students out of fostered
bilingual education.
"Such a dramatic change will effect the child’s academic
performance and may even retard the acquisition of the English
language," Hilger said.
The proposal also encourages grouping by English proficiency
alone, which means children of all ages will be in one
classroom.
"Language acquisition is a developed cognitive process that may
vary with different cultures. The older you get the more difficult
it becomes to learn new things," De La Cruz said.
"Therefore, one size fits all will not work," he added.
Opponents also believe that one year of sheltered English with
many children of varying ages, in one classroom, will greatly
impact how these students face their educational career goals in
the future.
"If this proposition does pass and goes into affect, it is
almost certain that there will be a significant decrease in the
percentage of minority students in institutions for higher
learning," De La Cruz said.
"It is also likely that there will be an increased number of ESL
college students," he added.
Proponents of the bill argue that, under 227, parents are given
the option to transfer their children to bilingual classes.
The initiative requires parents to speak to the principal, who
would explain both the bilingual program and the program Unz is
proposing. After such a meeting the parent would be given a
petition to request bilingual education for his or her child.
However, oftentimes parents can only speak their own native
language.
"Voters must realize that these parents cannot comprehend the
English language. Hence, transferring children into bilingual
education would not be an option for immigrants if the Unz
initiative were to pass," De La Cruz said.
Often times the public has misconceptions of what bilingual
education does and because of these misunderstandings, some
first-generation parents object to their children being in such
programs.
"My parents never wanted me in bilingual education because they
believed that this program would deprive me of adequate
comprehension of both the English and Spanish language – they
believed the program was inefficient," said Diana Rivera, a
first-year political science student.
"My mother tried to do her best in schooling me, but learning
Spanish became difficult and I was made fun of for not being able
to speak or write my own language," she added.
However, Unz supporters continue to believe that bilingual
education is falling short of its original intentions.
"Bilingual education was supposed to help our children conquer
the business language, but instead it has become a program that
shows little faith in our children’s intellect," said David
Michelstein, former UCLA student and current Proposition 227
campaign volunteer.
"We let them stay in a failing program that only helps them fall
behind their peers in English classrooms. The Unz initiative will
give our children the lawful and moral right of being taught the
English language and in turn they will be given the economic
opportunity they deserve," he added.
Unz also argues that the bilingual education program is the
cause for poor academic achievement statewide.
"California currently (does) a poor job of educating immigrant
children, (and we are) wasting financial resources on costly
experimental language programs whose failure over the past two
decades is demonstrated by current high drop-out rates," Unz
said.
Statistics have shown that only 6 percent of bilingual education
students move into English speaking classrooms. It is also proven
that the drop out rate for those in bilingual education is more
than 35 percent.
However, supporters of bilingual education believe Unz is
unjustly attacking bilingual education.
"Bilingual education is not a failure. This program is not the
reason for high drop out rates from public schools, as can be seen
by the 40 percent of African Americans who drop out and the 18
percent of Caucasians," said Concepcion Valadez, an associate
professor in education.
"Voters in the June primary should look at the facts before they
commit California to the Unz initiative," she added. "This
initiative wants to strip our children of their pride, culture and,
most importantly, of a good education."