Monday, September 29, 1997
Letters
LETTERS:
Bilingual Education
Editor: I am pleased to see your feature on Bilingual Education
in the Registration Issue of the Daily Bruin. I was interviewed by
Greg Mena, for the article titled "Bilingual programs frustrate
teachers, minority students," and am glad to know that you are
bringing such important topics to the awareness of our campus
community. I am glad to be of service.
I was quoted in the article, however, as having said "But a
classroom with an English-speaking teacher and a bilingual teaching
aid is not a bilingual program." I must clarify this because, taken
slightly out of context, it may be interpreted as a discrediting
comment on monolingual teachers who serve our schoolchildren.
I need to clarify here, if you would allow me, that monolingual
teachers, given the lack of fully-bilingual teachers, who are
trained and "proficient" in specific teaching strategies such as
SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) or TPR
(Total Physical Response) — just to name a few of the better-known
acronyms – can effectively, with the help of bilingual teaching
paraprofessionals and grouping strategies, create an environment
within a bilingual education program that is still sensitive and
responsive to the needs of the language minority (Limited English
Proficiency) students they serve.
Most of these dedicated professionals embark on language studies
themselves and become proficient in various degrees in the
languages of their students. Make no mistake: these are not the
"take-n-make" monolingual or even bilingual teachers who are
inadequately trained (linguistically and pedagogically) and are
paired up with bilingual paraprofessionals in order to classify a
classroom as "bilingual."
William D. Chang
Graduate student
School of Education & Information Science
Go basketball !
In her bizarre column in the registration issue, Hannah Miller
displays a lack of understanding not only of UCLA basketball, but
of much more. UCLA students are absolutely right to cheer for the
Bruin basketball team – especially a team as exciting and inspiring
as this year’s team under head coach Steve Lavin.
Miller says that basketball distracts the UCLA community from
more important activities, and vows that she will not allow herself
to be as distracted as the rest of us – as if sports, education,
and community service were somehow incompatible. Just last June,
UCLA Rhodes scholar and Olympic gold medalist Annette Salmeen
graduated to pursue her doctorate in biochemistry at Oxford.
Annette, an NCAA champion who holds three UCLA swimming records,
believes that science and athletics complement each other well.
Indeed, exercising mind and body is an ideal that dates back to
ancient Greece.
While Miller seems to be no fan of sports in general, she
focuses her attack on basketball – which she wrongly implies is not
a mental sport. Every year in college basketball, teams with
tremendous talent are defeated by well-coached, disciplined,
cohesive, smart teams whose players have less physical ability, but
who play better and smarter as a team. UCLA’s basketball team,
which has won 11 national championships and is rightfully a source
of great pride, is known for being exceptionally talented,
wellcoached and smart.
Far from being a distraction, UCLA basketball is an inspiration.
The players and coaching staff show the character, discipline,
determination, pride and intelligence that make them such a joy to
support – and never more so than last year’s team. This season may
be even more exciting.
UCLA students prove every day that they are able to find time to
volunteer for important community service programs while studying,
working, participating in outside activities, attending basketball
games and other sporting events, and more. A balanced life should
be praised, not criticized.
Stuart Wolpert
UCLA class of 1981
Philosophy
True blue?
My question to the students and fans of UCLA is "What color blue
are we????" How can we turn the Rose Bowl "blue" if the student
store sells every color but "UCLA blue"? On a recent visit only one
shirt was available in the "UCLA blue." Even the team wears a
different color from the band and the fans. I feel to enhance
school spirit and promote fan unity the College should settle on
one color for all pieces (ie. band, players, cheerleaders, fans). I
would love to see the Rose Bowl full of 50,000+ fans at a home game
with a definite blue tinge. When our opponents come and their
school colors are proudly displayed there is no doubt where they
are in the Rose Bowl.
Let me hear from other students and fans as to how they feel,
and maybe we can turn the Rose Bowl blue with school spirit.
Linda Morton
Friend of UCLA,
football season ticket holder