Richard Ko
October 20,1998
(Sorry, no link available to original article.)
Summary
This article is talking about the fight between those who support bilingual education versus those who support Proposition 227 which requires the use of nearly-all English in classes. The supporters of the initiative ask school districts to use nearly-all English instruction as teaching methods. Therefore, their children will learn English and adjust to the life here much faster. However, critics of the initiative do not agree with those who support bilingual education at all. They found their children suffer side-effects. They said that their children are being pushed into a completely unfamiliar learning environment. The children have no idea what the teachers are saying and then lose interest in learning. Worse than that, some schools even lack basic teaching materials. Consequently, the critics take advantage of loopholes by interpreting and undermining the law to preserve the rejected method of teaching. The critics’ behavior really make supporters mad. Supporters said that nearly-all English means nearly 100 percent of the teaching should be in English, not 60-40 or 80-20 English/native language teaching. As a result, it is a very political and murky environment right now and the debate will remain heated.
Response
I chose this article because I am for bilingual education. I am happy that bilingual education still lives on even though it is against the law. In this article, I see that how the two sides argue about the issue. I think the critics are smart for they take advantage of the loopholes to keep the bilingual education alive. But I know this a controversial issue, therefore, the debate will continue for a long time. I think there are three advantages for maintaining bilingual education. First of all, it help students to keep the connection with their own native heritage. Second, it provides students a comfortable learning environment. Third, it will help students learn the content of the subjects more easily, such as math formulas. But one thing their parents and schools need to monitor is that they need to balance the use of both languages, so that the student continues to move toward English proficiency while remembering the language related to the native culture.
Vocabulary
loophole (n)~way out
bureaucracy (n)
“Supporters of the initiative, Proposition 227, assert that school districts
and the education bureaucracy AE resisting the will of the voters,
taking advantages of the loopholes to preserve a rejected method
of teaching.”
bumpy (adj)~rocky
logistical (adj)~
logistic (adj)
logistically (adv)
“Critics of the the Proposition see the bumpy transition as aresult of confusion, reluctance on the part of some parents and teachers to push children into instruction they are not ready for, and even basic logistical issues such as the lack of textbooks.’
thwart (v)~frustrate
“But that isn’t a sign from heaven that school districts can thwart the law”