Even for the people who are literate, their literacy is nowhere near where it should be.
 

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Yet this country continues to devote a substantial amount of money to continue to produce the same results. However, the people whom I am most annoyed at are the well-intentioned starry-eyed individuals, typically white liberals. There are also many Hispanics who support bilingual education but only as long as their own kids are not enrolled in those programs.

And these people commonly tout the virtues of learning two languages.

I am all for that. I love foreign languages. I took Latin and Japanese in college. And I wished that I could have taken Russian too when the program was offered at my university. But what I oppose are kids who speak a language other than English and then spend their entire school years learning a watered down version of our own language.

These kids are not adequately learning English. What they are getting is a tremendous disservice and the prospect of missing out on the great opportunities that this country has to offer.

But school districts find it very hard to do the right thing. Many administrators are obsessed with the federal money that is attached to bilingual education. And many school officials don’t care about the effectiveness of the bilingual programs because the federal money is great.

In my early childhood I lived in the barrio of a small south Texas town. As a kid, Spanish was the language spoken in my household although my parents spoke fluent English when they were in contact with white people which didn’t happen all that often.

I am not sure how this occurred but I was never placed in a bilingual class although many of my neighbors were. The classes I took had the white kids in them and as a result, I learned English just like the same way the white kids did. And I never experienced any of the “trauma” of being immersed in a English only environment when I started kindergarten and throughout grade school.

What was different was that my spoken language at home became English although my parents still converse with me in Spanish even to this very day. I also remember many of my neighbors doing the same thing with their parents although a few kids spoke almost entirely Spanish at home.

But as I grew up, my English was no different than the white kids in my classes.

However, after a couple of weeks of starting the seventh grade, I signed up for a specialized music class that resulted in a schedule conflict. To resolve the conflict, the school placed me in a bilingual English class which gave me the shock of my life.

The class was taught mostly in Spanish and the curriculum itself was so ridiculously easy. The material was more suited to elementary school than junior high. And I remember completing the assignments with exerting almost no effort. Everyone copied my homework. But what shocked me about the copying was not because my classmates were lazy but that many of them had a difficult time comprehending the simple assignments. I really didn’t mind the copying because I figured that I would not be in the class for much longer.

I have to admit that the thought did flash through my mind that perhaps I should stay there because I wouldn’t ever have to do any meaningful school work again. But I knew it wasn’t right for me and I was also out of my element.

The kids in that class, many whom lived either across the street or down a few blocks were absolutely no different than me. They were all poor and living in the barrio and Spanish was the primary (or only) language spoken at home. If bilingual programs did not exist, then all my neighbors would have learned English just like the white kids did. And some would do better than others but in the end, they would have mastered it.

Soon afterwards, my father spoke to the principal. The principal admitted that this was a mistake and that I would immediately be removed from the bilingual class and placed into a regular English class.

By the time I was to enter high school, my parents had moved to the suburbs of San Antonio Texas. There, I was enrolled in a pre-dominantly white suburban high school. The transition was seamless and I had always felt that I was on the same level with the rest of my suburbanite peers.

And as for the starry-eyed white liberals, I have to admit that I agree with their aspirations. Everybody should be exposed to more than just one language. However, that is not happening with bilingual education. The kids there are not mastering English and all the good intentions in the world cannot make up for the sad fact that bilingual education is a failure.

It is time to end it altogether and immerse children into an English only environment. Every person in this country should have the same mastery of English without exception. It will be harder for some people but it still has to be done.

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COMMENTS FROM READERS

I completely agree with Mr. Muniz's article. I taught ESL for 27 years in NYC public school system. I also fought the system for 27 years. Why? Because Hispanic and Chinese students in bilingual programs neither mastered English nor their native language, but the bottom line is what language is more important to master if you are living in an English speaking country? We, who are interested in the educational welfare of the child, know for a fact that those students who are not in a bilingual program learn English faster, can go to mainstream classes faster and most important graduate. In many NYC schools, parents are not notified that their child has the right to an all ESL program (that is the law) and every parent has the right to opt their child out of the bilingual program, but that's only if they're aware of it. In fact, while teaching, I was told to keep my mouth shut and under no circumstance, should I inform the parent or child about opting out. Keep it a big secret because money is involved. The more students in bilingual programs, the more money the school gets and who knows where that money goes once it's allocated to the school. It's an out and out shame having bilingual programs. I am speaking based on what I have seen in my 27 years. To conclude, let me tell you about a Mexican friend who asked me for help. Two of his three children were in bilingual classes for the past 3 years and he was so concerned because they were not learning English as his youngest son was (he, of course, was in all English classes). When he went up to school, he was informed that his child had to remain in the bilingual program because he didn't know enough English to change. Guess what? It was only when I went to school with him and told the school that it was the parent's right, did they change him and her. What a crime is being committed against these students. They are being deprived of their rights. WE must band together and expose the truth, so all the students placed in bilingual programs (some of them are there for 6 years and more) are put in all ESL classes and English will be a breeze for them in a short amount of time. -Helena P.S. There is so much more to expose about what is happening to foreign born students in NYC public schools. For their sake, let us not be afraid to tell the truth. Author Responds: Your comments sent chills up my spine. To think that when I was mistakenly put in that situation as a kid, a money-hungry principal could have simply denied my father’s request and that I would have languished in bilingual education. I didn't realize how fortunate I really am.