From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Mon Jun 25 2001 - 08:07:10 MDT
>From: "Leonardo Gonzalez" <magos@extropian.net>
>From my own personal experience (I came to the US at the age of
>eight), I can attest to the need for effective bilingual
>education. My parents, as bilingual preschool educators, have
>fought many battles in this struggle full of misinformation and
>ignorance.
>Early education in a child's native/infant language is crucial to
>their cognitive development. It is unreasonable to expect a child
>to learn a new language and at the same time learn math and other
>challenging subjects in that unfamiliar language.
The problem is that once you move here, there is a new (for many)
native tongue. Language is learned easiest when young, every minute
delayed makes it harder.
Rather than considering it unreasonable, it is considered essential
that they learn the new language.
>It is more effective for the child to learn basic reading and
>writing skills in the language they already know and speak, than
>to struggle with these tasks in a language foreign to them. When
>the time comes to learn English, they can apply the literary and
>cognitive skills they have already
>developed.
The evidence says differently, the growing body of evidence says
that unlike previously where we did not use bi-lingual education
and the new immigrants effectively learned the language and
adapted, new immigrants aren't doing as well.
>Sadly, it is true that the drive to eliminate bilingual education
>has many Latino proponents. This is because of the devaluation of
>the the native language and culture for many immigrants. They are
>made to feel that their own language and culture are unimportant
>and inferior. They want their children to succeed in life, and
>would like them to adopt US American language and lifestyles.
>It's too bad that they fail to see the value of being
>bilingual/biliterate, and that they do not realize it is actually
>in their child's educational best interest to begin their
>education in their native language.
To live in this country means to adopt it's ways, that means the
language, otherwise you are nothing more than an expatriate.
Learning american/english does not mean forgetting where you came
from nor should it.
Like everyone else in this country I am the child of immigrants, I
have many friends who did not speak the language when they arrived,
and now do. They are universal in opposing bi-lingual education.
We have personal experience at this.
I am also a firm believer in the more languages the better.
>For more information on Bilingual Education, see the National
>Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/
Respectfully,
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
SBC/Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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