English is America's preferred language. It is not the "national" language, but every important document, text book, and other aspect of daily life is in English. Most people believe that if you do not speak or understand English, you are either ignorant or uncaring about learning the language. In California, as immigration continues, especially from Latin America and Asia, schools are inundated with children whose English fluency is well behind that of the average American child their ages.
Do we ignore these children and their parents? Of course, we cannot. This requires a system of bilingual education, at least until some sort of English fluency is achieved and the students can keep up with their English-speaking peers. It is a costly experiment, and there are many people who may well be prejudiced They believe in "America for Americans". In California they have now voted against mandatory bilingual education in California schools. The pro- and con arguments tend to look out for the best interests of money spent for California schools. Bilingual teachers and text books and separate classrooms cause budgets to overflow. However, without bilingual education, immigrant children can never catch up. I am a perfect example. Born in China, I struggled to learn English (and still struggle without help). Without bilingual education I would not be in this school, writing this essay. The need for bilingual education is truly based on integrating children either born outside the U.S., or within a foreign-speaking enclave, who cannot hope to be part of the 21sdt century economic growth of this country. Bilingual education, as will be shown, is no more than any child's right to learn and be part of his and his family's American dream.
BILINGUAL EDUCATION HISTORY.
Bilingual education has been used in 80 percent of today's public schools, especially in states that have more immigrants, like California, New ...