Thesis Statement: Bilingual education should not be provided in U.S. public schools because despite some evidence of its success, for the most part it provides no additional educational benefits to students; it overburdens and overtaxes teachers and budgets respectively; and it threatens to dissolve the unity and integration that characterize a democracy.
I. Introduction: Bilingual education is a controversial issue in American public education.
A. Educators, government officials, and other Americans remain opposed to bilingual education for a number of reasons.
B. There are three primary reasons why a significant number of Americans are opposed to bilingual education.
II. Body: Bilingual education exists because of AmericaÆs increasing diversity.
A. The Bilingual Education Act initiated the era of public education programs for language minority students.
B. In light of its inefficacy, a number of states are fighting against such programs in contemporary times.
III. One primary reason individuals remain opposed to bilingual education is because they view it as a course of action that fails to provide any significant academic or development benefits to students.
A. Numerous research studies support the inefficacy of bilingual education.
B. Many who support bilingual programs maintain they offer students with English language deficiencies better academic opportunities because they promote greater literacy in students, something research refutes.
IV. Another main reason for opposition to bilingual education is its perception as a program that overburdens already overworked teachers and puts additional pressure on already inadequate budgets.
A. Bilingual education programs overburden already overworked and underpaid teachers.
B. Bilingual education programs require significant expenditures that take valuable resources away from the needs of all students
V. Another reason many people oppo...