English Spoken Here--Or Else

BILINGUAL EDUCATION has been for 30 years a mainstay of California public schools--the pedagogical equivalent of Ellis Island for immigrant kids. But on June 2--if recent polls are correct--voters may end that tradition by passing Proposition 227, which gives kids just a year to learn English before they enter regular classes.

The vote is being watched around the country as a survival test of bilingual instruction. Last month Chicago imposed a strict limit on its bilingual classes; a similar proposal has spawned a fierce debate in Denver. But California is critical not only because it is the nation's largest school system but also because it has the most kids for whom English is a second language. About 1.4 million students are in bilingual classes this year; some educators think millions more--mostly Spanish speakers--need extra help.

The theory behind bilingual education is that kids do better if they're taught all subjects in their native language while becoming fluent in English. Critics say it just doesn't work. One recent national study found that students enrolled in bilingual programs dropped out earlier. In California only 6.7 percent of the non-English speakers moved into regular classes last year, down from 15 percent in 1982. Other states have similar low success rates.

Defenders of the classes say the problem isn't too much bilingual education; it's too little. There's a drastic shortage of qualified teachers, and many programs are poorly structured. ""You've got a large number of bilingual programs that are not worthy of the name,'' admits Jim Lyons, executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education.

In California the debate goes beyond pedagogy. ""If you say you are against bilingual education, you're looked at as a racist,'' says Fontana teacher Melody Arganda. Because bilingual teachers get paid more, they're accused of being in it for the money. Meanwhile, no one seems to be preparing for next September, when California kids could have one year to learn English--or else.

© 1998