Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Is Bilingual Education Best for American Students?

(excerpted from SchooDoodle.com)

I watched the piece featured below on the Today Show this morning that presents the pros and the cons of bilingual instruction in U.S. public schools. This is an ongoing debate, some feel that Hispanic students are better off being completely immersed in English so they may adapt to an English speaking nation- while others fear that teaching only in English limits what students will learn and will subsequently fall behind.


The Hispanic population is growing rapidly and is playing a significant role in American society and the workforce. Public schools in cities such as Charlotte, NC have embraced teaching students both English and Spanish and are reporting positive results. Where do you stand on this debate? Watch the piece below and let me know what you think- share your comments in Twitter and on our Facebook Page.




4 comments:

Adriana said...

Thank you so much for sharing this video. I am not happy with the bilingual educational opportunities for my son so I am considering homeschooling him.

Jessica said...

Thank you for stopping by Adriana.

My girls attend a dual language school. I'm so excited that they're getting more interaction and learning experiences in Spanish.

It was a weighted decision for us to choose a dual language school verses gifted and talented school. And we're happy.

All the best to you and your son. I admire homeschool families.

Anonymous said...

Jessica,

Thanks for sharing this video. It's always nice to see bilingual education discussed in mainstream media.

I like the idea of reframing the debate around what is best for the student rather than a simplistic bilingual or monolingual argument. It would be nice to see new legislation from the Obama Administration though that really reflects this way of thinking, rather than creating an environment where schools feel pressured to get rid of their bilingual education programs because of their perceived threat to test scores.

Unknown said...

Bilingual education continues to receive criticism in the national media. Bilingualism has positive effects on children's linguistic and educational development. When children continue to develop their abilities in two or more languages, they gain a deeper understanding of language. The person who knows only one language does not truly know that language. Research suggests that bilingual children may also develop more flexibility in their thinking as a result of processing information through two different languages.

Agnes
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