Research indicates infancy and early childhood are the best time to learn a language. The majority of Latino children speak little or no English when they enter California public schools, usually because no English is spoken in their homes. To address this deficit, Washington or Sacramento should consider creating a new program, modeled on Head Start, that would concentrate on English language development in the preschool years. Zacarias says parents constantly complain to him that they can't get their children out of bilingual classes. Under current policy, to move into mainstream classes taught in English, students are required to perform at grade level in English on a standardized test.
Bilingual education is big business in California.
The teacher shortage is leading to much-needed experimentation. The nation is watching two experiments in Orange County. The district must show progress in English to continue to do so. The Orange Unified School District got permission last month from a federal court to drop bilingual education for one year for kindergarten through third grade and is using English immersion techniques with the help of bilingual aides. Bilingual education done badly certainly is not all that ails public education.