For the most part, aqui se habla ingles. Yet the mainstream public seems to continue to believe that Hispanics speak only Spanish, fueling a hysteria among a number of English speakers to protect the language of Shakespeare, as if speaking Spanish were some kind of public health threat that needs to be stamped out like polio or tuberculosis. In the otherwise squeaky-close elections last fall, the voters overwhelmingly passed propositions to enhance English as the only favored language in their states. In Utah, voters heartily endorsed English as their official language. So far, California's Proposition 227, making bilingual education illegal, has garnered mixed reviews, from gushing praise to stinging criticism, for its efforts to push Latinos to learn English.
Latino children are usually the first in immigrant families to learn English.
Even in households where the parents or guardians watch television exclusively in Spanish, the children watch more programs in English than Spanish. Imagine what it must be like for a young Latino student, lacking in self-confidence, to succeed in math, science, history and English when he or she cannot properly speak Spanish, something that helps define who he or she is. To me the problem isn't learning English. It's retaining Spanish. Proper Spanish, grammar and all.