Most of my co-workers could not. My son,an Anglo, is in a bilingual program. He is reading and writing in both Spanish and English. He can communicate to all in his community. His Spanish speaking friends are learning both languages also.
Immigrant families know the value of English and encourage their children.
I have seen studies that show that students in well-run bilingual programs exceed their counterparts who learn in English only. In many countries, to be considered truely educated, one must speak two or more languages fluently and in fact, many countries have designed bilingual educational programs to accomplish this on a large scale. Instead of demanding reforms in America's schools which would lead to superior academic performance in two languages, Ron Unz is proposing a monolingual initiative that would prohibit bilingual programs and thus eliminate the chance for not only world class schooling but an equal educational opportunity for several million children who do not speak English at home.