Write back and tell me why. That incident marked the end for a system of public education that enforced the segregation of schoolchildren based on the color of their skin, condemning some of them to an inferior education and reducing their ability to compete for good jobs. Children who come from homes where a language other than English is spoken are often segregated from the rest of the student body into bilingual programs, which teach most subjects in a student s native language. In theory, such programs allow students to keep up with their English-speaking peers in subjects like math and history, while rapidly teaching them English so they could integrate into regular classes. In practice, bilingual education programs have not been achieving that objective.
Many students do seem to be trapped in bilingual classes forever.
Parents know that the English language is the most important thing their child needs to learn in school. I teach them English at home so they can grow up to be doctors and lawyers. Because politicians in California were unwilling to reform bilingual education, the people of California took matters into their own hands. The lesson the bilingual education establishment should have learned from Prop. 227 is that by opposing moderate reform, they force the opposition toward more radical measures. Instead, they continue to oppose any attempt to reform bilingual education.