By LUCY TSE Bilingual education advocates have a tough fight ahead. Like Escalante, some of the most vocal opponents of these programs are immigrants or are children of recent immigrants and believe that bilingual education just isn't needed.
Some immigrants do well in public schools with little or no assistance in their native language.
I was one of those students. Arriving in the United States at the age of 8, I was placed in a third-grade class. I believe I've succeeded in school, having graduated from high school and college. And until several years ago, I was one of those people who didn't see the need for bilingual education. That is, until I realized that I did get bilingual education, just not in school.