Bilingual Education

I remember not that long ago at work a patient was trying to speak English to me. I could tell she was maybe Hispanic, and since I saw her struggling with her English I told her I speak Spanish too, she was offended, I did not mean to offend her, she gave me a dirty look and kept speaking to me in English she said that she was in America and that she had to speak English I told her that I admired her for learning the language but as of me I like to speak Spanish with people that speak the language. She said that her kids were learning pure English that Spanish was not spoken in her house I asked why? She said that her and her husband had sacrificed themselves to give their children a better life and had left their old lifestyle behind and it was staying in that country. I wanted to tell her how much I disagreed with her but I kept my mouth shut.

I think that Bilingual education should be encouraged. Being bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual gives people better opportunities to succeed in life. When applying for a job, especially here in southern California, Spanish is a plus! A person will get paid more if bilingual.

So why isn’t it being encouraged in school? Why is it being excluded? According to Rosalie Pedalino Porter bilingual education programs are a way of discriminating children that have learned English as a second language; I disagree with this lady more.

In my opinion more than one language should be taught in elementary school. Children are sponges at that young age and will absorb anything, the more knowledge the better.

When I have children I will teach them my culture and my primary language and I will encourage them to speak it because in the long run I know this will benefit them.