Prop. 227 still sparks controversy

Monday, November 16, 1998

Prop. 227 still sparks controversy

SCHOOLS: Initiative bans bilingual education, but some classes
won’t stop

By Karla Y. Pleitez

Daily Bruin Contributor

"Yo sé, maestra," shouts a first-grade class at Noble
Elementary, in hopes of being chosen to demonstrate their Spanish
writing skills.

The teacher, Diana Nason, uses Interactive Writing, a teaching
technique in which the students are first taught words in their
native language that they then learn in English.

The idea is that more students will participate if they are
taught in their first language. The more involved they are, the
more natural their learning will become.

On June 2, voters thought that when Proposition 227 passed,
students would be taught only in English. But the battle over
bilingual education isn’t completed yet.

Noble Elementary is one of the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) schools which continues to use bilingual education
because the staff believes it is a necessary tool to help children
learn.

"With the passage of Prop. 227, kids must now be placed in
all-English speaking classrooms. Obviously these students aren’t as
active of participants as those students we have in our bilingual
classes," said Maria Manzur, Noble Elementary’s assistant
principal.

Proponents for Proposition 227 argue that students should have a
temporary one-year immersion period.

"During the immersion period teachers can use the ‘preview and
review’ method, which allows teachers to use the student’s first
language in order to introduce new subjects and to quickly review
the main points of the new subject," said Betsy Jimenez, the
bilingual coordinator for Langdon Elementary.

Much to the chagrin of Proposition 227 supporters, parents still
have the option to place their children in bilingual education by
requesting a waiver.

A waiver permits students to be part of classes that are taught
in both their native tongue and English. A school must have at
least 20 waiver requests in order to create a bilingual
classroom.

Despite this opportunity, school educators are concerned that
many schools aren’t informing or educating parents of their options
of teaching students in their first language after the passage of
Proposition 227.

"Schools need to inform parents that children do learn English
in bilingual education and that waivers for bilingual education
give their children the opportunity to learn the fundamentals and
the language," Manzur said.

"Time is needed to clarify and help parents understand their
options. This takes an effort that some schools are not willing to
make," she said.

Proposition 227 supporters say that the best way to learn a
language is to be constantly exposed to it. They argue that
complete immersion into English classrooms will be beneficial to
all students.

"Bilingual education was supposed to help our children conquer
the business language, but instead it is a program that retards our
children’s knowledge of English," said Michael Lichestein, a former
Proposition 227 campaign volunteer.

"With Proposition 227 now in effect, our children have the
lawful and moral right of being taught the English language and are
now more likely to have good economic opportunity in the future,"
he added.

But educators worry that this method will make learning
difficult for the Limited English Proficient (LEP) students because
student participation will decrease.

"Children whose native language is not English will fail in
English classrooms," said Carlos Guzman, the Sepulveda Middle
School Bilingual Program Coordinator. "The language is new. When
the teacher is talking, students are not understanding and become
frustrated."

"They have no root or base to the academics, making it almost
impossible to learn," he added.

Educators also worry that those students who are affected by
Proposition 227 may have no one to turn to and ask for help.

Proposition 227 supporters say that the bilingual program does
more harm than good because students may not be able to emerge from
it.

"The best path for academic achievement for language-minority
students is to learn English and learn it quickly," Lichestein
said. "Too many bilingual programs shunt these students into slower
learning tracks where they rarely learn sufficient English."

Guzman, however, said that since there is a large number of LEP
students who are in need of special services, it is the
government’s job to provide these students with their basic human
rights.

"If I were to take home books in English, I wouldn’t do my
homework because I wouldn’t know what to do," said Karen Beatriz,
6, a Noble Elementary student.

"My parents don’t know English, and sometimes they even have to
ask me how to say some things in English. Most of the time I know
because it’s something I learned in class," she said.DAVID HILL

Diana Nason teaches a student how to write. Nason’s class is
still bilingual because of waivers filed by her students’
parents.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]