|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
The New Bilingual Education
| Article
# : |
15059 |
|
|
Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
|
| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1988 |
3,139 Words |
| Author
: |
Alicia Coro
Alicia Coro is director of the Office of Bilingual Education
and Minority Languages Affairs in the U.S. Department of
Education |
When I visited Roberts Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona, last October, memories began flashing through my mind. This was the same school my oldest daughter had entered as a first-grader, 22 years before. It was at Roberts, in 1965, that she began her schooling in the American educational system. My husband, who is now deceased, my two small children, and I had arrived in the United States in early 1964, coming from Havana, Cuba, via Mexico City. With the help of an old family friend, we settled in this southwestern city. Later that same year, my youngest daughter was born.
When I registered my oldest daughter at Roberts, she had been in this country for only a year and a half. At the time of our arrival, she was four and knew not one word of English. Was I concerned about how she would progress in school when I filled out the required school information papers? You bet I was. I had, however, taken some steps early on to help ease her transition into school and to accelerate her learning of the English language.
We were fortunate to have moved into a neighborhood where the local parish ran a kindergarten program. Although only a limited number of children were admitted into the program each year from the parish-registered families, I approached the priest in charge to explain to him why my daughter's case was more urgent, saying that I thought she should be accepted into the program based on her special need. I succeeded in persuading him, and my daughter was accepted into the morning kindergarten program for the 1964-65 school year. My daughter's participation in that program was, in my view, the reason she adjusted so quickly and did well in school.
My main concern was that she learn English as quickly as possible so she could participate in classroom activities just like any other child of her age. In those days there were no special programs for children who entered school with a limited knowledge, or with no knowledge at all, of the English language. The unavailability of these programs for children, who are now labeled "limited English proficient" (LEP), reflected the general impression that there were not as many non-English speaking children then as we find in schools throughout the country today.
One needs to appreciate that my perspective was very different from what it is now as director of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. In 1964, as a young immigrant housewife and mother, my family's welfare and acculturation into American society were my
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
