Thread: What will be impact of Spanish-only preschool classes on you

What will be impact of Spanish-only preschool classes on young Latinos?
by Esther J. Cepeda
July 5, 2010

Hold your breath for Latino members of the Illinois high school class of 2026. Who knows what recent changes in how they are to be taught will do for them.

Or to them.

New rules requiring pre-school English Language Learners (ELLs) to be educated according to the same standards as for kindergarten through 12th grade ELLs were adopted last month by the Illinois State Board of Education. The rules, which are expected to sail through the final legislative process in time for the 2010-2011 school year, will make Illinois the most prescriptive state in the union for identifying and educating English Language Learners.

This will affect hundreds of thousands of ELL students -- the fastest-growing segment of the study body in Illinois.

The overwhelming majority of these students come from Spanish-speaking households, and if they have 20 or more peers in the same grade level, they're entitled to a classroom with a Spanish-speaking teacher. Children whose native languages are not Spanish also must have 20 or more grade-level peers to qualify for language-specific instruction and, therefore, are rarely isolated in non-English-speaking classrooms the way Spanish-speaking kids are.

The thought of 3-, 4- and 5-year-old Hispanic kids getting stuck in Spanish-language classrooms so they can be taught beginning literacy skills in their parents' native language before being taught the basic tenets of English makes me want to poke my eyeballs out. Despite widely accepted research that says teaching literacy skills to a child in his or her native language leads to better English-acquisition, I -- like Arizona, California and Massachusetts, who've turned away from this educational philosophy -- am skeptical.

Why? Mostly because I know that what works modestly in the lab does not always transfer to the classroom -- especially when there already are too few qualified teachers for the many non-English-speaking students.

Plus, in my short time as a bilingual teacher, I witnessed horrors such as underqualified teachers who never felt the need to address their students in English. And teenage U.S.-born students still confined to Spanish-only classrooms because the "transitional bilingual" program had never made them truly bilingual or transitioned them to mainstream English-speaking classrooms.

Because I've had such experiences, I turned to two less-emotional experts to soothe my fears that Illinois' educational system is about to disintegrate for children who happen not to speak English by the age of 3.

"This goes back to the bilingual education laws put on the books back in the '70's, before 'preschool for all' was popularized," said Reyna Hernandez, a policy analyst at the Latino Policy Forum. "This isn't really a new idea. The state was looking at where there needed to be cleanup in the legal language that had artificially limited rules to K through 12."

She also stressed that "starting in 2014, these rules will mean students will be taught by teachers that are certified in language acquisition" and she said this is "one of the greatest points."

Nancy Wagner, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Arlington Heights' multinationally diverse School District 59, says there are always risk and costs -- in this case to teachers who must get additional education and to school districts that must pay for that upgraded expertise -- but this definitely is a step up.

"The laws regarding preschool used to not have anything regarding English instruction; teachers weren't specially trained and could basically screen all the kids, identify them as ELLs and teach them in whatever language they wanted," she said. "There are many factors to take into consideration when you're talking about such young children, but no program wants its bilingual students to be the lowest tracked program. The goal of the program HAS to be English language proficiency."

Gosh, I hope so. Better-trained preschool teachers who can effectively address the special needs of English language learners sure can't hurt.

Still, the proof will be in the pudding, so keep your fingers crossed for Latino members of the Illinois high school class of 2026.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/cepeda/...ther05.article

These children should learn English before starting school. If this was a requirement maybe their parents too would be interested in learning English. Children learn fast between 3 and 5. They could learn both languages.

Every other ethnic group has encouraged their children to learn English, what is different about Spanish Speaking people? Simple they are coddled and treated special.

Not being able to speak the language devides them from English speaking Americans. How does anyone expect to bridge the cultural differences when they don't speak the same language.

We should not allow children to start school unless they speak basic English. Test their English skills at the beginning not upon graduation. Force their parents to take responsibility for these children learning English. In Mexico parents have to pay for their children to go to school. All we are expecting is if the parents can't teach them English pay someone who can teach them. In fact make it a family project, learn with the children.

They should be made to take a competency test appropriate to the Grade they are going into. That should also include English competency. If they are not up to the grade level, it should be on the parents to pay to get their kids up to speed.

We need to contact organizations like this one below and get them involved.

http://www.ncte.org/wlu/institute

Have to agree ..they are coddled and catered to

Why learn English when corporate America has moved to putting everything in Spanish as well as English..part of the NAFTA Agreement

THIS IS STILL AMERICA...isn't it?

MontereySherry - These children should learn English before starting school. If this was a requirement maybe their parents too would be interested in learning English. Children learn fast between 3 and 5. They could learn both languages.

My thoughts also MontereySherry. The best time for these children to be immersed in and learn English is before the age of 5 - preschool. If they go through with this Spanish only preschool and the children are not taught early and young, their will to learn and speak English is diminished, and the optimum time of learning is lost.

I'm sorry, but I have a Mexican friend (legal, of course) who learned English just fine in the absence of these special programs. The Illinois school system is treating these kids as if they're learning English as adults. Children process words differently than adults, and they learn another language in the same way they learned their first language. So not only is this avenue more costly, it's highly unnecessary. Sure, the traditional classroom might be a little more inconvenient, but they WILL pick up.

And yes, it is ludicrous to choose one language over others to cater to the young with. What about those whose native language isn't Spanish or English? Why don't we learn Swahili or Creole while we're at it?

My husband only had Spanish when he started school. He had a really rough time and lost his first year due to needing to repeat it - but after that he was OK. He was the oldest so after that his mom decided to speak English in the home. Even if she spoke in Spanish to them they had to respond in English to her. Didn't take a lot of money and the younger ones learned before their school started. Immersion is best.

I keep asking - how do the Europeans do it? Most nations of Europe the citizens know several languages - at least 3 or 4. They don't seem to have any problems with it.

Sounds like they want to continue the Reconquista / North American Union agenda. At age 5 my daughter had picked up two other languages in addition to English from her non-English speaking baby sitters.

"We will divide you from YOUR nation with our language."

That's one of the spanish speaking illegal alien's mantras against America and Americans.

"One house at a time."

The other mantra of the spanish speaking.

Both mantras intertwine everything they do against America.

They used California as their first assault, and they got where they are by embedding their own inside the California unions.

One of which is the teacher's union.

NEVER before in America were children used as beggars for each school year's clothing and equipment.

Illegal aliens didn't steal enough from Americans, so they worked America's system to where Americans, and companies inside America, donated everything children of all ages need to begin each year.
-- backpacks.
-- paper, binders, pencils, pens, etc.
-- crayons, coloring books, etc.
-- books for all years.

Imagine all the things students need, and they got Americans to donate for ALL OF IT, so they didn't have to pay for any of it.

That's California where they did their first round of how to make Americans and our tax dollars to support them.

Every year the news does campaigns for school equipment and clothing for students of all ages.

NEVER did, or would, my parents accept - OR BEG FOR - such things.

MEXICO IS "NO" FRIEND TO AMERICA - and they NEVER plan to be.

Same with South America's nations.