Thread: Bilingual educators conference opens today

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16441271

Bilingual educators conference opens today
By Ramon Bracamontes \ El Paso Times
Posted: 10/27/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT

More than 2,000 bilingual educators from throughout the state will be in El Paso over the next three days to talk about what works and what doesn't in bilingual education classrooms.

The annual Texas Association for Bilingual Education conference begins today with several group meetings. The full conference will begin at 8:15 a.m. Thursday at the Abraham Chavez Theatre. The conference's first speaker will be University of Texas at El Paso President Diana Natalicio.

More than 1,300 people have already registered for the conference, and an additional 800 are expected to register today and Thursday, event organizers said.

Jose Hernandez, Texas Association for Bilingual Education executive director, said the conference will look back at 40 years of bilingual education.

"We need to see what works and use that to make our teachers the best bilingual teachers in the world," he said. "We will look at the best practices and see where we go from here."

Bilingual education, and how best to teach it at every public school, has become a major issue in Texas because of the changing demographics, conference officials said. Texas demographers estimate that 13.4 million Hispanics will reside in the state by 2025, up from 9.1 million in 2009.

A good portion of those new residents will not be native English speakers, so getting them entrenched in English and able to succeed in school will be a challenge.

"According to research, dual-language programs are the most successful in making a positive difference in student achievement," said Josefina V. Tinajero, a conference co-chairwoman and dean of the College of Education at UTEP.

Tinajero, a noted international expert on bilingual and dual-language education, is among the many featured conference speakers.

Other speakers include El Paso Independent School District Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia, Ysleta Independent School District Superintendent Michael Zolkoski and Soccoro Independent School District Superintendent Xavier De La Torre. State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, will speak Friday.

Most of the events will take place at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center and the Camino Real Hotel.

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SUPREME waste of Taxpayers $$$. The Bilingual program does not work and never will!

What our school districts need to really worry about is what they are going to do when us baby boomers start retiring from education. Who in the heck is going to want to teach any more? It's gotten where teachers are to blame for every problem kids have, we are nothing more than baby sitters and are expected to speak Spanish and stand on our heads and entertain an ever changing demographics of kids who don't want to learn with parents who see no value in education other than having a place for their kids to be all day.

Today I sat through a required siminar where teacheres were told that kids come to school and do the wrong thing because teachers come to school with their problems from home. What an insult! I have no problem at home and have a great home life. My problems start the minute I get to work and see kids with no paper, no pens, and flat out refuse to be educated. Meanwhile they have gotten a free breakfast and free lunch they complained about and tossed in the garbage along with any chance of success in life.

Thank goodness I only have 4 more years until I can retire.

Today I sat through a required siminar where teacheres were told that kids come to school and do the wrong thing because teachers come to school with their problems from home.

This makes me ill. The children do the wrong things because they can do them. They learn from their peers and probably learn a lot of the "wrong" things at home. They respect no one. Many teachers are quitting because they can't deal with it. Who is allowed to do anything about the wrong things now? The teachers can't, the parents can't. No one is allowed to bring out a good ole fashion can of whoop a$$ anymore. And the kids know it and they know all the laws that protect them.
I am so glad I raised my boys at a time when discipline was still acceptable. Not beatings, but real discipline. My boys have both told me they would of done a lot more bad things but they were afraid to come home to me. Good. That's how it should be. Fear can be a wonderful thing.

As far as bilingual education? I'm sorry, but I don't think there should be any. This is America, we speak English and anyone here needs to do the same. What other country does this? If you put a child in class and offer help after school, they will learn. They can get help on the internet. We are putting a rift between Spanish and English speaking students. English speaking students are losing ground. Why? They have to wait for the non-English speaking students to catch up. I've seen it in two of my grandchildren in Texas. I didn't like it then and I will never like it or approve of it. Why should our children suffer because someone doesn't speak our language?
Maybe I'm old and set in my ways, but I don't take much of the middle ground.