BILINGUAL EDUCATION IS BENEFICIAL TO STUDENTS ABILITIES TO ASSIMILATE IN THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE English only--sink or swim? Yeah right! Instead of English Only Advocates worrying about bilingual education cost in our school system, why not take advantage of the skills our ethnic minorities possess to move our economy forward? They are obviously not thinking clearly, because the benefit of bilinguals, significantly outweigh the bad. To deny our youth the opportunity for upward mobility and skill to become more marketable in a worldwide capacity is inhumane. They believe bilinguals threaten to sap our sense of national identity and divide us along ethnic lines. They also fear that any government recognition of minority languages sends the wrong message to immigrants, encouraging them to believe they can live in the U.S.A. without learning English or conforming to The American way. That is an overt, racist, and paranoid view, dont you think? The most significant issues that support bilingual education for students ability to assimilate in the mainstream culture are, the development of students linguistic resources and preserve their cultural heritage, contributions to the American economy, and diversity. The development of a students language and preservation of their culture is essential for the upward mobility of todays youth. There always have been some immigrants who viewed themselves explicitly as the preserver and savior of their languages and heritages. Since the late 1800s, ethnic minorities in America have been consistently characterized as culturally inferior. Their language right has consistently been the subject of political review. Politicians do not have(PCC(SW) Taylor/16603/Mr. Jones/Small Group 2/23 Feb 00the right to force people to master their language and values just because they are the dominant society. They should encourage and support students to the attainment of bilingual or multilingual skills. They should als...
