Chapter 9 question sheet
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Valerie Lopez
Chapter 9 Historical Introduction to Bilingual Education in the United States
1.
According to the authors, why is it dangerous to think that bilingual education is
a modern phenomenon? It is dangerous for two reasons. The first reason is because it doesn’t recognize that bilingual education existed for more than 5000 years; bilingualism and multilingualism are a characteristic of human societies. The second reason is that it is
dangerous to isolate current bilingual education from its historical roots.
2.
Explain the linguistic diversity and bilingual education situation in the United States in the 18th and 19th century.
The US had over 300 indigenous languages prior to the arrival of European immigrants (Italian, German, Dutch, French, Polish, Czech, Irish, Welsh, etc.). Linguistic diversity was accepted and different languages were encouraged through religion and education. There were some exceptions such as Benjamin Franklin’s anti-German stance, the Californian legislature mandating English only instruction, and the native-language suppression policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
3.
A major change in the attitude about bilingualism and bilingual education took place in the first two decades of the 20th century in the U.S. According to the authors, what were the reasons for the change? How was bilingual education affected?
One reason for the change in attitude about bilingualism is that the immigrant population increased dramatically at the start of the 20
th
century. Immigrants’ lack of skills in the English language was seen as a social, political, and economic concern, so the Nationality Act of 1906 required immigrants to speak English to become naturalized Americans. The second reason is that the Americanization Department of
the Us Bureau of Education wanted all education in each state to be taught in the English Language. The third and most influential reason was the involvement of the US in World War I in 1917. There were Anti-German feelings that pressured English
monolingualism and an elimination of other languages and cultures in US schools.
4.
What were the major factors that caused the changes in bilingual education policies in the late 1950s and the 1960s? What laws were enacted? What educational changes resulted? In 1957, Russians launched the Sputnik satellite into space, which led to debates about the US quality of education, scientific creativity, and competence to compete internationally. The National Defense Education Act passed in 1958 which promoted
foreign language learning in schools; overall this passage allowed soul-searching attitudes towards languages other than English. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement (specifically the passage of the Civil Rights Act) symbolized a less negative attitude toward ethnic groups and languages at the federal level. This allowed bilingual schools to be established throughout the US.
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5.
Explain the Title VII Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (U.S. Legislation) and its significant implications affecting bilingual education in the United States. What happened to this legislation in later years? The Title VII Bilingual Education Act of 1968 provided a compensatory program for educationally disadvantage people among language minorities. Previous versions lacked a definition of bilingual education and didn’t require schools to use a student’s
home language. Title VII cleared up definitions of bilingual education and required schools through the compensatory program to include the student’s home language.
6.
Summarize the reauthorizations of the Title VII in 1974, 1978, 1984, 1988, and 1994. How was bilingual education affected by these legislation changes in the U.S.? The reauthorization in 1974 stressed transitional bilingual education and didn’t allow dual language programs. The reauthorization in 1978 lifted restrictions on dual language programs under Title VII, but politically, people still favored transitional bilingual education to the extent necessary to achieve English language competence. The 1984 and 1988 reauthorizations allowed support for more developmental and maintenance program models and increased percentages of funds for alternative programs where only English was used. The 1994 reauthorization required state educational authorities to review Title VII appropriations and provide more funds for specific groups. It continued federal support for bilingual education programs. These legislation changes affected bilingual education by creating tensions among
politicians and the US press because many of them were against bilingual education. Appropriations were reduced by 38% and a fraction of the Title VII funds were reserved for English-only approaches. This led to reduced bilingual programs, teacher training, and budgets for research.
7.
What led to the Lau Remedies
? What were the significances of the Lau Remedies?
There was a ruling that “There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education” that led to the Lau Remedies. The Lau Remedies were a set of guidelines for school districts which acknowledged that students not proficient in English needed support. It included classes in English as a second language, English tutoring,
and bilingual education. It was significant because it showed the continuous tension to establish language rights in the US; the right to equal opportunity for language minorities was asserted but the means to achieve it was not declared.
8.
What is Proposition 227 in California and how did it come into being? According to the author, what impact has it had on bilingual education in the state? Why is it important to disseminate the research of bilingual education? Proposition 227, also known as the “English for the Children” initiative, was an effort to improve English instruction for children who needed to learn English for economic and employment purposes. It aimed to outlaw bilingual education in the
Valerie Lopez
state of California, so programs were restricted. Student enrollment in Californian bilingual programs decreased from 498,879 to 167,163 and over a five-year evaluation period, Proposition 227 showed no evidence that supported Englin-only programs were better than bilingual programs. It is important to disseminate the research so that people can focus on the evidence of benefits of bilingual programs rather than basing the judgment on prejudice. Bilingual education is highly motivated
by politics and even evidence that is portrayed through sources can be extremely biased.
9.
In California, Proposition 58 “English Proficiency, Multilingual Education” was passed in Nov. 2016. What did this proposition do to the the earlier Prop. 227? What impact will it have on bilingual education in California?
Proposition 58 preserves the requirement that public schools ensure students be proficient in English and authorizes school districts to establish dual language immersion programs for native and non-native English speakers. This impacted bilingual education in California by motivating the Global California 2030 plan to increase dual immersion schools from 407 to 1600 by 2030.
10.
In essence, what is the ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation? For what was it criticized?
The No Child Left Behind act required states to ensure students are taught by highly qualified teachers. It also eliminated the funding for bilingual education and left it up to states which programs would be eligible for funding. The NCLB also held states, districts, schools, and teachers accountable for academic performance and
the English Development of students. NCLB was criticized because of its usage of Limited English Proficient (LEP), which focused on testing and student’s lacking English rather than looking at them as emergent bilinguals.
11.
Explain Race to the Top
and Common Core State Standards
, and ESEA Flexibility
. Race to the Top was a program as part of Obama’s Recovery Act which offered $4.3 billion in grants for states to pursue education reform. There were four major requirements for states to qualify. First, states had to adopt college and career readiness standards. Second, states had to recruit, develop, reward, and retain effective teachers and principals. Third, states had to create more transparent data systems that measure student success. Lastly, states had to support intervention strategies to turn around low-performing schools.
Common Core State Standards were created to develop the college and career readiness standards. Two state consortia were formed to develop computer-based exams to measure the CCSS. CCSS met mandates for NCLB and made states eligible
for RTTT and other initiatives.
ESEA Flexibility was a program that offered states waivers from some accountability mandates of NCLB. This program was created because of the failure of Congress to reauthorize ESEA, schools failing to meet AYP targets, the inability of
100% test passing rates, and because there were only a few defenders of NCLB left.
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Valerie Lopez
12.
What is Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)? Explain the major differences between ESSA and NCLB.
The ESSA was a bipartisan legislation for a new version of ESEA, which brought NCLB to an end. ESSA still requires annual testing of ELA and math for grades 3-
12, but it gave states more flexibility for goal setting for low-performance schools. This allows a student’s growth over time to be considered rather than just focusing on
set scores.
13.
Summarize the current status of ELL students in the US (average), California, and eight other states (Alaska, Colorado, etc.) since 2000. Based on these data, what do you think California as a state need to do differently to provide help to the ELLs? Based on the chart, the number of ELL speakers has increased by 1% since 2000. The current status of ELL students allows schools to exclude ELL scores for the first 2 years of the ELL’s residency. The flexibility allows states (but not teachers and schools) to see where exactly they can provide support to their ELLs. Bilingual education was also challenging during the quarantine period of 2020 when many students had to rely on online instruction. Many ELL students lacked access to WIFI, technology, or other necessary services. I think all students in general struggled during the online instruction period, so I think California should provide more on-site support for ELLs.
14. According to the authors, the underachievement in school is typically unfairly blamed on bilingualism. Lack of exposure to the majority language and a mismatch between the languages at home and school are often cited as causes of underachievement. What are your opinions about these views? What do you think are some of the real reasons for such underachievement at school? I think that bilingualism makes up a fair amount of the US population, so the US should be able to accommodate the different ways of thinking of bilingual speakers rather than describing them as two engines running at half throttle. I agree that there is a mismatch between home and school efforts which could be caused be socioeconomic factors. Some parents or guardians might not put much reinforcement
into students at home, so students will leave the effort only for the school setting. Again, this could be due to socioeconomic factors because education is growing more
dependent on technology, which all families might now be able to afford.