I find very interesting the way in which “essentialist and perennialist curriculum are reinforcing the status quo of unequal economic and social power” (Oakes et als, 74). Since people with economic and political influence owe their power to the capitalist system in which we live in, I have concluded that the notion of education as the way to enhance students’ future economic prosperity is highly linked to the rhetoric of capitalism. As a society we are told that capitalism provides the opportunities for an individual, any individual, to climb the socioeconomic ladder. However, very rarely are we reminded that such opportunities cannot be sustain for everyone, and in order for the system to function there must be winners and losers. Thus, in …show more content…
discussion on bilingual education made me reflect on my own experience in bilingual education. I was an elementary student when I was in a bilingual class. This allowed me to learn English at my own pace and still gain the academic knowledge I needed to succeed. Looking retrospectively there wasn’t a big difference between all-English and bilingual education in elementary school, however, in high school the difference in the quality of education was obvious. Before reaching high school, I had made the transition from bilingual to all-English classes, thus I did not have to suffer the lack of quality of education. However, I was able to see the lack of quality through my friends’ experiences, most of which did not go to college. One of the problems with bilingual education is that students tend to get comfortable, thus they don’t feel the need to learn English promptly and move to all-English classes. As a result, they are deprived of the type of education that would prepare them for college. This implies that to succeed academically, students must prioritize learning English. However, think of learning English as a priority implicitly exhibits American hegemony and it disregards the advantage we can derive from language diversity in the