Prop 227: The Effectiveness Of Bilingual Education System

Bilingual education has been implemented in the past before, however the system in which it was run was not very functional. This dual education system was poorly funded and teachers were hired that were not fully adequate or properly trained. Bilingual education needs to be implemented at an early age for it be most effective. Prop 227 was thought to be the antidote in creating high caliber English learners. Students from minority backgrounds were given one year to learn English at an excelled rate. Unfortunately, these students were marginalized and not given sufficient assistance needed to excel in the dominant school setting or learn English fluently. Bilingual education was banned nation wide by Prop 227, however there were selective bilingual

Our educational system focus is not on biliteracy for all students, but more so on a subtractive education for English Language Learners and an additive education for whites. One prime example is Medgar Evers High School. In Medgar Evers High School, a school in a predominantely black neighborhood, offer a highly sought after TWI program. A Two Way Immersion Program, a ambivalent program in which English-speaking children and minority language speakers are mixed in a bilingual education setting. The long-term goal of a TWI is biliteracy, cross-cultural understanding, lauded academic achievement for all, and high expectations are imposed. (Palmer, 94) The ambivalent TWI at Medgar Evers High School are flooded with white middle class students who are bussed in to these elite programs, whereas African American and minority students who would benefit the most are being shut out or disproportionately represented. Our current approach today, offering bilingual or TWI programs in certain schools, are designed to promote equality for all and help bond cultural and language difference, however instead we have a grim scenario in which minority students are excluded from these opportunities. (Palmer,

Studies have shown that voluntary immigrants perform exceedingly better than involuntary immigrants. Asian Americans such as the Japanese, Chinese, and Punjabi Indians outperform African Americans and Latinos in school. Ogbu outlines the stark differences in involuntary and voluntary immigrants’ perceptions and opportunities, “Involuntary minorities do not have the option of returning to a homeland or reemigration; nor do they feel that white Americans have a right to discriminate against them in jobs and wages because they, too, are citizens. Furthermore, they know from generations of experience that the barriers facing them in opportunity structure are not temporary.” (Ogbu, 325) Involuntary immigrants such as African Americans have a prevalent history of being discriminated against, brought unwillingly, and offered a subpar education compared to whites. This may create distrust in the white education system we have today. (Ogbu, 318) When voluntary immigrants are blatantly discriminated against they may rationalize the discrimination by saying it is because they are “guests” in the country, they are not familiarized with the English language, or posses a American education. (Ogbu,