Continuing Bilingual Education. With the Supreme Court decision in the Lau v. Ni

Continuing Bilingual Education.
With the Supreme Court decision in the Lau v. Nichols case in 1974, bilingual education came to the forefront in American education and was give a greater sense of legitimacy. While Lau v. Nichols did not mandate bilingual education, it required schools to address the linguistic needs of their students from diverse backgrounds.
Over the past 30 years, the road for bilingual education has often been bumpy. Although some researchers continue to affirm the value, others conclude that while not harming students, bilingual education provides no particular advantage (Krashen & McField, 2005). Some critics have attacked it as a colossal failure, and advocate for English immersion classes and the discontinuation of bilingual education. Even the federal government appears to be de-emphasizing bilingual programs. The name of the U.S. Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs has been renamed as the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA).
For:
Our economy is now a global economy, and developing multilingual citizenry through bilingual education will bring considerable advantages on the world stage.
Research by Cummins has clearly shown that ELL students cannot become proficient in English for academic purposes in the one year’s time proposed by proponents of sheltered English immersion programs. A well-developed bilingual program will enable the ELL student to become competent in cognitive academic language proficiency.
The problems in bilingual education have been rooted in the lack of qualified personnel trained in bilingual education techniques and the lack of adequate resources, and the lack of commitment both at the federal, and state levels. We need to prepare more individuals in bilingual education methodology and administration.
Research has clearly demonstrated that bilingual education, properly implemented, is highly effective.
Against:
In 1998, the year that California passed Proposition 227, more than 400,000 of the state’s students began the school year as non-English proficient, and at the end of the school year, only 5%had learned English. This reinforces and justifies Proposition 227, which finally ended the failed bilingual education fiasco.
The 2016 Proposition 58 essentially overturned Proposition 227 and reinstated bilingual education. However, it is doomed to fail as the bilingual education supporters can’t even agree as to what bilingual education should be. Maintenance? Transitional? Immersion? Dual Language?
Yes, we have a global economy, and it is advantageous for individuals to be multilingual. We don’t need bilingual programs for that. Want to learn Chinese? Take Chinese classes. Take Spanish classes as people have always done.
Proponents of bilingual education claim that the poor results of bilingual education is due to the lack of funding and the lack of appropriately trained bilingual education teachers. In the 2–plus years since the passage of Proposition 227, there are still claims of bilingual education teacher shortages. Twenty years from now there will be the same excuses.
2. Questions for Discussion:
Create a word document, type you response to the following questions, copy and paste into the field:
a. What should programmatic decisions ( such as the type of program that should be offered for ELL) be based upon?
b. Would we see the current level of criticism and resistance to bilingual education if the majority of students in these programs were not from Mexico and Central America?
c. Would you be more or less supportive of bilingual education if it was limited exclusively to dual language programs where half of the students in each class were from English- speaking backgrounds?
d. What has the research shown with respect to language acquisition and ELl
part 2
The first European settlers in what has become the United States were primarily devout Christians. The Founding Fathers of the country were primarily Christians. Until recent years school prayer was permitted in our schools, and at school athletic and other events. In recent years we have seen what many complain is a moral decay in the country. Today, the vast majority of the citizens of this country are Christians. The majority of them would like prayer returned to the schools and for the schools to instill in the students the basic morality, which is reflected in the Ten Commandments. Answer the following questions.Write your informed professional opinion. This means you give your opinion only if you can support what you say or explain what you say with references to the theories and concepts from the text and readings.
If the majority of the individuals living in your community are Christians and the parents of students want the return of school prayer and the Ten Commandments posted on every classroom wall, how can that harm any children in the school? Always cite articles (using APA in-text citation format, text chapters (author and date), page if you are quoting word-for-word, and videos when appropriate. The point in all discussions is showing that you can analyze and discuss using supportive evidence from the assigned readings.Cite specific examples from your reading.
Would the school and the community not benefit from a greater emphasis on morality? Always cite articles (using APA in-text citation format, text chapters (author and date), page if you are quoting word-for-word, and videos when appropriate. The point in all discussions is showing that you can analyze and discuss using supportive evidence from the assigned readings.Cite specific examples from your reading.
What would be the harm of daily prayer if the prayers did not make mention of God or Jesus? Always cite articles (using APA in-text citation format, text chapters (author and date), page if you are quoting word-for-word, and videos when appropriate. The point in all discussions is showing that you can analyze and discuss using supportive evidence from the assigned readings.Cite specific examples from your reading.
Individuals are elected to public office by receiving the most or the majority of votes. Should the majority rule in matters of religion? Always cite articles (using APA in-text citation format, text chapters (author and date), page if you are quoting word-for-word, and videos when appropriate. The point in all discussions is showing that you can analyze and discuss using supportive evidence from the assigned readings.Cite specific examples from your reading.
1. If the majority of the individuals living in your community are Christians and the parents of students want the return of school prayer and the Ten Commandments posted on every classroom wall, how can that harm any children in the school?
– If the majority of the community were to be Christians and if the parents want to their students to return to school of prayer and have the Ten Commandments posted on every classroom wall, this can harm any children in the school because what if they aren’t Christian or even follow Christianity whats so ever, this might offend the child by making them participate or follow in something they are not a part of. It should be that all religions are welcomed in class and not just one. “If an educator does not understand or ignores the role of religion in the lives of students, it may be difficult to develop appropriate instructional strategies or even retain one’s position.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2021, p.223) Meaning that if a teacher were to actually put up the Ten Commandments in a classroom wall it can make a student who is not Christain have a difficult time in class due to the teacher not including every religion as well as that teacher not creating a safe welcoming environment. According to Gollnick and Chinn (2021) state, “If the educator is from a religious background that is different from that prevalent in the community or has a perspective about the role of religion that differs from that of the community, misunderstanding and conflicts may arise that prevent effective instruction.” (p.223). We can see that this can cause an effect on children who don’t follow other religions. Overall, it is important for teachers to include all religions no matter what that student follows so I do think by having the Ten Commandments on every classroom wall can affect that child by not including them and making them feel excluded for only following the religion they don’t follow. Lastly, according to Gollnick and Chinn (2021) mentions, “Ten Commandments may be used for instructional purposes. They may even be placed temporarily on the classroom walls if used specifically for instructional purposes. They may not be used to proselytize nor displayed beyond the time for instructional purposes.” (p.250). Meaning technically they can have it in their classroom walls but it could only be used for some purposes only and that’s it.
2. Would the school and the community not benefit from a greater emphasis on morality?
– I think schools and communities would not benefit from a greater emphasis on morality because schools should show students from right and wrong and by knowing their morality such as right and wrong which can help them to know more about other religions instead of making schools follow religions that other students aren’t a part of. According to Gollnick and Chinn (2021) state, “All religions and religious groups are important, especially to those who belong to them. We will discuss here some of the most common religious groups U.S. educators may see in their schools.” (p.221) meaning that it is important to show schools and communities about how knowing the morality of religion is important and it can cause a great emphasis because schools and communities should know the special values that religions hold to people. “It is difficult to believe that state legislators, many of whom are attorneys, are not aware of the laws related to church and state. It is likely that these legislators or school officials believe it their responsibility to infuse their concept of morality and ethics into the school’s activities or curriculum.” (p.248). With this, we can how schools and communities not being able to agree or see the difference between the emphasis on mortality due to them not wanting to make a difference or change on how they view things, such as not knowing the rights or wrongs of how the law works when it comes to church and so forth and how this can also affect students not feeling comfortable in classrooms.
3. What would be the harm of daily prayer if the prayers did not make mention of God or Jesus?
– The harm of daily prayer if the prayers did not mention of God or Jesus can be difficult for some people because God is the main thing in a prayer and it is who you ask for, so if the prayer did not mention God or Jesus it would be difficult. Almost every religion does believe in a God or looks up to someone, and it is also important for church schools to use prayer in their schools even though it was banned at some point. “Despite the 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court decisions regarding school prayer, conservative Christian groups have persisted in their efforts to revive prayer in the schools.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2021, p.250). We can see here how having prayer within Christian group play an important role in school prayers because it is something they look forward to especially mentioning God or Jesus in their prayers. The reason why having prayers and religion still with us is because “For decades, well into the 1950s, noted ministers and religious leaders from various denominations defended segregation and helped to keep the practice alive.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2021, p.247). We can see here that if we stop practicing religion then we would forget about it and it is important for some people to keep it alive and going and to continue with generations. Overall, about “Eighty-nine percent indicate that they believe in God or a universal spirit.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2021, p.223). With this, we can see that the majority of the people in America believe in God which is quite a lot. In the end, by not mentioning God or Jesus in a prayer can affect the person, their beliefs, and religion.
4. Individuals are elected to public office by receiving the most or the majority of votes. Should the majority rule in matters of religion?
– If individuals are elected to public office by receiving the most or the majority of votes. I think the majority should rule in matters of religion because “Religion is likely as important in shaping an individual’s persona as gender, class, or ethnicity. The purpose of this chapter is to assist you in understanding how religion can be an important part of the cultural makeup of an individual, not to provide a comparative review of various religions.” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2021, p.221). We can see how religion shapes us not only as people but in classrooms and how we can all understand each other’s religions. Many people in the world have their own religion that they follow so I think it is only important to respect others’ religions if an individual were to be elected to the public office. According to Gollnick and Chinn (2021) state, “Based on religious attendance and importance given to religion in their lives, slightly more than a third of Americans are considered highly religious, while another third are not religious at all.” (p.223). Meaning that religion takes over half of the world and since it makes up a third of America it is only fair to give the majority of the rules to religion because it can help schools and communities know more about different students’ religions and by also making everyone equal and have opportunities. I also think the rules should be 50/50 meaning half of it focuses on religions and the other half focuses on other things. Overall, I think it is important for schools to accept all religions no matter what because everyone should be treated equally no matter what their religion is.