Art Un ticle I.1 ited Sta In the ates News - Woodring College of ...

In all of the above mentioned educational settings, schools were practicing what would today berecognized as maintenance bilingual education. Instruction began in the first language, and thenEnglish was gradually added in the upper elementary grades, while the student’s first languagecontinued to be supported and maintained. Access to these educational opportunities wassupported by state laws. However, “Americanization” efforts in the 1880’s, and later, anti -German sentiment during World War I, lead to a rise in language restrictionism (Castellanos,1983; Kloss, 1977)After World War II, cultural deprivation theory in educational psychology and culturalanthropology, along with political ideologies such as McCarthyism, created a belief thatlanguages other than English and cultures other than the mainstream (white) American culturewere inferior (Castellanos, 1983; Crawford, 1991; Darcy, 1963). The role of the school in thispolitical and educational environment was to remediate cultural deprivation and Americanize theimmigrant. Submersion models, commonly called “sink or swim,” became the norm in schools,with the emphasis being placed on learning English as quickly as possible, with no attentiongiven to the development of skills and knowledge in the first language, and no culturalaffirmation. It is not surprising that disproportionate numbers of language minority studentsbegan ending up in special education classes, and that they continue to do so in schools thatcontinue practicing this model (Baca & de Valenzuela, 1998; de Valenzuela, 1998; Figueroa,1993).It the early 1960’s, bilingual education was reborn in this country due to the immigration ofmiddle-class, educated Cubans following the Cuban Revolution (Castellanos, 1983; Gonzalez,1979). A highly successful, two-way model, bilingual education program was implemented inCoral Way, Florida in 1969. It is important to note that there was a great deal of political andpublic support for Cuban immigrants and their desire for bilingual education because they wereresisting the Communist revolution in Cuba. Programs modeled on the successful experiences ofthe Cubans, using first language instruction and maintenance bilingual education, have continuedto spread over the last several decades. However, an ever-present and growing resistance tobilingual education has flourished as well.During the Reagan Era, the English Only movement, through the political lobbying of the groupU.S. English, gained power and advocated a legislative agenda that directly attacked bilingualeducation. This movement was complimented by the cultural conservatism movement,exemplified by authors such as E.D. Hirsch (1996) and William Bennett (1987). These writerscontended that pluralistic education movements, such as bilingual education, would fragmentand divide Western society. Battles between the proponents and opponents of bilingual educationshow every signs of intensifying during the next few years. Political issues, such as the EnglishOnly movement of the 1980’s and 1990’s, coupled with a backlash against affirmative action andanti-immigrant sentiments, have fueled the controversy about bilingual education. Such politicaldebates have manifested themselves in the form of Propositions 63, 209, 227, and 287 inCalifornia. These propositions made English the state’s “official language,” severely limitedbilingual education, attempted to deprive many immigrants of the right to a public education, anddismantled affirmative action (Padilla, 1990). No doubt, bilingual education will continue to beinfluenced by the larger political and social context.Current Theories of Second Language AcquisitionOur understanding of what language is, how it develops and how it is used by differentindividuals at different times and in different settings, continues to evolve. What is important to© 2008 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved118