While Obama and McCain slug it out on the national stage, voters in individual states are considering legislation that could have widespread repercussions. In the first of a special election series, Opposing Views examines Oregon’s Measure 58, a proposal that would require “English immersion” in Oregon public schools while limiting foreign language instruction. Do English immersion laws help or harm students? Figure out where you stand now; your state may be next. (Editor's Note: On November 4th, Oregon voters rejected Measure 58)
For the first 200 years of our republic people have come from all over the world and immigrated to America. They spoke every language on earth. With the exception of few isolated exceptions there were no ELL, ESL or dual language programs, just English immersion. Because immigrants were forced to learn English they became better citizens, more productive people and better educated.
At one time, immigrants wanted to become Americans in every sense of the word. Immigrant parents wanted their children to be able to speak and write English. They correctly believed that speaking English would make their children more successful. We have all heard stories of how parents would forbid their children from speaking their native tongue at home. Rather they wanted their children to teach them how to speak English when they came home from school.
However under the new mantra of multiculturalism and diversity, the educational establishment has made teaching the native culture of immigrants more important than teaching students to speak English fluently and at grade level.
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