Sunday, April 26, 1998

Bilingual education valuable in Texas

By Steve Ray

It was a trip to Mexico in the early 1980s, and the taxi was late getting me to the airport. The plane had left, and I couldn't find anyone who spoke English or could understand my faltering Spanish.

I can still remember the frustration and the fear of not knowing what was being said and not being able to learn the information I needed to get where I was going.

About 517,000 school-age children in Texas are in a similar position. They don't understand much English, and they need help to get where they are going.

Right now, they are getting that help through bilingual education programs that work with children making the transition from their native languages to English. At the same time, those kids continue to learn because educators can teach them using the language they understand until they can make that transition to English. It usually takes about 4-1/2 to five years.

But if Republican House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Sugar Land has his way, those kids will be left on their own. DeLay has filed an "English for the Children Act,"a plan to end federal support for bilingual education. It would cut about $19 million for Texas schools and $200 million for schools nationwide that offer instruction in Spanish and other languages.

And it would leave thousands of Texas kids with the frustration of not understanding and not being able to learn. They will be left struggling to keep up with other students and feeling stupid when they aren't. Many of them will dropout because they cannot catch up.

The proposal faces opposition in Congress and has drawn sharp criticism from key Hispanic leaders in Texas. Analysts say it has little chance of passing -- this year.

But simply the fact that DeLay, a congressman from a state with a large Hispanic population, would propose something so racially and emotionally divisive indicates a growing frustration among some in America.

Many call it immigrant bashing. Others say if immigrants are here, they must learn to speak English and banning bilingual education would force them to assimilate faster.

Already in California, voters are expected to approve a June 2 ballot initiative to abolish almost all bilingual classes, despite the fact that minorities will become the majority of the state's population in 2002. The English-only proposal is dividing educators, Hispanics, and other minorities.

Admittedly, there are some problems with bilingual education programs. Too many of them are not really bilingual and students are not learning English at a fast enough pace. That limits the kids' ability to function in a society where almost everyone speaks English.

But in Texas, the stories are all too real of children held back because of language difficulties. Too many have been put in special education classes or with low-performing students because they were not fluent in English.

Spanish-speaking children should not have to live in fear they will be punished because they only speak their native language. Children who speak another language should be encouraged to keep that ability intact while learning to be fluent in English.

Instead of plans to cut bilingual education, Congress should be looking for ways to expand it -- to guarantee that all children have the opportunity in learn in two languages so they can function in a multi-lingual world.

As for DeLay, maybe he ought to move to California.

Texans understand the value of different cultures, and they want all children to have the opportunity to learn -- even if that means temporarily teaching them in another language.

Steve Ray is chief of the Scripps Howard Austin Bureau.