Reply #39: I have done research on this

[Maestro]

The reason the drop-out rate is still high for Hispanics in Texas is because 1) Bilingual ed is done incorrectly by mostly conservative districts who force-feed English on the children way too early so they children learn to speak English but have no academic basis because literacy requires much more than just being able to speak. The students learn English but spent years learning English and fell behind academically. And 2) Most Hispanics are not in bilingual education in Texas; therefore, bilingual ed is part of the answer not the problem.

This is an argument against bilingual ed that we hear all the time and it is simply not true. If bilingual ed were truly implemented correctly by the mostly conservative leaders or principals in certain school districts, Hispanics would learn English well and be academically proficient in that language. Many of the children that left my classroom went on to the Gifted and Talented program in English!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These kids are eager to learn, we just need to use what they bring to the table. Subtractive bilingualism (taking primarily Spanish and replacing it with English) has never worked. Additive bilingualism (academic instruction in both languages) is the way to go!!!!!!!

One of many academic investigations supporting bilingual ed