Bilingual education: The cost of doing nothing

This is a a very important story.  Bilingual education isn't a frill or luxury.  It's essential for our children's academic achievement and acquiring biliteracy in the English language. Without it, far too many are doomed.  Such outcomes are a clear outcome of what I term, "subtractive schooling."

Glad to hear UCLA Professor Dr. Patricia Gandara speak to just how critical this is to these children and our nation.  I recommend reading her book with Rebecca Callahan titled, THE BILINGUAL ADVANTAGE.

-Angela

 
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WBHM

December 04, 2015 · 8:00 AM EST

Some of Unidos Dual Language Charter School teacher John Rendon's second-graders getting into a lesson.

Credit: Dan Carsen/WBHM

Imagine being in second grade and trying to learn math in a language that you’re also learning. That’s the situation for an increasing number of students in the US and the South. If you focus too much on learning English — maybe in special, isolated classes where you don’t hear your peers speaking the native language — you fall behind in math, among other things.

Listen to the story here.