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Ashley De La Torre
Van Bebber
Writing, 001
Section, 45
3 December 2014
English Only in the EMUHSD
Being a child of two immigrants has made learning quite interesting. Growing up
learning two languages wasn’t very difficult due to the cognitive capabilities that come
along with a young brain. In addition, being surrounded by peers who many of which
knew the same two languages definitely made learning at school more comfortable.
However, for those few peers that were not familiar with any language other than
English, learning seemed to be easier for them. This might have been because their
parents were more capable of assisting them with any schoolwork that was in English.
Fortunately, my father is knowledgeable in the English language, but it’s easy to recall
having known many peers whose parents did not speak a word of English. One can
only begin to imagine how difficult assignments could have been to complete without
any assistance from elders. According to the 2010 United States Census, the area in
which our district lies is made up of about eighty-five-percent Hispanics. This makes it
easy for one to assume that students in the area are bilingual in both English and a
native language as well. One can also assume that though not all Hispanics are
bilingual, not all bilingual Hispanics are fluent in both languages.
It has come to my attention that considerations towards an English Only policy
for all incoming students has surfaced within the school administration and the district
school board. As a EMUHSD (El Monte Union High School District) alumna, I believe
that an English Only policy for future students should indeed be enforced.
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The El Monte/South El Monte area is where the schools that belong to the
EMUHSD are. Within this area, since more than three quarters of students are Hispanic,
more than half of those students are bilingual in English and Spanish. I believe that an
English Only policy within the EMUHSD would positively affect many students and
cause them to go about their lives in America more educated through English. Apart
from that, those students might one day be able to use their bilingualism towards their
career since an English only policy does not mean that a truly bilingual student won’t
keep any knowledge of their foreign language. Ones foreign language and cultural
practices are always reinforced through their families just as mine were.
In Myriam Marquez’ article titled, Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public,
she talks about how speaking a foreign language in public can be quite uncomfortable
since strangers might find it rude to be spoken around in an unfamiliar language. In her
article, she states, “Let me explain why we haven’t adopted English as our official family
language. For me and most of the bilingual people I know, it’s a matter of respect for our
parents and comfort in our cultural roots.” Coming from a Mexican family, I agree with
Marquez. My father always asks me to speak in Spanish if there are any people around
us who don’t know English so that our conversation won’t come off as rude or
disrespectful. Usually he asks this of me in front of my mother or my grandmother since
neither of them are familiar with the English language. I then restart my conversation
with who ever it is I was speaking to in Spanish so that who ever is around is welcome
to listen the second time around. On the contrary, when in public with my mother, I have
no choice but to speak to her in Spanish regardless of how rude it might seem to people
around us. At times, some circumstances don’t allow someone to meet societies’ social
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standards. As a victim of diversity, Greg Lewis’ article titled, An open letter to Diversity’s
Victims, certainly has called for my attention.
In Lewis’ article, he says that in order for someone to succeed without so much of
a struggle, it is useful to know your way around the English language. In his article, he
states that, “To succeed in America - with a number of relatively minor although often
highly visible exceptions - it‘s important to speak, read, and understand English as most
Americans speak it. There’s nothing cruel or unfair in that; it’s just the way it is.” In other
words, Lewis is saying that in America, it can be quite difficult for someone to succeed if
they aren’t sufficiently educated in the English language. Sure, being knowledgable in a
foreign language could be beneficial, but in a country where the dominant language is
English, it is far more beneficial to be well educated in English. Though this may seem
obvious to many, various groups of people insist on opposing an English only policy,
because it prioritizes the English language over any foreign language. Through this,
many fear that they will drift apart from there culture since it is usually goes hand in
hand with their foreign language. Although that is a possibility, it is not proven to be
common. Personally, being a bilingual student has aloud me to interact with the majority
of people in my school more deeply. Apart from that, I was also fortunate to be raised as
a first generation college student by having gotten accepted into great schools through
my strong efforts in high school. Applying myself as a bilingual student athlete made the
entire process much easier. I believe that my success is due to having learned both
English and Spanish at the same time. Not once was I enrolled in bilingual classes, but I
do recall being spoken to at home in only Spanish. Therefore, I do not believe that an
English only policy is negative, in fact, I encourage it.
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In Diane Ravitch’s article titled, First teach them English, she talks about how
English speaking Hispanic students seem to have the upper hand in the academic
world. In her article, she states that, “The United States Department of Education
recently reported a dropout rate of thirty-percent for Hispanics between the ages of 16
and 24, more than double the dropout rate for blacks or whites in the same age group.
The report also found that Hispanic students who spoke English well were far less likely
to drop out than those who did not.” Through Ravitch’s article, one can easily come to
believe that an English only policy could potentially work when shooting for a lower drop
out rate within Hispanics. Though it may also seem unnecessary, an English only policy
comes with many more benefits than just lowering a dropout rate. However, in James
Crawford’s article in response to Ravitch’s, First teach them English, he states his
oppositions towards the research professor of education.
Crawford states that, “Ravitch implies that bilingual education is to blame for
high Hispanic dropout rates. But she neglects to mention that only a tiny fraction of
Hispanic students are enrolled in bilingual classrooms.” It is safe to say that Crawford
opposes Ravitch’s argument since it is only applied towards so many people. Apart from
that, he also disagrees with Ravitch because not all Hispanic students are enrolled in
bilingual classrooms which is why her Hispanic dropout statistic might seem extremely
high. One could quickly assume that Crawford does not support bilingualism however,
he is all for it. In his response to Ravitch, he also wrote that Ravitch’s statistic on the
government’s agreement to increase Federal financing for $354 million towards bilingual
education is wrong. Crawford states that, “This figure includes $150 million for the
Emergency Immigrant Education program, which reimburses schools for numerous
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costs associated with newcomer students. Little of it goes to support bilingual
instruction.” Crawford simply demonstrates how Ravitch’s statistics are wrong which
provide his reader with insight on how bilingual programs are still not funded enough.
This could possibly be what is causing them to be failures which could then be leading
to higher dropout rates instead of lower ones.
As for statistics, I personally am living proof that bilingualism is beneficial.
Nevertheless, I truly believe that an English only policy in the EMUHSD should be
considerably enforced. As stated before, an English only policy does not mean that a
truly bilingual student won’t keep any knowledge of their foreign language. Ones foreign
language and cultural practices are always reinforced through their families just as mine
were. English only seems intimidating, but I believe that if the EMUHSD board members
were to take the time to construct an English only policy that still welcomed bilingualism
with open arms, incoming students might indeed have brighter futures.
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Works Cited
Marquez, Myriam. "Why And When We Speak Spanish Among Ourselves In Public."
Orlando Sentinel. The Sentinel Staff, 28 June 1999. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Crawford, James W. "Sophistry 101: Diane Ravitch on Bilingual Education." Canard of
the Month (1997): n. pag. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Ravitch, Diane. "First Teach Them English." New York Times [New York] 05 Sept. 1997:
n. pag. Print.
Lewis, Greg. "An Open Letter to Diversity's Victims." 2003-2013 Greg Lewis, 12 Aug.
2003. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.