As some of you might know, Ana and I just got back from an amazing trip to Washington D.C. where we were honored to take part in LATISM’s first ever #TopBlogueras Retreat. As part of the event, we received a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to go to the White House to attend a special policy briefing about education, health and the economy, among other topics. As soon as we saw that one of the panelists was Andrea Ceja, the chief of staff at the Office of the Undersecretary of the Department of Education, both Ana and I knew we had to ask a question about the state of bilingual education in this country. And that’s exactly what I did.
Below, you’ll be able to see the entire exchange, which Ana caught on video, but I wanted to tell you that our biggest take-away was that in order for us to make this a real movement and show the entire country why we’re part of this bilingual parenting revolution, we first need to make sure that everyone understands the difference between what’s been traditionally dubbed bilingual education and dual language immersion education, which is what we advocate for.
Read more: What are Dual Language Immersion Programs
While they might sound like the same thing, they are not. In this country, bilingual education is the program used to teach English Language Learners to become proficient in English and it more often than not does this at the expense of Spanish (or the child’s first language). Dual language immersion achieves the same results, except that while ELL students are becoming proficient in English, they’re helping monolingual English-only speakers become proficient in Spanish because that’s how dual language immersion education works. Everyone feeds of each other’s abilities in the name of becoming bilingual. In short, it’s a win-win situation for all, including the children who are already bilingual when they enter the program — like Camila, Ana’s daughter, who will enter a DL program in the fall — who essentially become intermediaries and help both their English-only and Spanish-only classmates. What’s there not to like, right?
As you’ll see, my question had to do with whether I’m crazy to dream that one day all children in the United States will have access to this type of education. In the panelists answers, you’ll hear the confusion that exists regarding this topic and see why we feel it’s such a necessity to educate others so they understand that dual language immersion education is the best way to go in order to kill two birds with one stone.
Read on how The Power of Community Was Felt at the White House
To be clear, I’m not saying all children need to attend schools like these — although that would be amazing —, I’m just saying that all children should have the opportunity to do. If you’ve followed us for a little bit, you know I don’t have this option in Denver and thus Vanessa is attending our neighborhood elementary school. While she’s only in kindergarten and is doing great, I’m really sadden that she won’t be getting the same kind of dual language education I got because I know the benefits of a program like this first-hand.
Hope you take the time to watch the video. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
{Image by MamaLatinaTips}
It seems like a double edged sword – They need more qualified teachers for dual language programs, but how do you get teachers qualified to teach in Spanish without bringing in teachers from other countries. We will never have those qualified teachers if we are not taking advantage of the resources kids have already and working with their academic knowledge of the language.
I would love to teach in a dual language program, but without the academic background in Spanish, I would feel seriously underqualified even though after living in Colombia for 4 years and Mexico 1 year, my communicative spanish is pretty good. I guess its just like in bilingual schools all over the world – you do the best you can, but sometimes (many times) you have to settle for people who are not perfect in the language.
Ali, thanks for bringing this up. It’s actually a hugely important issue and one of the reasons, in fact, why sadly some dual language immersion programs end up failing. I’m not really sure what the answer is, but the more bilingual children we’re able to graduate, the more there’s a possibility that at least some of them decide to become bilingual teachers themselves, no?
We definitely need more qualified teachers or else, the system will end up failing our children…
Felicidades! We actually found out today that our first child has been accepted to the dual language immersion program at an elementary school near our home. We also learned that that same elementary school has been given a title I designation. Still processing it all and find myself with mixed emotions. I think there is lots of progress to be made in education in this country. What a wonderful opportunity, y GRACIAS for representing me!
That’s great news!! Felicidades!!! I so wish we had options like these where we live
So, is the dual language option just a program within the elementary school? How exactly does that work?
Roxana, excellent question! This is so exciting in so many ways. I just took a course about Language Policy and you touched on a topic dear to the heard of many and the fact that the respondents touched on it in the ways that they did (both good and bad) speaks to how our society views bilingualism. They forget that it is not JUST about economic, social, or political advancement, but it is VERY much about maintaining and developing a heritage language learners sense of ethnic and cultural identity which you cannot put a price on! LOVED it the video and thank you for sharing it.
Suzanne, thanks for watching and for being a part of this movement from the moment you joined SpanglishBaby! I agree 100% with what you are saying. It seems like we all have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to change the way bilingualism is viewed in this country. But we’re totally up for it!
What an amazing trip! Way to represent! I wish their answers had been more positive, but at least you spoke up, I too would love more dual language schools around the country!!
Although I still have a small baby, I’m starting to think about his education options in this country and I would definitively love if US start to incorporate more bilingual classes to their curriculums. That way, I would stop thinking that at some point when he is older, I will have to send it back to my country to stay with my relatives and learn the language at some school there. Gracias Roxana y Ana por hacer una pregunta tan valiosa! specially when most of the babies that are born now in US are from Hispanic origin. It is a fact and it is important to act.
Based on my experience as someone who grew up never “really” learning Spanish because my family wanted to make sure I was “American” – I can’t imagine not raising my kids bilingual. This gift of language is the ONE thing I will not back down on. My oldest is almost three and is starting a Spanish immersion preschool in the fall. We are thrilled.
Gracias!!!
¡Excelente amigas mías! What a wonderful visit to Washington, D.C. you must have enjoyed. Thank you for voicing a major concern many of us share … and at the core of it all is truly the question of will our country ever invest in providing enough training to have enough qualified teachers to run dual immersion programs in our United States of America?
I have the answer, and unfortunately it’s NO. As a teacher who spent more than 15 years in this very red-tape and paperwork ridden profession that is so under-paid and under-appreciated I can tell you that, unless is there is a quick major overhaul of our education system all the way around, we will never in OUR lifetimes see dual immersion programs being offered on a much grander scale (much less for every family who wants it for their children).
I am not a pessimist – those of you who follow me and know me know that I am one of the most hopeful people you will ever meet. However, I am a realist, and the reality is that our country cannot even standardized the testing system across our states much less come to agreement on curriculum development and standardizing learning for our young children.
We all know that we need major, quick reform in the United States public school system, and the way in which your question was skirted around during that 5 minute video just goes to prove how very broken our system is.
Let me end this on a positive note – we as parents are our children’s first teachers and we know how to make a difference. Let us continue reading with our children EVERY day and giving them the sound foundation they need in the languages we have chosen for them to learn.
Thank you Ana and Roxana for all your hard work promoting our “bilingual parenting revolution.” Va a ser muy valioso para nuestras niñas y niños.
Well….que chevere for SpanglishBaby to be at the White House!!! I could go on and on about what Dual Language Programs need in order to be successful and numerous around the country, but I won’t bore you with those gorey opinions! I will add that in a former life, I used to be in charge of the Dual Language programs in DC and the hardest things to do was find certified teachers who spoke Spanish…because in a Dual Language Program, you must know your content (Elementary Ed, Math, Science, etc…)and be able to deliver it in Spanish, as well as have a few tricks of the trade up your sleeve considering your audience may be learning in a language other than his or her mother tongue.
Let me know the next time you are in my barrio and among other very entertaining things, I will take you to visit the best Dual Language Program in the country….Key Elementary School! Gladly, estaré a sus órdenes!