ducation, like Ron Unz, believe that it is unnecessary for schools to accommodate non-English speakers with native language classes. He feels that the U.S. should get immigrants speaking English as fast and as young as possible, and in order to be a united nation ethnic assimilation is important. Bilingual education advocates feel that students can learn to speak English and be American without losing their family traditions. Anything is possible but considering the aforementioned information it is hard to believe this. Bilingual education is designed by the U.S. government to help non-English speakers learn English and learn some basic skills for being an American. There are different bilingual programs, including immersion plans, where non-English speakers are taught English without using their native language. They are taught under the idea of sink or swim, and this is the type of program that people like Ron Unz believes in. In Texas in the 1950s submersion programs led to failure of nearly half of the Hispanic population of this generation to graduate from high school. Most bilingual educators came to the conclusion that maintenance programs provided the best means for citizens to become bilingual and bicultural (Mclaren 153). Maintenance programs provide opportunity to study in their native language even after they have achieved proficiency in English. The prevailing opinion in the U.S., like Unz, is that students should learn English and their own language should not be used. The immersion program definitely seems to be harsh, and it facilitates extreme assimilation to U.S. ideals. Maintenance programs seem a much better idea, but since the U.S. is so single-minded it is not likely it will be implemented very soon. What is most likely to happen is that present bilingual programs, like partial immersion or transitional, will remain. These programs either teach English one hour a day or once students attain a certa...
