ms and in middle school saw how these same students began to be segregated. They were not taught in a different classroom but they were placed in slower and standard programs. In high school I was in mostly honors and college preparatory classes and these classes were about 90% white. It has taken many years to question why this was so. With the exception of a few, Hispanic students were placed into standard programs in all subjects. I believe it is because of one or two reasons. The bilingual education I witnessed was ineffective and didn’t teach the students properly for them to be able to interact and participate at the high school level. I also think that maybe they decided that the English they were forced to learn was something that discounted their culture, and they saw any adherence to the educational system as a sacrifice of their culture. Either way, non-chalant attitudes about grades and teachers caused them to remain in standard classes throughout high school and receive poor grades. “Brown Pride” t-shirts were a norm so maybe they didn’t want to assimilate and they knew about people like Gualinto. Or should the American public think that these students are ignorant, inherently unmotivated, and undeserving of higher education or upward mobility? Because non-publicly (in order to save face) this seems to be the public opinion. The dominant white power structure and bilingual education present a very difficult situation for any immigrant who strives to achieve the American Dream of upward mobility and retain their cultural identity. The English language and linguistic imperialism attribute to this situation. While bilingual education is a way to assimilate non-English speakers into American culture, English and its place in the white dominant society, creates a possibility of forgetting ones culture or even self hatred. Like Gualinto many students find that the only real way to become upwa...
