p me advance and that is why I can stand here today and assure you that New York City Public School Bilingual Education Programs work.The critics have so much to say about Bilingual education in New York City. In a recent article of the New York Times, Rosell and Baker, two of the harshest critics of bilingual education, are quoted as saying that there is a need for an alternative to Bilingual education. Without any claim or care for our children, these two critics would like to see the New York Public School system implement the ESL program (English as a Second Language). The ESL program is different from bilingual education programs in the way that English is not considered a foreign language for the students and it allows the immigrant student to break away from their native language in order to learn English. Rosell and Baker claim that the program was proven successful in the California school system. But Rosell and Baker have no clue about what is good for the people of New York because Bilingual Education is the only way to preserve our childrens culture.In the early 1930s when my parents migrated to New York City from Africa, they were greeted by a 152-foot woman that stood in the center of the Hudson River holding a tablet in one hand and a torch in the other. This woman greeted my parents with kind words. If we go to the Harbor toady, she still stands there The statue of liberty. The statue has greeted millions from other lands who crossed the ocean in search of freedom and opportunity. It was a symbol to the world ideals of liberty upon which our nation and form of government were founded. By restricting the native language of the people in New York, we are restricting our infinite beauty in diversity. By ridding ourselves of bilingual programs we are distorting everything that the Statue of Liberty stands for. We are telling immigrants that they are welcomed only if they agree to assimilate and give up their language th...
