Bilingual Education for Hispanic Americans Research Paper

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Official Language Movement

Bilingual education is a teaching practice where two languages with one being the native language are used in teaching. The main reason for having it is to provide success in school as well as to maintain the culture and heritage of a given community. All people do not know English, to incorporate other people not proficient incorporation of other languages is necessary. Educationally, bilingual education has been supported through various arguments these are common sense, experience, and research. On experience, there is a higher drop out of the level of children with a minority language background and with lower grades.

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Finally, research has shown that first language skills should be well developed before a second language to ensure the maximization of the second language (Crawford, 1997). Failure to incorporate English as an academic language has led to problems of bilingual education. Bilingual education, therefore, should not be replaced but repaired, while supporting programs should be such that they improve interactions (Werner, 2007).

Politically

Denial to offer bilingual education is a denial of a basic human and civil right. The right to learn a native language is incorporated as Article 29 of the Convention of Right of a Child in the General assembly of the United Nations in 1989. Article 30 extends this by stating that a child should not be stopped to practice: his or her religious right, ethnic or linguistic minority (Kanellos et al, 1993). In some states like California, waivers were been applied for the student to pass the proposition 227 rules that called for special classes to be introduced for teaching children who are not proficient in English for a year. Those in support of immersion felt that they were only trying to incorporate immigrants into the American culture (Kanellos et al, 1993).

Hispanic American Diversity

Hispanics American’s have their origin from Hispanic countries which are Spanish speaking. They are the biggest group, which are not Native Americans. Among the groups of Hispanic Americans include Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Columbian Americans. Mexican Americans are the biggest group of Hispanic Latinos in the United States forming about 10.3% of the whole population.

Mexican Americans are Spanish-speaking citizens. Politically, they were allocated white status and this gave the right to vote and even hold an electro office. However, this might have been constrained by the literacy tests and poll tax which was needed for one to be eligible to be voted. New Mexico is an elite group of Mexican Americans who have been running in state politics in America. However, there have been threats of intimidation to prevent Mexican Americans from voting. Some of them is the threat of violence and literacy requirements in some states.

The fact that Mexican American’s have a lower education makes them not secure jobs in America. In recent times the children and grandchildren of immigrants are sharing almost the same privileges in their careers as the native white people. Socially, immigrants Mexicans have been assimilated into the American culture. Most of them are Roman Catholics, have strong beliefs, and have strong family values and bonds between parents and children. They also observe a strong relationship between members of the immediate and extended family (Kanellos et al, 1993).

Puerto Ricans is the other Hispanic group that is the second-largest among the Hispanic group. It forms about 5.1% of the American population. The majority of them are Spanish speakers while a minority group speaks English. In recent times Puerto Ricans have begun exercising power in many areas such that they have a significant population and have provided a major political front. In places like New York, they have combined forces with other minority groups to form a ‘swing vote’ kind of an alliance.

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Puerto Ricans in America usually work in the service and industrial sectors. Men work as Berbers, barmen, and grocers while on the other hand, women mostly work in garment industries. Assimilation has not taken over this group of people since they take pride in their culture. Usage of idiomatic expressions, vocabularies, and social custom within Spanish has well been maintained by Puerto Ricans.

Politically

The Puerto Ricans are not good participants in American politics and have shown no concerns. Some people attributed this to the courting by both parties in the American system. Most Puerto Rican people are Roman Catholics; they practice Catholicism and observe the catholic rituals although there is a small percentage of them who are Protestants. Puerto Rican families also portray their cultural heritage.

Husbands are the head of the families and community leaders while the older male sons are expected to take care of the young ones especially if they are female. Divorce and bearing children out of wedlock are discouraged while education among the young is greatly encouraged. Care is very well taken into consideration for children during their upbringing where boys are encouraged to be aggressive while the girls to be quiet and diffident (Alvarez, 1992)

Cuban American

Are the other group of Hispanics. Just like the other groups, their main language is Spanish in which they integrate it with English. Politically, Cuban Americans support the Republican Party in American elections. Cuban Americans are also notably involved in the elections with a big number of them participating in voting. This may be attributed to the opposition they have on the maxims regime in Cuba that puts Castro in power.

They also have their Cuban American politicians in power, for example, Bob Martinez, the former governor of Miami. The Cuban American community is well assimilated in the American community, which has also earned them significant influence politically. The recent groups that have come to America have not well been assimilated like the previous ones. This may be because they are not as well educated or business-minded as the previous groups.

In America

Cuban’s enjoy a good employment level than the other Hispanic groups where their employment runs in technical and sales or administrative support positions. Cuban Americans also have a reputation for been good entrepreneurs and have established profitable organizations. Most of the Cubans Americans are either Roman Catholics or nonreligious. However, though they are such a big number of them as Catholics there is a small number of them who are Protestants.

Cuban American family set up is such that there is strong parental control over the children. However, many changes have occurred, in the past where there was a need to have a godparent to the children who would act as a quasi-parent, which has tremendously decreased. The women have taken greater authority of the family than before since they have become providers of the family, a situation where freedom of children has experienced an increase (Garza, 1992).

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Colombian American

Form the other group of the Hispanic group, just like the other groups they are also predominant speakers of the Spanish language. They speak they’re Spanish faster than the other Spanish speakers and incorporate lyrical intonations. Columbian Americans are such limited to learning the English language and some natives who are less informed perceive rudely, those who speak it. However, people have opted to learn it to get jobs while others have to rely on bilingual teachings for their transactions.

Columbian Americans have a very strong pride in their culture and they see their stay in America as temporary and plan to leave for Columbia in the future where they are going to settle permanently. This may be attributed to the massive discrimination they receive and the increased suspicion due to some of them been involved in drugs. Columbian Americans have found it hard to live due to the development advancement that has occurred, rendering them unemployed. The lack of proficiency in English is also a problem for them as they fail to get jobs. Economically, most Columbians are employed as farmworkers and domestic workers.

Columbian Americans found themselves desiring employment in textile industries in the 1970s since to them these were the most desirable jobs they could get around. However, women had higher chances for thee jobs and though machismo existed they had to work to provide for their families. Columbian Americans are not much involved in American politics since they are convinced that they are not in their permanent residence. Most of them are known not to have the right to vote.

In recent years the Columbian Americans have joined the other Latino groups to elect mayors and councilmen as well as fight discrimination. Most of the Columbian Americans are Roman Catholics; this is attributed to the fact that it was the first denomination to reach their land. However, the introduction of Protestants in the 19th century also brought about a number of them turning into Protestants.

The Columbian immigrants have the sole concern of keeping their families away from any changes or pressures in American society. Husbands are the wage earners, while wives are keepers of the family and together, they teach the children ways to respect their parents. Columbians like moving in families although most of the time, it is not possible since, they often find American life affecting their family orientation of keeping their families networks intact (Chaney, 1983).

Similarities

There are so many similarities between the above mentioned Hispanic groups. To start with, all of the mentioned communities are Spanish speakers. About 95% of the population are good in Spanish. Religion is also common among these groups of people. Roman Catholicism is the main religion with just a small group of them being Protestants. Their family values are also treasured such as the parent’s relationship to the children and support of the non-working members. Also, a common practice to them is the issue of the extended families where women to these communities are considered subordinates while men are the ones who are the wage providers. This, however, is changing due to increased needs such as that of having to provide for their families.

Differences

There are also a few differences among these communities. These differences are mostly highlighted in their social attitude towards being assimilated in America. Mexican Americans do not have much problem in transforming to the American culture while Columbian Americans are not willing to change their culture to meet that of the Americans since they perceive it as a temporary settlement. Matters of politics are also another discrepancy between the views of these communities. This is marked by the fact that Mexicans and Cubans Americans have recently been active in American politics, while Puerto Rican and Columbia Americans do not actively participate thus, they have lower turnouts on election days.

References

Alvarez, M. (1992). Puerto Rican Children on the Mainland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Garland Publishers.

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Chaney, E. M. (1983). Colombian Outpost in New York City. New Jersey: New Brunswick.

Crawford, J. (1997). Best Evidence: Research Foundations of the Bilingual Education Act. Washington DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Garza, R. (1992). Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Kanellos, N., Weaver, T., and Fabregat, C. E. (1993). The Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States. Houston: Arte Público Press.

Werner, H. (2007). The Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Bilingual Education for Hispanic Americans." February 7, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/bilingual-education-for-hispanic-americans/.

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