June 29, 2009

PHIL KENT: Supreme Court sends a signal – in English

Posted by D.A. King at 9:13 am - Email the author   Print This Post Print This Post  

Washington Times
Phil Kent

Supreme Court sends a signal – in English

Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Horne v. Flores drives another nail into the coffin of bilingual education, the teaching theory in which immigrant children are segregated by language and taught primarily in their native language while being taught English on the side…

Bilingual education is a documented failure in school systems across the country, and the 5-4 decision, written by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., involving Arizona’s Nogales Unified School District emphasizes this failure with a stark conclusion: Teach English. Specifically, the high court recognizes the demonstrated effectiveness of structured English immersion (SEI) methods for teaching English language learners (ELL).