3 —___ Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Education BACKGROUND In December of 2014, Atlantic Magazine reported that despite the bene- fits of bilingualism, “U.S. Schools Are Saying Goodbye to Foreign Lan- guages.” The Success Academy Charter Schools that enroll about 9,000 students in 32 charter schools around New York City dropped their foreign language requirement at a time when a high demand existed for foreign language speakers. In an interview the school’s CEO apolo- gized, explaining, “So something’s got to go. We picked—and you know this may be shocking to this audience—we picked foreign languages [to eliminate]. People say ‘Don’t you believe in foreign languages?’ I love multilingualism. I speak French, but something had to go .... We can’t do everything. And by the way, Americans don’t tend to do foreign languages very well. I think if I were doing schools in Europe I might feel differently, But my son took three years of French and he could ‘arely Say, ‘How are you?’...1 really believe whatever we do we Should do it exceptionally well and I wasn’t sure that I could findValing Hy good and cou ‘i a oi, foreign language instructors that were real very high level” (Kohli, 2014). ata 64 in the public) Why has the instruction of Spanish deci schools given the increase of the Latina/o student Population? How is the elimination of Spanish 1 learning a slight to Latin America? Why are know a foreign language less apt to be xeno, an gua People whe Phobic? This development was baffling to many because “the ‘majority, leges expect a student to have a minimum of two years of ge guage when applying to college” (Barber, 2015). The fact i hate colleges are requiring a foreign language, Explanations a. ae xenophobia to declining grade point averages. Politicans nat ened the situation by passing legislation allowing students oe tute coding classes such as computer science for the foreign languags requirement—the reasoning is that everyone speaks Englishes rationale... is rooted in the rapidly changing world of informage, technology. Jobs in programming and various information techwol fields continue to be in high demand. Nonprofit K-12 advocates y Code.org say that the number of computer science graduates in 2013 cannot fill the demand in the industry. “There are 38,175 new gradu. ates to fill 618,000 open jobs” (Avelino, 2016). It doesn’t help foreign languages that “President Barack Obama called for a $4 billion increase in funding for computer science programs for high schools, citing the need to meet the drastically under filled demand’ (Avelino, 2016). Uni- versities show very little leadership and follow the money. What is the relationship between the decline in Spanish instruction and economics? Why would coding classes trump foreign languages? In the past, foreign languages were one of the few examples of ily gualism and multiculturalism in high school and college classes. AC" relation between the teaching of foreign languages and lip service 0 ethnic diversity exists at the university level. Publicly univers praise diversity, although critics doubt whether they know what 8 Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger claims: "... the 12° sity of our University community makes it possible for students ulty, alumni, and neighbors to interact with—and thus be trans! eer 1 and Linguistic Diversity In Education wal am ! ” nultiplicity of human perspectives” (Multicultural Adair the number of students and faculty of color reat re inger’s view diversity comes about by reruitin in Bot Mia international students. They ate given spa minor almost always inthe Student Union, Desig se nivel ty administrators means more brown and black fees and at unonce a week: y-them qrrealil¥ i highly gifted Satis ion of Columbia University | fhat is your opinior ity’s viticultural paradigm? Will it achieve multiculturalism? | Can diversity be achieved without a balance of diversity {nstudents and faculty? Le [Although California has a sizable Latino population, the approach sgno different atthe California state universities (CSU). The CSU para- soy resembles that of the Ivy League schools; the only difference ie of the elite. However, what the CSU calls cultural identity boils down fo token brown and black faces. They sponsor taco nights and Black History months, and occasionally fraternities mock minority cultures In the end, diversity is measured by the color of faces. Not many changes, however, have taken place, and cultural diversity amounts to smoke and mirrors. How do public state universities differ from Ivy League universities? Do classes and special events socialize students to accept different people and cultures? Evaluate diversity at your school. “ CSUN services an area with a large Mexican/Latino population and its mission is to educate an economically diverse population. Part of its mission is to educate competent teachers for this diverse population. Most studies prove that this mission is best achieved by employing minority teachers who know those communities and can train teachers, {each and motivate Mexican and Latino students Why would white faculty members resist iting | Professors of color? How is faculty diversity a key institutional diversity? ‘aeUS. Lat hoy, 48 : gtuSTI¢ DOMINATION LINGUISTIC DOM areas eset been se 858 WEAPON OF omg vite jn ni that man invented culture Dut that cule ta sper a MMIC US pen dan cng our ives and eatonships. Culture much more ye aa ar eso fod, tisconstantly changing, manipulate the mest andthe elite who have reduced it 0 a commodity. Cua gives meaning tour ines, Language sends Cultural messapuy Ne fhe Toes we were well avare ofthe role of culture that went bey manipulation of language How does culture reinforce and maintain xenophol During the 1960s, I was intellectually tickled by the lectures of Leonard Olguin, a high school teacher who later taught at Los Beach State College, The title of his book was Shuck Loves Chirley (Olguin, 1968), which summed up an essential linguistic conflict. I recalled my ‘own childhood when the teacher would grab my chin and yell at me, “Look at me straight in the eyes; don't be shifty eyed, and don’tbe defi. ant.” With a sore neck I would go home and when my father scolded he Rot wanting to be defiant, would look straight into his eyes, and ‘he would yell at me, “Look down. Don’t be defiant.” The lessons gived with me, and one ofthe first courses I designed for Chicano ‘Studies was called “Cultures in Conflict” (Acuiia, 1970). Language is frequently used in culturally and ideologically biased contexts. Accents are often graded. according to the prestige of the Speakers’ country of origin. “In the context of ‘globalization, immigration, - in Eee out ts prestige and power, there is an immense” 2013), Langone, ttt al itis the language of the colonizer (Waseem. to econa eee orTeSpONdS to power domains, and it is a doorway rh are cational Opportunities. English is the language Of em European languape: yn and the World Bank. In fact, Nor teacher dome’ the ll into this same orbit. On a daily basis, : _ “student through the use of language. In m0 -qoonial languages suppress ty id the dev pment of other languay ae eee 8es. They contribute to making the col re uistic Diversity in Education unnat and tnt Divers a Fay we extinct 1s commen in colonial situations yf izers. policy is imposed limiting communicaoniy coo con language. Fr example, during the dicen ences tor Francisco Franco, the Cataléns oF Basques were binant deteirlanguages- Accordingly, they reasoned Meagan lacked ine ees 1Q testing played a major roe in justifying emetia Programs flat tained Mexicans for subordinate roles in Amen society During th 19205 about half of Mexican sien tend op Mexican choos, Nota Protestants supported henge cultural annihilation. Many reformers pushed for programs stressing the cultural needs Of Mexican children. Some relornen ahve compassionate Americanzation programs based onstesing thee tveasses of Mexican culture, and they sponsored eultaal eee exchanges with Mexico. Protestant ministers such as the Reverend Robert N. MeLean, an associate director of the Presbyterian Board of Mission in the Unig States, were active in the Mexican and Puerto Rican communities vee ing studies and establishing schools. They played important advoocy toes. Mexicans also opposed the English Only teaching reyuromeng enforced in Texas and other states during World War L which increnced segregation. During the 1920s, Mexican organizations established esueltas (litle schools) dedicated to teaching reading and writing instruction in Spanish to preschoolers. A bridge between these early scholars and bilingual education and Chicana/o studies was University of Texas Professor George I. Sanchez. Born in New Mexico educated in Jerome, Arizona, Sanchez taught in public schools and earned an FaD fom the University of California at Berkeley. Sanchez later taught at the Universities of New Mexico and Texas and was a crusader for wut! education for Mexican Americans, He was a gradualist—in Ae With labor-oriented progressives of his time. In the fal of 1957 merican education entered an era of intense educational reform. angen of nati SPUINIK Our Soviet Union sparked a revolution when it launched Sputikin had eee 1957, which led to cries for educational reform te a Was phat” the United States in the race to outer space eae st the United States spent billions of dollars into vi = * teaching of math and seience, and a substantial amount werU.S. Hating ty toy f esocal sciences. Fora time, highe as interested in reforming forming lan. ties and th * aogier as sneer ene sn i Eaucation Association publisheg p asthe a peseent raPHNY Problem amon ofits findings on Invisible Mi HEA based MARY ris a teeaching of biling¥al education, sn Mevicn Ameren ry ya 13-year eighth grade Mey ccan America® ME sama Moxa, Tat setence as 2 scent of Bites ben ep ee oFtwerens rationality I would accom. Phan pmatter what emp todo, my dark skin always makes me feel te Nin Ather hing tat "BE that Tam such a coward tat ey wil nat gt for something Ver iE T know I'm right. Ido Labor abla that it would take myself strongly Trough Many people including ‘most of my teachers, have tried to tell arena leader Wel, know better! Just ecause I may get better grades than most of my fellow Mexicans “doesn’t mean a thing, [ could no more get an original dea in. my head than be President of the United States I don't know how to’ think for myself. I want to go to college, sure, but dont a ube! Even worse where do Twant 10 02 Thess a, wat dy afew hat trouble me dike to prove omy Parents that fons thing Just because T don’t have the gumption 1 $7.08 et et aya doesnt mean that I can’t become something they'll be are of But if find that! can't ring myself © g0 to cOUeES, TM get Proud ot Ny atl get rid of me After reading, this, yOu PR ‘bly be surprised. This isthe way I feel about myselt, ‘and nobody can sep Ble me, many have red and have failed: If God Wo Snes allmy goss will No parents, teachers, or priest will chan the course that my life isto follow. Don’t try. (National Association of Education, 1966) To begin with, ‘The purpose of the report was to encourage schools to implement pedagogic adaresing thigh dropout rate of Mexican Amen, dents, According to the NEA, the way was not to Americans’ take away the student's identity, It asked: “Is there something i in ou system of public schooling that impedes the education O sxican-American child—that indeed drives him to dtoP out?” The nara a THE DE In tg yort found the schools a NEA report ols complicit; Me NEA ed to fit a stereotype in the omit Mean Americans wer se gle yay y nationality Ie > (National Association of Education, 1966)" #eeompish more 7 California Governor Ronald Reagan anudended 2 95-year-old state eduction adeann that put instruction in English. The next year Peters carmfigned Tile VIL ofthe Elementary and Sesiget Penne son Sovided funds for students wit mite aged ene trarPiglish Only requirement. Even bilingual Seu ene justly ee ricans see cae Top Americans semed to justify the curtailing of ome Sraplingeal education and ethnic studi "OFF ran ig nd ethnic studies Pe theta ge SUBe Nesated the civil igh refo moor an Sc thin nk acters came mich moe ane cai tik nizations, A re ng aw profesor Richard Delgado, "The ee ee oct ; ‘lorads $idation and experiment. Supply Religion, famil gion, family val Delgado, 1996, p. 3), le and went (Stefanic and is not ‘Whether?’ but fight for bilingual tudent and faculty knowledge o tinas/os believe that "yan sen in ins lucation binds J. 61 Cause ASPIRA (New York at ‘ican American 7 ‘uerto Ricans had a ong enon tee Pa ponte emshads song sone ofiseag ee. York City in tee States in 1898 (Rodi, te toe Bein PercentofCubansand gsr ea btish at home ercent of Mex; Ewen s suurat and Linguistic Diversity in Education 7 ou Puerto Rico's isolation from the mainland allowed forthe 3 lage fay a a ee ae tan role of USS. colonialism and American racism both nthe pasts ation of ea was the nthe island and on the mainland. thes havea different experience with racism than other Lat nae engendering a song sense of infty among Mexicans, The Fexican Revolution of 1910 conteibuted to the forging of this identity. The constant waves of Mexicans coming from Mexico have revitalized ‘heir sense of Mexicanness; intermarriage between immigrants and Sazens has been common throughout the generations. Identity is also important to Cubans and has been reinforced by their exile status. Inaddition, most South Americans and Central Americans are recent arrivals and also have a strong sense of identity, having gone through sImost 200 years of nation-state building, Salvadorans, for example, Gome from a densely populated area, and a war and theit collective migrations to the United States have reinforced Salvadoran identity. Because of this, the victory of the English Only forces in California did not end the debate over bilingual education. Thus, as Latinos got ‘more political clout and more of them were elected to office, Latina/o politicians and organizations began to challenge the act ‘The way they saw it was that an estimated 1.5 million public school students in Cali- fornia spoke little, if any, English, and that this problem had to be addressed. The powerful state senator, Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus in 2001, pushed legislation that would require “appropriate instruction, curriculum, and materials” for limited English students (Guthrie, 2002). Just 12 percent of California’s 1.5 million language minority students remained in bilingual programs, and this sumber declined without substantial federal support. One reason for this decline wo the nega- tive publicity given to bilingual education. Another was the inability of the state to hire adequately trained Spanish-speaking teachers. Yet nother reason was that many schoo! districts aie to inform paren! of the option to keep their children in bilingual programs (Helfand, 2002; Geyer, 2001) Outof the discourse on bilingual educat which recognizes that both immersion been deficient. This camp states that test that many teachers are not teaching the subject matte dents to take particularized exams. T schools and cite the lack of certified teache ican schools. Because of this, the American’ tiona third camphasemerged, and bilingual programs have scores can go either way and fer by training stu hey point to the inequality of ein Latino and African Amer ‘Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)58 nia school districts, alleging that “the state is sue 1 Ctr ath an inferior education” The ACLU lion atudents ("Eighteen Calif, School Districts Sued,” 2000). “The future of bilingual education is uncertain because of the bag, Iashit produced, Amajor weakness was that from the beginning twas inadequately funded and higher education was not prepared to tra, bilingual teachers. It was seen as a Mexican program and thus ing given importance. Itcame about asa result of inequities and failures the American educational system. Educators such as Dr. George I. Sin. chez envisioned a better world where students would be bilingual, bicultral (Chaudhry 2010) Itwas part of the quest for equality. Finally cultural diversity cannot be achieved without affirmative action, Mos, Latinas/os view arguments that race-based criteria are not legitimate as racist arguments, These court decisions have delayed diversity. Ovid, expected 53.8 my, SUMMING UP ‘The argument of those for bilingual education and diversity is the following: Most Americans do not know what bilingual education ‘or what cultural diversity are. They are instinctively against both because they sound foreign and they interpret them as forced integra- tion. They also oppose affirmative action and faculty diversity because they fear a loss of control of THEIR institutions. Accordingly, Ameri- cans feel threatened by other languages and by integrating their fac- ulties because having an irrational fear of foreigners drives them to gppose bilingual education and affirmative ation, However this isa a time when business and government want more people proficient in foreign languages, 8 —_—_ Saying thatthe reason for opposing bilingual education is based on the needs ofthe child is disingenuous. The common argument thal people have succeeded without bilingual education is, ‘open to question. and thay Pie Many German Americans received bilingual education, } Were among the most successful of the European immigrants, Jewish Americans have had Hebaen lebrew schools that supplemented theit Publ education, as did Jopanese Americans, and thet ececation did Not detract from their learning o ¢ icc assimilation into society. Many other Hee ups a #8 the Italians and Poles, did not have as extensive What iteomes do Hough ther language barriers Many studies show they Latina/o children have certain needs. at students coming from places such as Mexico cul 50. lo better in school than US-born Mexicans, and that those coming to the United States having completed the first six grades do better than those having completed only one grade. An ability to read in any lan. guage transfers across languages even when the writing systems are {isferent. Instead of blaming bilingual education for the system's fail ure, educators should study what it isin American education that takes way a child’s motivation to learn. An exposure to other cult Guces an appreciation for them, Limited-English-speaking children would benefit from bilingual education just as most Americans would benefit from knowing two languages. Latinas/os know that Latina/o children have problems and that their schools are in bad shape, which is why Latinas/os want to improve bilingual education. That is why they want to improve teacher education. Frankly, if the schools were doing an excellent job of edu- cating non-Latina/o students, it would be easy to say, “Give ita try.” If those people who oppose bilingual education really had Latina/o children’s interests in mind, it would be easy to say, “Give it a try.” However, people who are anti-bilingual usually oppose immigration, affirmative action, and civil rights. Society is beyond the times when people would throw their kids into arriver and tell them to sink or swim. If society wants to help Latinas/os children, then it needs to provide their parents with better job opportu- nities, improve housing, bring schools up to the level of the best schools in the state, and provide certified teachers. Between 1952 and 1972, government spending for education in schools and colleges increased more than 700 percent, from $8.4 billion to $675 billion. During that Period, the school median of white students increased substantially. It ‘was not until the 19705, when Latinos and other minorities started to approach a majority in many local school districts dominated by white school board! officials, that support for education was abandoned. tures pro- Does family income play a role in the success or failure of Latina/o students in school? Who has more of a responsibility: the schools or the parents? The irony is that despite wasted money and wasted years, diversity will come about but only after struggle. The Latina/o population will {ontinue to grow. They already number 85 million. They will even- {ually question the competency of the system to produce competent jgnets: Diversity is part of the solution, not having whites eating jalapenos,