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“So Sad!”

Another article rethinking bilingual education. Massachusetts voted to restrict bilingual education in 2002.

A few thoughts,

Did the voters even know any of the research on this before voting?

Why was this question even on the ballot?

How sad that ELLs had to struggle and fail in full immersion classes for 15 years!

How sad that no one for 15 years could see the, and I quote, “abject failure” of the full immersion program!

How sad that anyone would think a “one size fits all” approach would work for any diverse group of students?

How sad that 15 years had to pass?

So the good news…

After 15 years districts are finally given flexibility to meet the diverse needs of ELLs!

During those 15 years, 64% of ELLs graduated, despite the fact that districts were not permitted to take their students individual language needs into consideration.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/massachusetts/articles/2017-06-07/bill-seeks-new-approaches-for-students-learning-language

Comments

  1. Mr. LesinskiJune 9, 2017 at 6:00 PM

    I can't believe that voters voted against the ability to teach students in their own language! I also can't believe that it took 15 years to rectify this problem. It is truly remarkable that the graduation rate was as high as it was during that time. I would have expected the rate to be far lower than 64%.

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