Your story headlined “Bilingual bill called unconstitutional” (Feb. 7) makes a questionable comparison. It was stated that some 35 percent of Latino students in bilingual programs drop out of high school compared to more than 60 percent in the regular program. But why is bilingual education given as the only alternative? More pertinent, what would be the comparative dropout rate for students attending ESL (English as a Second Language) classes?
Students become self-sufficient in English faster in ESL classes than in bilingual programs–with the tangible benefit of better English. I venture the dropout rate would be lower. Furthermore, ESL is less expensive as it does not need a self-protective bureaucracy.
And even for the students that don’t finish high school, at least they would have acquired a stronger foundation in English than had they been kept in bilingual programs.
