Chicanos and Education: the Politics of Bilingual Education
Description:
The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Alejandro Saenz interviews Dr. George Blanco on the current state of bilingual education and its promise to address the needs of Spanish speaking children throughout the United States. Blanco explains that Mexican American children have performed poorly on IQ and achievement tests because those exams contain cultural biases and because schools have failed to meet the needs of Spanish speaking children. Bilingual education seeks to address that failure by recognizing that speaking Spanish is not a weakness and using a child's native language as a tool for instruction and a base from which to learn English. Bilingual education recognizes that it is possible and beneficial to speak and learn in more than one language. Blanco notes that several misconceptions have plagued proponents of bilingual education. Some Mexican American parents, many of whom faced severe discrimination for speaking Spanish, believed the program would only teach Spanish. While some Anglos fear that bilingual education will lead to political fragmentation and believe that only English should be spoken in the United States. Despite these challenges, Blanco believes bilingual education is flourishing as laws are passed that mandate bilingual education in schools with over 20 students who speak limited English and provide the funds to support those programs. Keywords: Achievement Tests, Bicultural Education, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Teacher certification, Cultural Bias, Department of Education, Discrimination, Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title 7, English, Faculty, George Blanco, Human Development, IQ Test, Language Prejudice, Maintenance Stage of Bilingual Education, Mexican American Children, National Association for Bilingual Education, Negative perceptions of bilingual education, Public Perceptions of bilingual education, Spanish, Transitional stage of bilingual education, University of Texas-Austin, Youth culture. Broadcast date: 1977-04-25.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Saenz, Alejandro (host), and Blanco, George M. (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
4/15/1977
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin
sound recordings, grabaciones sonoras, radio programs, programas de radio, and Audio
Extent:
14 minutes, 54 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Mexicano americanos--Educación, Education, Bilingual, English language--Study and teaching--Spanish speakers., English language--Study and teaching--Bilingual method, Spanish language--Study and teaching--Bilingual method., Mexican Americans--Education, and Inglés--Estudio y enseñanza--Método bilingũes