|
||||
Bush Presidency No Help to English The end of the long presidential election came in early December, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the Florida recount process violated the U.S. Constitution. President-Elect Bush swung into full transition mode, racing to make up time lost in the post-election legal tussle. The outlook for our common language under President George W. Bush, however, is not so rosy. When his father was President, States across the country were passing pro-English initiatives, but as Governor and candidate, George W. Bush never supported a strong common language or bilingual education reform. The closest candidate Bush came to endorsing bilingual education reform, for example, was when he endorsed bilingual education "that works." While he might have been referring to the historic failure of bilingual education programs which teach kids in their native languages, there was no ringing endorsement of the new initiatives sweeping away failed bilingual education programs. Nor, with the Congress so closely matched, is it likely that a new Bush administration will be willing to endorse even a proven technique like teaching English. Although education reform is high atop many lists of possible "bipartisan" initiatives in the new year, bilingual education reform has always rested uneasily with more plain reforms such as additional federal funding. It is more likely that a new Bush administration will either ignore bilingual education reform and other pro-English topics or use them as bargaining chips for other votes it desires more. This is much like the dangers English faces in Congress, where the Republican leadership has been very willing to trade away English-language protections for political gains. Only time will tell, however, whether the new President George W. Bush will show leadership in helping children learn English and our Nation unify under a common language. We will be watching. |
||||
The
ELPAC Report 