David J. Silva: Immersing kids in English works better than failed Prop 58

Here we go again! We are going to vote on teaching children in their native language. Even The Modesto Bee is in favor of Proposition 58. We have been down this road before and it didn’t work. What makes you think it will work now?

This is the perfect example of Einstein’s definition of insanity, doing the same over and over and expecting a different outcome. For many years, children who did not speak English (including my parents) entered school and after one year were able to read, write and speak English. It never occurred to them that they should be taught in their native language. When we switched to teaching them in their own language, it often took four years to accomplish the same thing.

Is this going to apply to all children, or just Hispanics? If a Chinese child comes to school, are we going to provide a classroom and teacher for that child? If I moved to Mexico with a child, would they be taught in English? I think not. This is just another example of people who think they should not be expected to adapt to us, but we should adapt to them.

This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 11:05 AM with the headline "David J. Silva: Immersing kids in English works better than failed Prop 58."