Forwarding this. Joel A. Feingold
-----Original Message----- From: Rich Shapiro [mailto:RShapiro@;assetmortgage.net] Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 12:09 PM To: Joel A Feingold Subject: RE: Bilingual Forum Reminder! Becaon Hill has passed a new law (went through as the Larkin Bill) that addressed many of the issues you mentioned. The Larkin Law is the alternative to Q2. Richard Shapiro -----Original Message----- From: Joel A Feingold [mailto:blammo@;rcn.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 12:02 PM To: Norma Shulman; Steve Orr; Framingham Neighbors Subject: RE: Bilingual Forum Reminder! Dear Friends and Neighbors, I can't make the forum so I decided to send out a note. There is much room to disagree about Question 2. I have researced this question some and would like to give you a very brief capsule of what I have found. Of course, the following points are GENERAL, and I am not going to go on long with specific examples. 1. BOTH Bilingual Education and English Immersion are very tricky because the abilities of the students vary dramatically with their age. a. In general, young students from preschool through perhaps later grammer school, respond very well to Immersion because innate language learning skills are still intact. b. Older students, perhaps 10 to 12 and up, have fairly "Hard Wired" brains and the natural language learning skills are diminished. (This is very well established by linguists as correct by modern scientific standards.) As the student is older, Immersion is less effective. c. By the time a student is in the 15 to 18 year old range Immersion is almost always a failure, as measured by the ability of the student to succeed in the classroom with the normal curriculum. Students in this age range need Bilingual Education to keep up with their age peers while they learn English. It takes, on average, about 3 years, for a student in this age bracket to gain sufficient proficency for educational success. Conclusion # 1 -- A blend of both Bilingual and Immersion styles would best suit our students. 2. The consequences of foreign language students being placed in English only normal curriculum classes before they are adaquately proficient has negative consequences for ALL. a. The foreign language students will not receive a satisfactory education, dooming them to low income jobs and second class citizenship. b. Due to the ethnic composition of the students this results in a success gap by national origin or ethnicity, which is problematic for our integrated society which values providing all people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds good, if not equal, opportunities for advancement. c. Inability to succeed in class often results in students becoming disruptive and their friustrations grow. Disiplinary problems occur. Teachers are thrust into more difficult roles and are less focussed upon the actual teaching of their subjects while they manage classroom behavior. Great stress may be added. The other students educational forum is diminished. d. More of these students become marginalized by society and are vulnerable to becoming victims of criminals or criminals themselves. Conclusion # 2 -- It is worth it to retain at least some Bilingual Education for students learning english who are (for arguments' sake) 13 or over. This benefits them, the teachers, their classmates, and society itself over the long haul. 3. The Ballot Question opens up our teachers to Lawsuits. This is grossly punitive and flies in the face of what I believe our education system should include. It sends a horrible message to our teachers. My overall conclusion is that while our system of Bilingual Education is probably ready for some improvement, that will come from changes that enhance the opportunities for all students without reducing the opportunities of others. Ballot Question 2 should get a no vote. Joel A. Feingold -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:owner-frambors@;syslang.net]On Behalf Of Norma Shulman Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 1:20 PM To: Steve Orr; Framingham Neighbors Subject: Re: Bilingual Forum Reminder! Please follow the detailed discussion on this ballot question (#2) to be thoroughly informed before voting. If you cannot make it to the forum, I understand that it will be filmed bu Framingham Government Access TV - watch for it on AT&T channel 9/17 and on RCN channel 16. Much better to attend in person, if possible, so you can ask questions! -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body "unsubscribe frambors" (the subject is ignored). To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body "unsubscribe frambors" (the subject is ignored). To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body "unsubscribe frambors" (the subject is ignored).
