The Official Language Movement

1.      CheckPoint: The Official Language Movement

·         Resource: Racial and Ethnic Groups, the Internet, and the University Library

·         Investigate the official language movement, which is an important Hispanic American cultural interest, described on pp. 243–244 of the text by researching bilingualism in education and politics in the United States. Find four to six credible Web sites or articles that support, oppose, or present information about bilingualism in education or politics. Most sources will focus exclusively on either topic of education or politics; therefore, try to find at least two sources per topic.

·         Write one paragraph about each source, summarizing the main points presented.

·         Provide APA-formatted reference citations.

·         Submit all of your summaries in a 200- to 300-word post.

            Fox News online published an article in March of 2002 about bilingual education with California’s Proposition 227.  Proposition 227 proposes English-only education in California.  The article reports the aftermath of the passing of the proposition. 

            Education World published an article outlining the entire Bilingual Education debate. This article covers everything From Making a Case for Immersion to state to state debates. 

            The North County Times published an article about the politics of bilingualism.    It discusses the pros and cons of being bilingual in the United States in today’s society. 

            SBG Global published an article that talks about President Obama and his presidential race.  The article speculated that Obama was favored in the election due to his views on bilingualism in politics. 

            Fox News associated press published a short article containing several comments from Newt Gingrich.  In these comments he expresses his view of bilingualism in politics and education.  He states that bilingualism should be replaced by immersion in English in education and should be the official language of the government for politics. 

            Bilingual / Bicultural Family Network published an article about the suspension of a sixteen year old due to speaking Spanish in the halls of his school.  The author goes on to explain how this relates to the rest of the nation.

Associated Press (Apr 2007) “Newt Gingrich Decries ‘Ghetto’ Nature of Bilingual Education” located at http://www.foxnews.com Retrieved Jan 2009

Cromwell, S (1998) “The Bilingual Education Debate: Part II” located http://www.educationworld.com Retrieved Jan 2009

Heller, C (2006) “The Politics of Bilingualism” located http://www.biculturalfamily.org Retrieved Jan 2009

Park, M (Mar 2002) “Debate over Bilingual Education Rages” located http://www.foxnews.com Retrieved Jan 2009

Riehl, R (Oct 2005) “Politics made ‘bilingual’ a dirty word” located http://www.nctimes.com Retrieved Jan 2009

Sbgglobal.com (2008) “Bilingualism in Politics in the United States” located http://www.sbgglobal.com Retrieved Jan 2009