 I don't need any study,‭ ‬or expert to tell me that without a good,‭ ‬structural basis for learning English,‭ ‬that these kids will not benefit from immersion or a duel language system. I know it from my experience.

‎	‏I truly believe that this sort of approach would help thousands of students who's first language is not English. But I have to ask myself,‭ ‬why isn't this already being done‭? ‬I highly doubt that I'm the first person to ever come up with this kind of solution. The answer here is quite clear. Xenophobia and the hatred‭ (‬or perhaps fear‭?) ‬of Mexican immigrants,‭  ‬is the root of the problem. I can't get through one day without my own father saying something negative about people who's first language is Spanish. Several times at work I've witnessed undo anger and hostility towards my coworker who is from Mexico,‭ ‬despite the fact that he speaks near perfect English,‭ ‬just with an accent,‭ ‬and is,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬in the country legally. A huge problem,‭ ‬that is only exacerbated by people like Newt Gingrich‭ (‬former Speaker of the House circa‭ ‬1995‭) ‬making statements like this:‭ “'‬Allowing bilingualism to continue to grow is very dangerous,‭'”‬Gingrich said after addressing a technology and business forum at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. ‭“‬We should insist on English as a common language. . . . That's what binds us together.‭” ‬The thing is,‭ ‬that idea couldn't be further from the truth. Why do people like this,‭ ‬in true xenophobic fashion,‭ ‬separate those who's first language is English,‭ ‬and those who's first language is something else,‭ ‬as if we aren't all part of the same country. Early on in our history,‭ ‬this country has been the definition of a cultural melding pot. Spanish speakers are hardly the first to face this prejudice‭; ‬the Irish,‭ ‬the Chinese,‭ ‬and many more all faced cultural backlash and discrimination. What makes me sad though,‭ ‬is with all of the efforts and leaps we've made in civil rights today,‭ ‬that this sort of thing is still going on. We are truly discriminating at the cultural and lingual‭ (‬but really are the two not deeply connected‭?) ‬level. Yes,‭ ‬illegal immigration is a huge problem. However,‭ ‬I think what many fail to consider,‭ ‬is that Spanish is not unique to illegals‭; ‬legal immigrants sometimes speak it too. Yes they may know English‭ (‬they have to if they're legal‭)‬,‭ ‬but that doesn't mean English is the dominant language spoken at home. And certainly doesn't mean that English would dominate at home printed material. Last,‭ ‬but certainly not least,‭ ‬I think a lot of people fail to realize that anyone born in the country is a citizen,‭ ‬even if their parents are not‭ (‬or perhaps they just don't like this fact,‭ ‬and do not want to comply with it‭)‬. None the less,‭ ‬we should be taking care of the primary education needs of our citizens‭; ‬federal law dictates that we do.
