Customer Reviews

Bilingual Education in Massachusetts: The Emperor Has No Clothes (Pioneer paper)

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I have had the pleasure of taking Professor Rossell here at BU, and I can attest that she is FAR from a conservative. The assertion that she is a conservative is, to anyone who has taken her, laughable. Rather, she looks at all issues objectively and picks what she thinks works best, just as she has in this book. You may disagree with her, but there is absolutely no bias in her research or writing - trust me.

Author examines TBE as applied in Massachusetts
and finds that, 25 years after the law was passed,
there is still no proof that this approach works
better than any other approach -- including
intensive English instruction. Author discovers that nearly all students except
Spanish language students receive instruction
almost exclusively in English.

There is no way this book is in any way, shape or form about or lean toward anti-immigrant. Though I would never have picked this book up without having taking her class, this book takes an honest look at the state of our education system from a non-english speaker's perspective. Though many will not agree with the Rossell's ideas, it is important to remember that the information provided in the book does show the intense problems with bilingual education not just in the Massachusetts but also in the entire country. The liberals of the world many not completely agree, but the evidence cannot be ignored-- it is time to take a serious look at the state of our education system and the policies that are in place for the students who are not native English speakers

Rossell and Baker's "study" was written for the conservative Pioneer Institute, as part of the anti-immigration, anti-intellectual effort to cut back on programs for at-risk students. Ignoring a raft of research at ERIC [and at the Center for Research on Education, Diversity,& Excellence], this report selects a limited range of studies to arrive at a "no significant difference" finding, which they rhetorically inflate and oversell in their title. Try CONDEMNED WITHOUT A TRIAL: Bogus Arguments Against Bilingual Education by Stephen D. Krashen (Heinemann, 1999)to see the anti-intellectualism of Rossell and Baker's tract. The fact that a conservative center published it shows the alliance to the ant-immigration hysteria noted in THE COLOR OF OUR FUTURE by Farai Chideya.

Unfounded, slanted, typical conservative trash.

Only for the anti-immigrant crowd.

Unfounded, slanted, typical conservative trash.

Only for the anti-immigrant crowd.