BE vs English Only

[tcollura]

I'm studying Bilingual Education in a class and I find myself switching sides between BE and English Only in the classroom daily. Can some people give me good arguments and reasons for either Bilingual Education or English Only stating why one is better than the other? Thanks so much.

[staciholland]

I am in agreement with the post above regarding not being able to choose a side in the debate between English only and Bilingual education. I am torn with the NNS students who come to school and are pushed in special education programs because there is no qualified teacher to properly teach them. On the other hand, what happens to the students who slip through the BE cracks the ones who are outnumbered by a dominate student body of Spanish speaking students and become forced to sink or swim in EO classrooms? Today, I am siding with the EO advocates due to the increasing number of NNS in languages other than Spanish who do not acquire the proper BE environment simply because they do not meet the school's quota.