Mrs. Martinez stated, "`The resolve to educate my children has been the underlying theme of everything I have done."" This situation indicates that both the parents and the children lacked adequate English skills to succeed. Thus, this family's difficulty in learning the English language became the obstacle preventing the children from performing at an acceptable level. With regard to situations where Spanish-speaking children are placed in English-speaking settings, fourth-grade teacher Sue Carmona of Boston, Massachusetts, stated, "`I think it's going to be a struggle for these kids. Without the use of their native language, they don't have a base to build on."" Thus, this problem illustrates the need for more stable programs to help ease Spanish-speaking children into English language acquisition. .
Educational Programs as a Response to Misconceptions.
Many communities in the United States, therefore, have argued for the use of bi-lingual education programs in order to strengthen the opportunities for children from non-English speaking backgrounds. Since the implementation of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, school districts across the nation have created programs that allow non-English speaking students to participate in intensive English language courses while learning other subjects, such as math, history, and science, in their native languages. Many school districts have tried to prepare the teachers in bi-lingual schools for such classes. New York Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has created an academy to train teachers of English as a second language as well as hired 107 fluent "coaches" to help assist these instructors. Therefore, a major part of many bi-lingual education programs is the language acquisition and training of the teachers, who must be qualified to run a classroom in two languages. According to Klein, many teachers who are uncertified or poorly trained serve to hinder the education of the student, because the Spanish-speaking student relies on the teacher's knowledge of two languages to help in the process of learning the English language.
