Issues in U.S. Language Policy

Unz Initiative Editorials

1997 Archive

1998 Archive

December

• Bilingual Education: Legislature Can No Longer Afford To Dally – Time is running out to strike a compromise alternative to Unz's "radical approach."
  Sacramento Bee, 13 December 1997
• A Bilingual Helping Hand, by Lucy Tse – Why some children need bilingual education more than others.
  Los Angeles Times, 17 December 1997

November

• A Few `Facts' to Fuel the Debate on How to Teach Our Kids, by Robert B. Gunnison – Unz campaign runs on anecdotes, not evidence.
  San Francisco Chronicle, 2 November 1997
• Under the Anti-Bilingual Initiative, Kids Will Flounder Each Autumn, by Jim Shultz – Unz would deny parental choice and create chaos in schools.
  Sacramento Bee, 2 November 1997
• The Storm over Bilingual Ed – Conflicting opinions by columnist Joanne Jacobs, 2nd grade teacher Lisa Dilles, and education professor Alexander Sapiens.
  San Jose Mercury News, 6 November 1997
• Moral D-Unz, by Marc Cooper – If Unz really cared about kids, he'd work to increase school funding and guarantee equal opportunity.
  New Times Los Angeles, 20 November 1997
• An Opportunity for Latino Lawmakers to Take the Lead, by Gregory Rodríguez – Unz sets the stage for a legislative compromise on bilingual education.
  Los Angeles Times, 30 November 1997

October

• State Republicans Speak Divisively – Attempt to ban bilingual education is based on politics, not pedagogy.
  San Jose Mercury News, 3 October 1997
• Bilingual Is a Damaging Myth, by Ron Unz – Bilingualism is good but English is better.
  Los Angeles Times, 19 October 1997
• Bilingual Education: A Wake-Up Call for the Legislature – Times poll on Unz increases pressure for legislative compromise on bilingual education.
  Sacramento Bee, 22 October 1997
• Out of A Linguistic Ghetto, by George F. Will – Bilingual education is "another example of compassion that cripples," which immigrants will reject because of their innate conservatism.
  Washington Post, 26 October 1997
• Bilingual Education: A Squandered Opportunity – "Well-planned and implemented bilingual education programs work," while others fail to teach English well. Conclusion: reject Unz but limit bilingual programs to 3 years (???).
  Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1997
• Bilingual Education Opponents Aren't Telling the Truth, by Joan Baca – Principal invites Unz to visit her school to grasp the damage his initiative would do.
  Burbank Leader, 29 October 1997

September

• First Teach Them English, by Diane Ravitch – Classic hatchet-job on bilingual education; wins the Linda Chávez Award for most canards per column inch.
  New York Times, 5 September 1997
• Trustees Fall Down on Job – Criticizes Orange school board for its haste to dismantle bilingual education.
  Los Angeles Times, 7 September 1997
• Mend, Don't End Bilingual Education – Labels Unz initiative "too extreme"; favors Alpert's approach to "reforming" bilingual education.
  San Francisco Chronicle, 21 September 1997
• Bilingual Ban Goes Too Far: School Districts Should Decide for Themselves – Unz is pushing "a dangerously simplistic solution."
  San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 September 1997

August

• Desperate to Learn English, by Alice Callaghan, an anti-bilingual activist.
  New York Times, 15 August 1997
       Letter to the Editor, by Juan Figueroa, president, Puerto Rican Legal
       Defense and Education Fund, in response to Callaghan.
       New York Times, 20 August 1997
• California Conservatism's Worst Nightmare Revealed, by Sherry Bebitch Jeffe – Republicans fear mass desertion by Latinos.
  Los Angeles Times, 17 August 1997
• Bilingual Schooling Is the Next Fight, by Carlos Muñoz Jr.
  San Jose Mercury News, 17 August 1997
• GOP Confronts Future Without Hispanics: Adios! By Paul Gigot
  Wall Street Journal, 22 August 1997
• Learning in Language Pupils Understand, By Gwen Ferguson – A teacher speaks out on the failure of English-only immersion programs.
  Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1997
• Batalla en California, by Max J. Castro – Critique of Unz en español.
  El Nuevo Herald (Miami), 25 August 1997

July

• A Bilingual-Education Initiative as a Prop. 187 in Disguise? by Rubén Navarrette Jr., a columnist and – although not disclosed by the Times – a paid PR consultant to "English for the Children."
  Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1997
       Letter to the Editor, by Stephen Krashen, University of Southern California
       researcher in second-language acquisition, in response to Navarrette.
       Los Angeles Times, 16 July 1997