Is Bilingual Education Expanding Opportunity or Limiting Assimilation?
“One of the goals of this panel is to find common ground,” noted Dr. Jim Cummins, professor of education at the University of Toronto. Cummins spoke February 25 during a panel discussion on the condition of bilingual education in America today. It was part of the Center for Leadership and Public Interest Advocacy’s semester-long focus on public education issues. The panelists–Cummins, Efrain Martinez, and Rosalie Porter–kept up a lively discussion, moderated by Peter Negroni, Springfield superintendent of schools. The range of opinions, and the obvious passion of the speakers for their subject, sparked reactions of keen interest and approval among the packed audience in Gamble Auditorium. Before introducing the speakers, Negroni talked about his vision for public education. He affirmed a need for “productive dialogue” to transform the public-school system, and said schools should be equipped to respond to each child’s unique needs, rather than mold all children in a certain way. For
