Background: Analytical

America is often referred to as a melting pot. There are many different races, religions, and personalities that make up our nation. Latinos are quickly growing to become the majority of the minority groups in the United States. However, most of our school systems are not meeting their needs by providing bilingual education or ESL, which is English as a Second Language, classes. In 1917, Congress approved a law requiring immigrants 16 years or older to pass a literacy test. This is not fair to the immigrants because most of them probably cannot speak English very well, let alone read it. Hispanics, and immigrants in general, have long been discriminated against. However, there are those people who are willing to fight for their rights and equality. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act was passed to “help schools establish educational programs for students with limited English-speaking ability” (“Immigration in America: Timeline”). However, some schools ignored this and did not create such programs. Some towns, or even states, went so far as to declare English as their official language. In 2006, Arizona passed Proposition 103, which declared Arizona’s official language to be English. Also, in 2007, Culpepper County, Virginia unanimously approved a resolution declaring its official language as English. These measures only make it harder for Hispanics and other minorities to learn English. As a result of not having language help, the Hispanic dropout rate is 30%. This is three times what it is for whites, and twice for black students. According to the article “The hispanic dropout mystery,” hispanics say that their schools are marginalizing them, “disrespecting their culture, neglecting their language problems, and setting standards so low that kids can’t help but reduce expectations”. Bilingual Education needs to be paid more attention, especially by those in power so we can change its current status, and give non-English speakers a better chance of succeeding.