why bilingual es mejor

As I search for English As a Second Language (ESL) teaching jobs for next year, bilingual education has been on my mind. Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) started a Spanish-English bilingual program with kindergarten this year, and they have long-term plans to continue it into 4th grade. I completely affirm incentives like these, but I’m concerned for all the students who don’t have these options. The education the majority of ESL students receive in the United States is this: they come to school and learn English. Though they speak another language at home, many times they aren’t literate in their native language. This can affect English literacy. Many ESL students struggle with reading in English, and one way to help with that is through native language literacy. Literacy is transferable: if you know how to read in your native language, it is easier for you to read in a foreign language.
Helping our students advance their bilingualism beyond speaking and listening will churn out better students and community members. Bilingual people are an asset to our country. Bilinguals can be more qualified for advanced career opportunities. Bilinguals can connect us with our world, vital during our age of internationalization. I would like to see improvement in bilingual literacy. What if the Daily News Record had a Spanish news page? What if instead of offering a Spanish or English service at church, there were bilingual services as well? Our community does promote bilingual literacy is some ways, like through Spanish story hour at the library. HCPS also encourages ESL students’ parents to promote and teach literacy.
Bilingual education is more common in urban areas, but as our country’s demographics change, I hope bilingual education will continue to spread to other schools as well, like HCPS. Bilingual education does not just benefit native Spanish speakers, but non-native Spanish speakers as well. When I was on cross-cultural trying to learn Spanish, many times I would grit my teeth, wishing I had learned it as a child when it’s easier to acquire a second language. When I have children someday, I want them to have a bilingual education to better equip them for our country and world today.