https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj Here are the five most important historical events for Bilingual Education today. Although it was difficult to narrow it down to only five events, the five I chose seemed to leave a big impact on bilingual education. en-us 2022-06-03 03:35:10 UTC 2025-10-30 09:58:01 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f3eb.png avelasquez4568_2 https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210720651 Before the 20th century, bilingual education was quite common in the United States with the various kinds of immigrants that came to the country. Languages that were used in schools included German, Dutch, Italian, French, and many more in ethnic-based school in the 1800s and early 1900s (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 182-183). However, the desire for assimilation and harmonization between the different immigrant groups began to increase. Speaking and being proficient in English also became a symbol of being a loyal American. This caused the most impactful legislation called the Nationality Act of 1906 to be instated. This act required immigrants to speak English in order to become naturalized Americans (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 183). This created the original large attitude change towards bilingualism in the country and we became extremely English-centric after the act.]]> 2022-06-04 04:32:21 UTC https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210720651 avelasquez4568_2 https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210723328 During the Cold War's "Space Race", the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957 which set off a massive change to the U.S. educational priorities. Due to the pressure of politicians and the public, the country completely re-assessed what they thought was important for students to learn in order to compete on a global scale. Along with including more weight to specific subjects, they added the importance of learning foreign languages in schools (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 184). Thus, the National Defense Education Act was passed in 1958 which included foreign language learning in the U.S. education curriculum across the board. This brought back bilingual education in a big way. More bilingual school were set up nation-wide and immigrant groups were less discriminated against. ]]> 2022-06-04 04:43:39 UTC https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210723328 avelasquez4568_2 https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210731192 While more support for English learners was being given, it was still not enough. After the Bilingual Education Act helped non-Native English speakers (mostly Spanish speaking students) get more support in public schools, a court case continued to change U.S. bilingual education. Chinese-speaking students went against San Francisco to fight for more equal learning opportunities compared to their native English speaking peers (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 185). They did not feel that an English-only learning environment was not conducive to their learning since they were not yet proficient. This also set up a set of guidelines for schools to follow called the Lau remedies (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 185). This called for "English as a second language classes" as well as some for of bilingual education. ]]> 2022-06-04 05:18:52 UTC https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210731192 avelasquez4568_2 https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210733837 Before Bill Clinton became president, the Reagan presidency brought some delays to the expansion and progress of bilingual education in the U. S. Ronald Reagan even believed that preserving one's native language would not allow progress in learning the English language (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 187). He felt that English was more important to learn in order to be an American citizen and get jobs in the country. Thankfully, the next U.S. administration understood that bilingualism is an asset to people around the world and even promised to strengthen it. During Bill Clinton's presidency, legislation such as Goals 2000 and the Improving America's Schools Act was passed. This raised the bar for bilingual learners and set higher expectations for their academic achievements. It also increased funds for bilingual and language support programs in public schools (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 187). The National Education Goals Panel was even encouraging an increase in the amount of students who are competent in more than one language. ]]> 2022-06-04 05:30:39 UTC https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210733837 avelasquez4568_2 https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210736878 Within his first year of being the U. S. President, George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act. Along with the increase in testing required to assess teachers' and students' progress, it changed the view of bilingualism in schools drastically. It brought back the term "limited English proficient" and put more emphasis on English language development rather than encourage bilingual learning. It even took away funding for bilingual education (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 190). This act put a lot more pressure on schools to manufacture high test scores rather than focus on the quality of teaching and learning. Not only was this a loss in progress for ELL students, it was a loss in progress for the entire American school system.]]> 2022-06-04 05:43:25 UTC https://padlet.com/avelasquez4568_2/sde98rc0gzl6z4uj/wish/2210736878