Bilingualism and Pluralism between a Rock and a Hard Place

Abstract

BILINGUALISM AND PLURALISM BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Richard Pratte Curriculum and Foundations The Ohio State University Insofar as this is the first issue of an occasional paper by The John Dewey Society, the lack of an established response format leaves me relieved and yet anxious. Relief is experienced in terms of feeling free of the vexing problem of format constraint, but anxiety is felt in terms of the personal judgment that the response should be such that it might be worthy of future replication. Hence, bearing these thoughts in mind, I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to Professor Pizzillo's paper because the topic he has chosen appeals, perhaps fascinates, huge audiences, not solely because bilingualism and pluralism "are in the air" but because each offers "the glimpse behind the curtain" in terms of what it is to live a different way of life, to perceive oneself and the world in quite a different way. Each reveals aspects of American life rarely caught except in certain novels or in movies like The Goodfather and the Swedish import, The Emigrants. In his paper, Pizzillo has set forth a description of the prevalent state of bilingual education and has proposed reasons for directing our attention and effort toward asking some hard questions and making bilingual education a muchneeded and vital part of the American educational experience. His general aim, I take it, is to provoke each reader to self-inquiry; to realize that there is no single culture in the United States whose symbols, values, roles, attitudes , or general life-style, are acceptable to all. In short, Pizzillo wishes to alert us to a new ethnic consciousness , one that delights in the glory of America's recently rediscovered pluralism. These are most provocative considerations , demanding our attention and critical judgment. I want, therefore, in the first part of my response, to offer a critical account of some of Pizzillo's basic ideas, which seem to me 2 intrinsically interesting and, moreover, important for education. In the second part of my response, I will formulate certain criticisms and reservations concerning the basic features of Pizzillo's descriptive account. My remarks in this section will be grouped under three headings: "Conceptual and Moral Difficulties ," "Cultural Diversity and Cultural Pluralism," and "Instructional Problems." A Critical Account We have much to learn from Pizzillo's paper. It is readily agreed that it is perhaps impossible to exaggerate the importance of language acquisition in the education of our children. He warns us that bilingual education is not new in the United States, having its roots in America's diversity of an earlier period . The commitment to bilingual education , according to Pizzillo, was choked off by the rising tide of American nationalism that emerged along with World War I. The return or reinstatement of bilingual education came about, at least in part, by the awareness that the educational level of Mexican-Americans, revealed in the data of the 1960 national census, was considerably below the national average. After considerable effort in Congress, the Bilingual Education Act Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Bilingual education, according to Pizzillo, is demanded and quite fashionable today. Public interest and support continue at high levels. He gives short shrift to glorified versions of remedial reading programs or English-as-a-SecondLanguage programs, and proposes that increasing the student's competency in two languages, his native tongue and English , employing both as a vehicle for content instruction, is called for. But along with the instructional use of language should go an emphasis on culture . Pizzillo, following Rodriguez, informs us that "language is not just an instrument for communication and learning ; it is a set of values. Bilingual education is, then, best viewed as bilingual -bicultural education." Pizzillo's definition of bilingual education is crucial, for the entire thrust of his argument turns on the acceptance of bilingual education as bilingual -bicultural education. In such a program, there is no merit in learning a new language just for the sake of exercising certain skills. If the bilingual -bicultural education program does anything at all, it is to develop an integrated personality, enhance a...