Bilingual Education is the teaching of two languages. This would also be the ability to speak two languages. During the 1920's testing among various groups of people began. These tests were conducted in poor testing conditions, overcrowded rooms, poor lighting, and large rooms with poor audibility. Many immigrants were categorized as “simpletons†for receiving zeros on the test because they were unable to speak English, could not read, and were unfamiliar with the American culture. The low-test scores confirmed white Anglo Saxon Protestant beliefs that immigrants were inferior. This gave the congressmen more reason to discriminate against the immigrants. In the 1950's, federal and state laws ruled that discriminatory testing was unconstitutional (What To Do About Immigration? p 327). Bilingual education did not originally grow from the pressures of immigration. It was started as a small, federally funded program to help Mexican-American children (largely native-born) in the Southwest. The purpose was to try to make Mexican-American children fully literate in English. Today, our expectations of bilinguals are very high. We expect them to learn our language fast and accurately. However, we do not teach them well. Instead of running away from this problem by abolishing bilingual education, we should find a way to improve this practice in order to make it a part of our culture. People with a native language other than English have two goals in school: learning English and mastering content. A very big problem is that bilingual education is taught in many different ways in classrooms. Often, students with limited English skills would be taught for no more than a year in special English classes before being moved to mainstream. Some students are pulled out of English as a second language. Others are placed in transitional bilingual education, which is intensive English-instruction. A portion of this class is taught in the native language. Maintenance or developmental, bilingual education builds the native language while improving English as a second language (http://www. edweek. org/context/topics/biling. htm). One solution to this problem is finding a one way to teach that will cover all aspects of the English language. After English is effectively taught, the students should be mainstreamed. Some say the curriculum is not the problem, but the poor teaching instead. The teache's want students to be proficient in a second language in one or two years. These days, there is also a shortage of well-qualified bilingual teachers. We can improve this by hiring teachers who are qualified and fully bilingual (http://www. edweek. org/context/topics/biling. htm). If we take a closer look at the educational system, we would notice that bilingual education is not the only guilty party in this stuation. There are many services available in different native languages; there is not much of an emphasis to learn English. There are newspapers, advertising, and even signs that will help immigrants of all cultures. Some people believe that in order to ensure that English is learned the government should make English its official language. I believe that people with another native language other than English should learn our language. This is not to say that they can not use their other language, but English should be used in offices and other work places. Today, the amount of bilingual immigrants entering our country is growing year by year. If solutions aren't found to the bilingual education problem, I fear what the future may hold for those looking to find new opportunities on American soil. In America, everyone has the right to dream.
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The Christians were fortunate individuals in the Middle Ages; Christendom received its own religious military order to protect many Christians who undertook pilgrimages to Jerusalem after it (Jerusalem) had been overrun (5). This Western order endorsed and sanctioned by the Pope; and the papacy in general, was known as the Knights Templar. One of the Templars missions was to predominantly fight against the Moslems. The Moslems had been perceived as a polytheistic religion, that encompassed the worshipping of evil pagan Gods and a religion that encouraged illicit acts. This idea however is contrary to the true Islam; Islam is indeed a monotheistic religion that is categorized under Abrahamic religions as worshipping one God. The knights were affiliated with the crusades which remained popular within the 12th century (1). The Templars were respected within Western Christendom and; the order was given numerous economic advantages such as: land, the erection of fortifications and lucrative job positions such as bankers. Sadly, the Christians were expelled out of Palestine and the Templars ability to fulfill their duties to serve and protect Christians in the holy lands and elsewhere were in jeopardy. Support for the Templar Order and the crusaders caused an entity to fade. Furthermore, the respect level and the anticipation of wanting to become a crusader by individuals in Western Christendom declined drastically, disabling the order to fulfill its protective duties. Moreover, the King of France Philip IV who was deeply in debt; made it known that he was aware of the orders riches. He stated The Templars must make immense effort to relieve the acute financial problems of the reign through paying taxes, if they fail to do so I must f... ...were taking precedence or a two- century existence of the order did not merit much historical recording. Yet the wealth of information presented and the legal proceeding which climaxes this monograph are not only illuminating but articulated through print by Malcolm Barber. I would personally recommend this scholarly work to individuals who already have immense knowledge on the Templars and to individuals who are new to the whole idea of this historical event. This monograph, in my opinion, should be a course reader within post-secondary institutions that promote advanced education and Barber should be commended on tackling such a controversial subject. Because the crusades are a huge stain on how religion was advanced in the middle ages. Many ethnic groups suffered at the hands of Christendom however, this does not legate Barber’s wonderful scholarly work.
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