Immerse or isolate? Hispanic children almost three times as likely to drop out
Posted by Filed under Culture
Source: Associated Press
A recent Associated Press-Univision poll shows that for Latino students in American schools, sometimes the English immersion can do more harm than good. While the children’s English thrives under the immersion conditions of US schools, many find that their Spanish-speaking parents are unable to help them with homework, as well as communicate effectively with the school faculty on the kids’ behalf.
From the article:
The poll says just 20 percent of mainly Spanish-speaking parents say they are able to communicate “extremely well” with their child’s school, compared with 35 percent of Hispanics who speak English fluently.
About 42 percent of the Spanish speakers say it’s easy for them to help with their children’s schoolwork, compared with 59 percent of Hispanics who mostly speak English.
Given the results of this survey, it is perhaps less surprising that Hispanic children are nearly three times as likely to drop out of school. This seemed a pretty relevant topic given the recent state law controversy in Arizona!