Brisk stresses bilingual education for Americans
By Karen Eschbacher
Daily Free Press Staff Writer

When Maria E. Brisk came to America as a graduate student, she was lucky enough to be fluent in English as well as her native Spanish. But the Boston University professor realizes not every child has been awarded such a chance.

An associate professor at BU's School of Education since 1974, Brisk teaches courses in bilingual education, bilingualism and methods of literacy.

A native of Argentina, Brisk attended a bilingual school in her Spanish-speaking country, where she learned the English language. And as a student at the University of Cordoba in Argentina, Brisk majored in English before beginning her graduate work in applied linguistics at Georgetown University.

Brisk's bilingual background heightened her awareness of the need for bilingual education in the United States and also stimulated concern about "the fate of kids who enter school with languages other than English," she said.

"I was raised to believe that bilingualism was part of every educated individual," Brisk said.

The primary fallacy with the American approach to bilingualism is that schools often teach languages as an abstract concept instead of something that is real, according to Brisk.

"I think the approach should be that language is not learned as an object but as part of another people's culture," Brisk said.

Brisk said it is important to realize that bilingualism not only concerns students learning English as a second language, but it also involves English-speaking students obtaining fluency in a second language. Bilingual students enrolled in schools are excellent assets when teaching foreign languages, she said.

"[Teachers] don't try to connect the teaching of a second language with children in the school district who speak the language," Brisk said.

Bilingual education should not only be aimed at teaching the reading, writing and speaking the language but should also involve a knowledge of the culture that corresponds with the language, Brisk said.

"The best way for students to function in society is not to be assimilated but to be integrated," Brisk said. "The program should be one that doesn't require [students] to cease to be who they are."

Educators working to implement bilingual programs have sought Brisk's assistance. She assisted with a program in the BU-managed Chelsea Public Schools that integrated English- and non-English-speaking students. Brisk said the program's result was a greater acceptance of different cultures among the children involved.

Brisk has also served on state commissions that address bilingual education, but she said she was dissatisfied with the attitude of some Massachusetts leaders, especially Gov. William F. Weld.

"He is not supportive at all," Brisk said. "I think he's awful. I've served on a couple of commissions for him, and it was a nightmare."

"Republicans have a very racist attitude towards immigrants and bilingualism," she said. "They have this absurd idea that English is going to disappear."

Successful bilingual programs vary in different schools, but there are certain components that are necessary to obtain positive results, Brisk said. Teachers working with bilingual children should always supply background information when introducing a topic, Brisk said. Instructors should also make use of diagrams whenever possible and avoid teaching in lecture style, she said.

"[These techniques] would be good for all kids, not only bilingual," Brisk said.

Brisk said she discussed such techniques, as well as the notion that children should not suffer from political quarrels, in her upcoming book, titled "Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Education." The book will be released next summer, she said.

Brisk said there is a common misconception that American citizens oppose bilingual education, adding that people across the country are generally supportive of the endeavor.

"There are a number of states that implement bilingual education," she said. "The greatest effort is done on the state level."

"The needs of over 50 percent of students who could use bilingual education are not being met," Brisk added, saying federally funded programs serve only 1 percent of those in need.

The government is responsible for supplying non-English speaking children with bilingual education, Brisk said.

"The parents of those children pay taxes," she said.

Brisk said the nation will suffer later if it is unwilling to offer financial support for bilingual programs. Children who received bilingual education for only the first three years of schooling were consistently in the lowest percentile of academic achievement and had a 40 percent dropout rate, according to Brisk.

"That's what is expensive for our country," Brisk said.