Peter Duignan

About the author: Peter Duignan, a senior fellow emeritus at the Hoover Institution, has written and edited more than forty books and monographs, including The Hispanics in the United States: A History (with L.H. Gann) and The Rebirth of the West: The Americanization of the Democratic World, 1945-1958.

Most studies done by independent researchers show that bilingual education does not work, is costly, is divisive, and inhibits Spanish speakers' ability to compete in American society. Hispanics taught in bilingual programs tend to fall behind their peers, drop out of school at a high rate, and end up in low-paying jobs. However, bilingual education continues to survive in schools because of the insistence of some members of the education bureaucracy and the efforts of cultural activists who promote the teaching of the Spanish language...