I am writing this review approximately three months before voters go to the polls in
California to decide the fate of Proposition 227, the English for Children Initiative (otherwise
known as the Unz Initiative). Whatever the outcome, the fate of bilingual education in California
(and, as a consequence, across the United States) will be profoundly affected. Mr. Unz, who
opposes bilingual education, is described in a page one article in the New York Times
(March 10, 1988) as a person who has no “background in education,” “has
never set foot in a bilingual education class,” and “puts no credence in any of the
research on either side of the (bilingual) debate.” Brisk, the author of the book under
review here, is a proponent of quality bilingual education and draws upon her personal
experiences as an educator as well as an enormous body of research and literature to help define
the characteristics of effective bilingual programs. She forcefully argues that: “Our society
seems to be unable to differentiate between choice of a national language and choice of a
language for education,” (p. 31) and she challenges bilingual education's
opponents, who she says “in effect would postpone quality education until students master
English” (p. 2).
Music Education in College Quality Education
