Forked Tongue: The Politics of Bilingual Education

Makes a persuasive case against ethnic empire-building. . . . It suggests that much time and money may have been wasted in classrooms where children were supposed to be learning to read and write English and did not. --Andrew Hacker, New York Review of Books

Porter dispels many of the myths and misconceptions that infest bilingual education today . . . with sensitivity and insight. --Chester E. Finn, Jr., professor of education and public policy, Vanderbilt University, and director, Educational Excellence Network

Eloquent. . . . By sharing her own experiences, Ms. Porter may succeed in exposing the inanity of current bilingual education policy.

--Linda Chavez, Wall Street Journal

[Forked Tongue] is Porter's chronicle of her struggles with parents who demanded one thing and bureaucrats who demanded the opposite. Through it all, she has managed to work toward a vision of integrated schools that is true to her childhood experience of what hurt and what helped.

--Christina Robb, The Boston Globe

Makes a persuasive case against ethnic empire-building. . . . It suggests that much time and money may have been wasted in classrooms where children were supposed to be learning to read and write English and did not.

--Andrew Hacker, New York Review of Books

Porter's criticism of what bilingual education has become is devastating--and will be perilous to ignore.

--Joan Beck, The Chicago Tribune

[Porter] writes with skill, verve, insight, compassion, and not a little fury. . . . Forked Tongue is . . . a forthright, surgically precise prescription for the intelligent way (or ways) to help children know the language of their fathers and also master the language of their new land. . . . Forked Tongue has so much in it crying out for quotation that the reviewer can barely stop.

--David Brudnoy, Human Events

This volume should be read by all bilingual educators in the US.

--Choice

No one who is seriously interested in the education of English-deficient Hispanics and other students can afford to ignore Porter's eye-opening account of how bilingual education in America has failed the very students it purports to serve.

--Richard Estrada, Dallas Morning News

Written from the heart by someone who experienced firsthand the trials and rewards of adopting a new language with a new land, this is a must-read for an insider's perspective on bilingual education.

--Kathryn Bricker, The Social Contract

Forked Tongue exposes us to the tragi-comic results of bureaucratic logic applied to a specific aspect of the education system. It is a fearless work, as evidenced by its straightforward way of dealing with the looming question: 'Is the maintenance of family cultures to be a mandated responsibility of the public schools?' The author's refreshingly simple answer: No.

--Allen Randolph, National Review

Porter dispels many of the myths and misconceptions that infest bilingual education today . . . with sensitivity and insight.

--Chester E. Finn, Jr., Director, Educational Excellence Network

Eloquent. . . . By sharing her own experiences, Ms. Porter may succeed in exposing the inanity of current bilingual education policy.

--Linda Chavez, Wall Street Journal

[Forked Tongue] is Porter's chronicle of her struggles with parents who demanded one thing and bureaucrats who demanded the opposite. Through it all, she has managed to work toward a vision of integrated schools that is true to her childhood experience of what hurt and what helped.

--Christina Robb, The Boston Globe

Makes a persuasive case against ethnic empire-building. . . . It suggests that much time and money may have been wasted in classrooms where children were supposed to be learning to read and write English and did not.

--Andrew Hacker, New York Review of Books

Porter's criticism of what bilingual education has become is devastating--and will be perilous to ignore.

--Joan Beck, The Chicago Tribune

[Porter] writes with skill, verve, insight, compassion, and not a little fury. . . . Forked Tongue is . . . a forthright, surgically precise prescription for the intelligent way (or ways) to help children know the language of their fathers and also master the language of their new land. . . . Forked Tongue has so much in it crying out for quotation that the reviewer can barely stop.

--David Brudnoy, Human Events

This volume should be read by all bilingual educators in the US.

--Choice

No one who is seriously interested in the education of English-deficient Hispanics and other students can afford to ignore Porter's eye-opening account of how bilingual education in America has failed the very students it purports to serve.

--Richard Estrada, Dallas Morning News

Written from the heart by someone who experienced firsthand the trials and rewards of adopting a new language with a new land, this is a must-read for an insider's perspective on bilingual education.

--Kathryn Bricker, The Social Contract

Forked Tongue exposes us to the tragi-comic results of bureaucratic logic applied to a specific aspect of the education system. It is a fearless work, as evidenced by its straightforward way of dealing with the looming question: 'Is the maintenance of family cultures to be a mandated responsibility of the public schools?' The author's refreshingly simple answer: No.

--Allen Randolph, National Review

Porter dispels many of the myths and misconceptions that infest bilingual education today . . . with sensitivity and insight.

--Chester E. Finn, Jr., Director, Educational Excellence Network

-Eloquent. . . . By sharing her own experiences, Ms. Porter may succeed in exposing the inanity of current bilingual education policy.-

--Linda Chavez, Wall Street Journal

-[Forked Tongue] is Porter's chronicle of her struggles with parents who demanded one thing and bureaucrats who demanded the opposite. Through it all, she has managed to work toward a vision of integrated schools that is true to her childhood experience of what hurt and what helped.-

--Christina Robb, The Boston Globe

-Makes a persuasive case against ethnic empire-building. . . . It suggests that much time and money may have been wasted in classrooms where children were supposed to be learning to read and write English and did not.-

--Andrew Hacker, New York Review of Books

-Porter's criticism of what bilingual education has become is devastating--and will be perilous to ignore.-

--Joan Beck, The Chicago Tribune

-[Porter] writes with skill, verve, insight, compassion, and not a little fury. . . . Forked Tongue is . . . a forthright, surgically precise prescription for the intelligent way (or ways) to help children know the language of their fathers and also master the language of their new land. . . . Forked Tongue has so much in it crying out for quotation that the reviewer can barely stop.-

--David Brudnoy, Human Events

-This volume should be read by all bilingual educators in the US.-

--Choice

-No one who is seriously interested in the education of English-deficient Hispanics and other students can afford to ignore Porter's eye-opening account of how bilingual education in America has failed the very students it purports to serve.-

--Richard Estrada, Dallas Morning News

-Written from the heart by someone who experienced firsthand the trials and rewards of adopting a new language with a new land, this is a must-read for an insider's perspective on bilingual education.-

--Kathryn Bricker, The Social Contract

-Forked Tongue exposes us to the tragi-comic results of bureaucratic logic applied to a specific aspect of the education system. It is a fearless work, as evidenced by its straightforward way of dealing with the looming question: 'Is the maintenance of family cultures to be a mandated responsibility of the public schools?' The author's refreshingly simple answer: No.-

--Allen Randolph, National Review

-Porter dispels many of the myths and misconceptions that infest bilingual education today . . . with sensitivity and insight.-

--Chester E. Finn, Jr., Director, Educational Excellence Network