Bilingual Teachers

Florida is experiencing an issue that seems to also be occurring around the nation- schools are finding it challenging to hire people who can teach in both English and Spanish. In fact, 32 states are having difficulty finding enough bilingual teachers (CITE). This difficulty may be because those who have the skills necessary to teach both English and Spanish are able to use their skills in other, higher paying jobs. Additionally, teaching classes in both English and Spanish require more work, since one has to prepare in both languages. The author mentions Royal Palm Elementary in Miami, Florida, as an example of a school with the desire to teach both English and Spanish throughout their curriculum. The majority of children at Royal Palm Elementary have Spanish-speaking families that want their children to practice their Spanish
I agree with Florida's overall approach of attempting to train qualified bilingual teachers in order to extend foreign language programs. Considering the benefits of being bilingual, extending foreign language programs should be a priority in education for all states. Since there have been such difficulty recruiting teachers who can speak, read, and write in two languages, I believe that bilingual teachers should be offered higher pay than what they currently are given. Offering more income would attract more qualified individuals and also reinforce the importance of learning more than one language in our education system. In my own experience, I have found it difficult to learn Spanish as an additional language in college, and I would have benefitted from being exposed to the language earlier in my education. In Texas, considering our geographical relation with Mexico, there should be a greater emphasis on learning Spanish and this emphasis should be introduced in elementary, as it is in other