By the year 2020, minorities will no longer be the minority.

According to our
census bureau, more than half of the nations children are expected to be part of a
minority race or ethnic group. With that knowledge in hand, we have an opportunity to
act. To prepare our society mainly our youth, for the inevitable. Rather than allow our
foreign cultures and languages to fade off into misinterpreted history books with each
generation that comes along, why not encourage a bilingual education that will enrich
nearly every aspect of a youths life for its entirety, while preparing them (our youth) for
the change that records show is already set to come?
First off, I am a strong advocate for bilingual education. I know that with bilingual
education being made into a bigger priority, we can make our children much more
competitive in the world. Bilingualism has a much greater influence in the workforce
than anyone would think. For example, whenever someone conducts business in a
foreign country, instead of being comfortable with ones self by using English, anyone
can go out of their comfort zone a use the host countries language. Immediate rapport
will be established. With that being said, I am not arguing that someone needs to be
proficient in many languages, rather having proficiency in a language of interest either
from work or personal preference.
Secondly, bilingualism improves executive function regardless of what age
someone begins to learn a language. Bilinguals are able to give more focus on
essential information while trying conducting a task. Bilingualism and multilingualism
also brings forth a wide array of cognitive benefits. Dementia and Alzheimers disease
are delayed. The hippocampus region of the brain which is responsible for important
roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory
and spatial navigation is increased in size. Grey matter in increased.

Source: Google Images.

Lastly, we can go on and discuss for hours on end about the positive
impact bilingualism may have on all of us. But at the end of the day, what bilingualism
boils down to is something more than just the surplus of its consequent benefits. Its all
about understanding the huge diversity that our world possesses, and knowing on a
deep and intimate level that each one of us is different. Having a more thorough
understanding that the world that surrounds us can be interpreted and described in
different ways helps children grow into mature and caring adults. There are two groups
of children that fall under this category. The first category are children that were born in
the United States. They already know English for obvious reasons. The second
category are foreign children that are English Language Learners (ELL). They have a
different mother tongue and they usually have pedagogical issues while learning
English.
Whenever you are trying to raise bilingual children, it can be very difficult
especially if you are not bilingual. A language immersion program would be suitable for
this scenario, and that is why I have a strong belief that more bilingual programs should
be open. If you and your significant other know different languages, try to constantly
engage your child with them.

Sources

Blagg, H. (2012, June 1). 5 Good Reasons to Raise Your Children Bilingual Language Mastery.
Retrieved December 1, 2015.
Chappell, B. (2015, March 4). For U.S. Children, Minorities Will Be The
Majority By 2020, Census
Says. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
Marshall, J. (2010, October 10). Bilingualism Good for the Brain: DNews. Retrieved
December 2, 2015.