He understands that denying his children a good education in English will doom them to a limitedas opposed to limitlessfuture. Bilga Abramova also understands this simple truth. Bilga Is a 35yearold Russian refugee who has entered a church lottery three times in an attempt to win 1 of 50 coveted spaces in a free. intensive English class offered by her local parish. Her pleas in Russian speak volumes about the plight of all too many immigrants: "I need to win." she said. "Without English. I cannot begin a new life." The ultimate paradox about our commitment to bilingual education in this country is that Bilga and others like her all across the country are on waiting lists for intensive English classes while we spend $8 billion a year teaching children in their native language. Youve heard from parents like Ernesto Ortiz and how they feel about bilingual education.
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immigrants refugee