Children valuables as cultural interpreters.

• Position: Bilingualism

Bilingual children who act as linguistic and cultural interpreters should be viewed as an asset to American society, not a liability, argues Guadalupe Valdes, professor of education, Stanford (Calif.) University. "In many countries, to be educated means to be bilingual, in this country, the term bilingual is used to suggest that you are uneducated. Bilingualism has a bad rap."

Valdes' five-year study aims to "broaden definitions of intelligence currently used to identify 'giftedness' by focusing on abilities that are not generally identified or positively evaluated in formal education."

Part of the research focused on young Latino interpreters who may be enrolled in ESL (English as a Second Language) programs, rather than gifted programs, and are not expected to succeed in school. Such students often act as translators in their communities and learn to respond to challenging situations that demand quick thinking and skills. "They were the most suspect of youngsters. And yet, they did incredible things when they were interpreting."

Initially, Valdes did not look closely at programs designed for gifted and talented students because bilingual Latino children rarely are identified as part of this group. "They seemed rather elitist and rather isolationist. Existing views of gifted children reflect an upper-middle-class experience" Quoting from one researcher, she points out that "black, Hispanic, and Native American children appear in gifted programs at about one-half or less of their prevalence in the U.S. population, whereas Asian Americans appear at twice their percentage in the U.S. population."

However, Valdes discovered that various definitions of giftedness exist, and that some researchers have described it as "something we invent, not something we discover." After...