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Everything started with the colonization of Puerto Rico by the Americans. John Eaton and Victor Clark established that teachers should learn English
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The Public Instruction Department of Puerto Rico is created with an assigned commissioner.
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The educational policy was to conserve Spanish and acquire English, but further on, government emphasize more in North American culture.
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Theodore Roosevelt, Commissioner of Education re-established English as a medium of instruction
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Five hundred and forty Puerto Rican teachers were sent to the universities of Cornell and Harvard to study English during the summer.
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By the imposition of the English language, the people revealed themselves and created the Separatist Movement.
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Spanish use is suppressed and English is used as the main language of instruction in all the school grades.
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English teachers flourished making it possible to establish the English language as the official language for education with a high enrollment of students.(35,000)
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Spanish is used in first grade for some subjects.
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A law was introduced to make the Spanish language, the compulsory language for instruction in Puerto Rico.
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Spanish was reinstated as the medium of instruction for the first four grades.
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The political controversy continues; World War 1 starts and the American citizenship is given to the Puerto Ricans. It is asked to teach the children about patriotism.
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Juan B. Huyke became the Instruction's commissioner. English is encouraged to be used at all times . The teachers and students were asked to use English even outside of the classroom. The books were published in English. The printing of Spanish materials was prohibited.
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Jose Padin established English as a foreign language in a pedagogical perspective. He encouraged to use Spanish as the main way of instruction. English was emphasized as a second language with many programs
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President Roosevelt complained that Puerto Ricans had not learned English after 38 years of American occupation. He wanted all the education to be given in English so that the next generation could know English.
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Spanish prevailed as the main of instruction up to the sixth grade and English continued as a separate subject.
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The vernacular Spanish was to be used as the mean of instruction up to the ninth grade.
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Dr. Mariano Villaronga put an end to the bilingual debate by stating that Spanish was to be used in all school levels starting in the 1949-50 school year. This prevails today.
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The Public Instruction Department and the Universities asked for funds to attend the students needs,
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Padre Rufo and Papa Juan XXIII established Bilingual Projects in Puerto Rico.
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The Bilingual Education Program, already established, stops being a program' and their projects were transferred to the English Department.
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Under the government of Rafael Hernández Colón, the “Spanish Only" was approved as, Law Number 4, April 5, 1991.
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Under the government of Pedro Roselló ,( Law Number 1 January 28, 1993 ) proclaiming both, English and Spanish as the official languages in the island.
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United States government approved the "No Child Left Behind Act" which focuses on the English Language Learners previously known as Bilingual minorities
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The Bilingual Citizen Project established various bilingual schools in the Island. Among the ones that survived is the Antonio González Suárez in Añasco.
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There are new bilingual initiatives in Puerto Rico under the BEC-21 and ES-21 projects.
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I believe that the policies have been inconsistent because they are constantly changing throughout history. Every time someone new comes in charge, some changes among the policies come along.
Sometimes if that new person does not agree or have different believes about language or education, there are some setbacks because of it.
