'It Is a Human Issue'

By Annette B. Lemons

The author is a teacher and bilingual literacy specialist at Walton Junior High School in Bentonville, Ark.

In the northwest corner of Arkansas where I live and work, the trucking industry, poultry business, and one of the world's largest retailers have created a job market that is groaning for people who are willing to work. And thousands are arriving.

As their children enter my classroom, I know what is going on in their active minds. They don't externalize it; it's always in their eyes. These students struggle with the unmanageable chaos of linguistic development. They...