In his book Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez reflects on his years of education as a son of Mexican immigrants. He was discouraged from speaking Spanish at home and school in order to be successful academically. As a result, he does not support bilingual education. I strongly disagree with his stance. I work as a Spanish teacher in a diverse district, and I am an advocate for bilingual education and ethnic studies.
Bilingual education consists of using two languages in school for social and pedagogical purposes. So in a bilingual classroom, a teacher would teach math using a language other than English. The goal is to help students succeed in academics while providing English and second language instruction. Bilingual classrooms can take a variety of forms. Students may be all native speakers of a non-English language, or some students can be native speakers of English. I wonder if bilingual education was very different when Richard published this book in 1982. Perhaps he would be more in favor if he saw what these programs look like now.
I am very proud to work in a district that values bilingual education. 35% of our district's students speak a language other than English at their homes. 4% of students are in English language learner (ELL) programs. In fact, over 100 different languages are spoken in our district! When a school has 20 or more students with limited English proficiency in the same language, we must provide a Transitional Bilingual Education. Students receive literacy instruction in their native language until they are ready to transition into English literacy instruction. However, they still receive native literacy instruction and native language support from bilingual teachers or teaching assistants. I love that this program celebrates a students' native language while still preparing them to use English in school and their everyday life. Our teachers do not want students to stop speaking their native language at home. Bilingual instructors speak Spanish, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi and Tamil (languages native to regions in India and Pakistan). At the high school level, I frequently see the bilingual program in action. We have Spanish-speaking teacher assistants who attend classes with students to provide them with language support. They pull out students during exams to translate tests to Spanish or just read the test slowly out loud in English.
Furthermore, ethnic studies enhance our classrooms and our students' global perspectives. Like the article mentioned, ethnic studies are on the rise. I have seen how ethnic studies are more prevalent in suburban Chicago schools now versus when I was in high school. At my first district, our World Language Department offered courses on Latin American Studies and Spanish Studies. Both classes were an honors Spanish 5 for seniors. Teachers spoke entirely in Spanish as the students learned about the history and literature of these different areas. There was no direct instruction about the Spanish language (grammar/vocabulary). These courses were incredibly popular at the school. More students took Latin American and Spanish Studies than AP Spanish! At my current district, we have a different opportunity for students called Spanish for Spanish Speakers. Students receive instruction on Spanish language and literature. This course is only offered to students who speak Spanish at home.
I do not teach an ethnic studies course, but I still try to incorporate ideas to celebrate and learn about different cultures. Foreign language teachers use the ACTFL 5 C's when we design our lesson plans. We embed the standard of culture throughout our lessons. For example, when I teach greeting vocabulary words, I show this video on how people greet each other in Argentina. Students enjoy comparing/contrasting Spanish-speaking cultures with their own. They retain the material effectively because the words are presented in a meaningful context. Next, I encourage heritage speakers to share their personal experiences with the class. Often we learn vocabulary words or cultural practices that are unique to one country or region. Heritage speakers can offer their first-hand knowledge to deepen everyone's understanding. Finally, I have opportunities for students of different cultural backgrounds to share information about their cultures. During World Language Week, students can give little presentations on their culture. They make five to ten-minute PowerPoint presentations that discuss their culture's language, clothing, food, etc.
In addition to Richard's stance on bilingual education, I was also impacted by Richard's descriptions of his mother. He states how she is a very intelligent person. Unfortunately, she does not always seem smart due to her lack of English. Because she misinterpreted the word "guerilla" as "gorilla," she lost a job. This reaction is the sad reality that many English language learners face. During a professional development session that I attended, the presenter wanted us to experience what speaking was like for an ELL student. We spoke with a partner about our weekend activities, but we could not use any words that contained the letter "e." Try it - it's challenging! Even though I knew what I wanted to say, I could not articulate my thoughts in the same way. I used frequent pauses because I had to think carefully to choose my words. If Richard's mother's employers (and other employers around the country) had similar training, I imagine they would be more forgiving of their English as a second language employees.
Richard describes how his teachers' forcing him to speak English resulted in his family's loss of closeness. Multilingualism is something to celebrate. A person should not feel like they have to choose between speaking English and speaking Spanish. The best part of learning a new language is gaining a new identity, not taking your existing one away. I truly hope that the rise of ethnic studies and efforts of bilingual education help children celebrate all of their cultures and languages.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Cycle One: The Culture of Childhood
As parents in the United States become more overprotective of their children, it is interesting to see the impact this has had on their interactions with teachers and their demands of their children's school. In the last 50 years, parents have experienced a dramatic increase in their concerns over their children's safety. For example, parents in the 1970's were around more but spent less time with their kids. 80% of children would walk alone to school compared to less than 9% now. Parents used to let their children play without supervision, but now parents use their children's free time to schedule play dates, classes, and organized sports. In addition to their concerns over safety, parents are also beginning to favor a more rigorous academic experience for their children. Starting in preschool, parents want their children learning academics, not playing.
Parents in other countries have both similar and different attitudes regarding concerns over children's safety and academic rigors. In England, there is a movement to bring back adventure playgrounds that encourage children to take appropriate risks during play. French parents are also more relaxed about their children. Chinese parents push for strong academics in preschools, while French parents are not as concerned with academics. These cultural differences are especially important for me to note because I teach an ethnically diverse population. Most of this diversity comes from Indian and Mexican students. The article, "5 Unique Things About Parenting in India," mentions that Indian parents focus on academics and discipline. During parent-teacher conferences with Indian parents, I see this parenting philosophy first hand. These parents place a substantial value on their children's academic success in Spanish. They will frequently ask me for additional materials to further enhance their children's education.
After teaching for two years, I have seen how the overprotective nature of parents impacts my job as well as the demands placed on my school. First, I notice how freshmen parents are overly worried about their child's adjustment to high school. Around the end of the first month of school, I get several parent phone calls stating that their child is having trouble adjusting to my class or high school in general. Parents look for ideas on how to jumpstart this process - what they can do to help their child study more efficiently or get ideas how to manage their workload. For the most part, these concerned parents have students who consistently get A's or B's in my class! To further help students adjust to my class, I will strongly emphasize study skills during the first quarter of Spanish 1 this fall.
In Illinois, there is a huge value placed on developing a student's social and emotional learning (SEL). "SEL is the process through which children and adults acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to recognize and manage their emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations constructively." Some schools have SEL programs several times a month. Students watch videos and then discuss how they can resolve conflicts with their peers in an appropriate way. Although I do not work in a district that has an SEL program, I once taught an SEL lesson on bullying to my Spanish 2 class.
At St. Timothy's school in Honolulu, Jannie discussed how she now experiences a need to justify the school's curriculum. Dolores stated, "...we've had to get more professional at articulating to the parents how and why we do what we do." In my district, this takes the form of a daily goal that is thoroughly discussed with students. Teachers are strongly encouraged to post a daily goal using an "I can..." format. We read the goal out loud to the class, discuss why it is important, and then check that students met that goal at the end of the lesson. I have never had to justify my curriculum to a parent, but I do this every day with my class.
I see the toll that parents' desires for an academically rigorous course load take on students. The top students in my Spanish 3 class took three to five AP courses. These students often came to class exhausted. They tried to work on homework for other classes during Spanish because they were so overwhelmed with their schedule. As parental demands for strong academics increase, counselors frequently push for students to add more honors or AP classes to their schedule. Even when I make course recommendations, my department chairs have suggested that I recommend all students for the next level of Spanish regardless if they could handle the material. While this academically rigorous thinking works for some students, I do not think it is fair to assume that a tough course load works for all students. The article "AP classes: A problem for Massachusetts high schoolers?" describes how enrollment in AP classes is rising, but it is not always beneficial for students.
Furthermore, parents' safety concerns have impacted our schools. Cell phones serve as my biggest threat to classroom management. I do enjoy using them for specific activities, but otherwise, they present a huge distraction to my students. Teachers in my district must allow cell phones in class. We cannot confiscate phones even if the student is using them during an inappropriate time. I do believe that parents' concerns for contacting their children in case of an emergency are a huge reason why this policy exists. When I was a student, my mom would just contact the main office if there was an emergency. Now, parents want the ability to reach out to their children via text message before contacting the school.
Since I am not a parent, I was curious to see what my mother thought of the increase in safety and desires for rigorous academic curriculums that parents are experiencing now. We talked about how parents are more overprotective of their children now compared with parents of the past. My mother fondly remembers riding her bike all over the streets of her hometown by herself without a helmet. On the other hand, I never played outside without close adult supervision. My mom said, "I know people say that 'overprotecting' your kids will hurt them in their future. The difference is now there are a lot more strange individuals in the world. You have to be more aware of your children to protect them. Maybe they will not be as willing to take risks later in life, but at least they will be safe." Even though my mom's opinion contradicts existing data, I am sure her attitude is similar to many parents in today's society. Then, I asked my mom how academically rigorous a preschool classroom should be. In her opinion, preschool should be dedicated to teaching children how to interact socially with one another. Play time and making craft projects should be the focus. My mom and dad read thousands of books with my sister and me. She practiced the ABC's, basic math, and writing with us. She does not feel that it is the preschool's responsibility to teach students this information. She could see the importance of teaching academics if a parent worked all day. Because she was able to provide my sister and me with additional instruction outside of the preschool setting, she chose a preschool that was not academically rigorous.
Parents in other countries have both similar and different attitudes regarding concerns over children's safety and academic rigors. In England, there is a movement to bring back adventure playgrounds that encourage children to take appropriate risks during play. French parents are also more relaxed about their children. Chinese parents push for strong academics in preschools, while French parents are not as concerned with academics. These cultural differences are especially important for me to note because I teach an ethnically diverse population. Most of this diversity comes from Indian and Mexican students. The article, "5 Unique Things About Parenting in India," mentions that Indian parents focus on academics and discipline. During parent-teacher conferences with Indian parents, I see this parenting philosophy first hand. These parents place a substantial value on their children's academic success in Spanish. They will frequently ask me for additional materials to further enhance their children's education.
After teaching for two years, I have seen how the overprotective nature of parents impacts my job as well as the demands placed on my school. First, I notice how freshmen parents are overly worried about their child's adjustment to high school. Around the end of the first month of school, I get several parent phone calls stating that their child is having trouble adjusting to my class or high school in general. Parents look for ideas on how to jumpstart this process - what they can do to help their child study more efficiently or get ideas how to manage their workload. For the most part, these concerned parents have students who consistently get A's or B's in my class! To further help students adjust to my class, I will strongly emphasize study skills during the first quarter of Spanish 1 this fall.
In Illinois, there is a huge value placed on developing a student's social and emotional learning (SEL). "SEL is the process through which children and adults acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to recognize and manage their emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations constructively." Some schools have SEL programs several times a month. Students watch videos and then discuss how they can resolve conflicts with their peers in an appropriate way. Although I do not work in a district that has an SEL program, I once taught an SEL lesson on bullying to my Spanish 2 class.
At St. Timothy's school in Honolulu, Jannie discussed how she now experiences a need to justify the school's curriculum. Dolores stated, "...we've had to get more professional at articulating to the parents how and why we do what we do." In my district, this takes the form of a daily goal that is thoroughly discussed with students. Teachers are strongly encouraged to post a daily goal using an "I can..." format. We read the goal out loud to the class, discuss why it is important, and then check that students met that goal at the end of the lesson. I have never had to justify my curriculum to a parent, but I do this every day with my class.
I see the toll that parents' desires for an academically rigorous course load take on students. The top students in my Spanish 3 class took three to five AP courses. These students often came to class exhausted. They tried to work on homework for other classes during Spanish because they were so overwhelmed with their schedule. As parental demands for strong academics increase, counselors frequently push for students to add more honors or AP classes to their schedule. Even when I make course recommendations, my department chairs have suggested that I recommend all students for the next level of Spanish regardless if they could handle the material. While this academically rigorous thinking works for some students, I do not think it is fair to assume that a tough course load works for all students. The article "AP classes: A problem for Massachusetts high schoolers?" describes how enrollment in AP classes is rising, but it is not always beneficial for students.
Furthermore, parents' safety concerns have impacted our schools. Cell phones serve as my biggest threat to classroom management. I do enjoy using them for specific activities, but otherwise, they present a huge distraction to my students. Teachers in my district must allow cell phones in class. We cannot confiscate phones even if the student is using them during an inappropriate time. I do believe that parents' concerns for contacting their children in case of an emergency are a huge reason why this policy exists. When I was a student, my mom would just contact the main office if there was an emergency. Now, parents want the ability to reach out to their children via text message before contacting the school.
Since I am not a parent, I was curious to see what my mother thought of the increase in safety and desires for rigorous academic curriculums that parents are experiencing now. We talked about how parents are more overprotective of their children now compared with parents of the past. My mother fondly remembers riding her bike all over the streets of her hometown by herself without a helmet. On the other hand, I never played outside without close adult supervision. My mom said, "I know people say that 'overprotecting' your kids will hurt them in their future. The difference is now there are a lot more strange individuals in the world. You have to be more aware of your children to protect them. Maybe they will not be as willing to take risks later in life, but at least they will be safe." Even though my mom's opinion contradicts existing data, I am sure her attitude is similar to many parents in today's society. Then, I asked my mom how academically rigorous a preschool classroom should be. In her opinion, preschool should be dedicated to teaching children how to interact socially with one another. Play time and making craft projects should be the focus. My mom and dad read thousands of books with my sister and me. She practiced the ABC's, basic math, and writing with us. She does not feel that it is the preschool's responsibility to teach students this information. She could see the importance of teaching academics if a parent worked all day. Because she was able to provide my sister and me with additional instruction outside of the preschool setting, she chose a preschool that was not academically rigorous.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Introductory Post
Hi everyone! My name is Katherine Edmundson. I just completed my second year as a high school Spanish teacher in Illinois. I grew up in Downers Grove in the western suburbs of Chicago. I received my Bachelor's Degree from Michigan State University where I majored in Spanish and minored in Teaching English as a Second Language. One of my fondest memories was attending many exciting football and basketball games. During the summer between sophomore and junior year, I studied abroad in northern Spain. I enjoyed taking classes in Spanish culture, literature, and art history while improving my fluency by living with a host mother. Following graduation, I completed my student teaching internship at Eaton Rapids High School in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. That year was particularly challenging for me as I adjusted to working in a rural school that did not use a textbook. However, my student teaching experience truly prepared me for the rigors of my own classroom. I moved back to Illinois and was employed as a full-year high school Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 long-term substitute. This past year, I worked as a traveling teacher for Spanish 1 and Spanish 3 at two different buildings. I will be returning to a similar position for the upcoming school year. TE 822 is the first class that I am taking for my MATC. Outside of the classroom, I am an avid reader and moviegoer. I am a huge Michigan State Spartan fan, too! I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I especially love traveling to different places throughout the world.
One of my favorite movies that portray teaching is Dead Poets Society. I have seen this movie multiple times, but I take away something different each time I watch it. Now that I have been teaching for a couple of years, I see Robin Williams' character as the teacher who I aspire to be. I appreciate the passion that he has for his subject. He inspires a group of students to take their love for English outside of the classroom. Williams' makes material relevant by connecting it to his students' lives. He uses hands-on methods to help students understand the concepts of poetry. While many of the students wanted to pursue medicine in college, some were so motivated by his class that they changed their plans. Not only does Robin Williams' character teach students about English, but he also teaches them about life. He forms many personal relationships with his students and gets to know each one individually as a person. The students trust him to discuss important questions and challenges that they experienced in their lives. As I continue with my career, I hope to instill a similar passion for Spanish in my students. I aspire to keep students very engaged in my lessons while making them relevant to students' lives. I make a point to learn about each student individually. I want them to feel comfortable approaching me with their concerns. When students leave my class, I would love if they continued taking the next level of Spanish or majoring in the language in college.
One of my favorite movies that portray teaching is Dead Poets Society. I have seen this movie multiple times, but I take away something different each time I watch it. Now that I have been teaching for a couple of years, I see Robin Williams' character as the teacher who I aspire to be. I appreciate the passion that he has for his subject. He inspires a group of students to take their love for English outside of the classroom. Williams' makes material relevant by connecting it to his students' lives. He uses hands-on methods to help students understand the concepts of poetry. While many of the students wanted to pursue medicine in college, some were so motivated by his class that they changed their plans. Not only does Robin Williams' character teach students about English, but he also teaches them about life. He forms many personal relationships with his students and gets to know each one individually as a person. The students trust him to discuss important questions and challenges that they experienced in their lives. As I continue with my career, I hope to instill a similar passion for Spanish in my students. I aspire to keep students very engaged in my lessons while making them relevant to students' lives. I make a point to learn about each student individually. I want them to feel comfortable approaching me with their concerns. When students leave my class, I would love if they continued taking the next level of Spanish or majoring in the language in college.
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