It seems that the more I delve into the topic of Bilingual education and its role in helping language minority students acquire English, the more I feel that we were bamboozled into accepting the "gato por liebre"(they gave us a cat instead of a rabbit--the saying doesn't translate very well...sorry!) exchange. In 1998, being a young, misinformed voter, I bought into the let's teach them more English so they'll learn more English hype of Prop. 227. It seemed to make sense to me. We were duped into believing that by providing primary language instruction we were somehow undermining the opportunities the children of immigrants had to experience the American way of life. If they never learned English, they would never have a solid chance in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness guaranteed to all who dwell on American soil.
James Crawford (1997) explains that the public's focus was diverted from debating what is good for students, to debating about whether or not the public should be for, or against bilingual education. Over a million students in California alone fell destitute, destined to inherit a future replete with poverty in academics and life. Now, ten years later, one need only to read the daily headlines explaining that large numbers of language minority students are either dropping out of school, or are lining up in larger numbers than other groups to receive their bogus certificates of completion because they can't pass the CAHSEE. It is evident that bilingual education was not the universal educational panacea that legislators had gambled on, but it was a step in the right direction; it was and still can be good for students.
That being said, I'm announcing that my A.R. project's focus has changed somewhat. Now, it will revolve around a unit I will develop and implement using bilingual songs, poems, and literature and its effect on English acquisition. I feel this leans more towards the emphasis of this program by addressing the multicultural and social justice aspects we've studied over the last two semesters. Even though the change means a lot more work for me, I feel that it will lead to greater things for me and my students.
5 comments:
Wow, changing your topic, that's a huge step. However we have to go where the context of our teaching takes us. I'm just lucky because I was so afraid I wouldn't have a job this year that I completed all of my data collection last year. I'd need a whole new topic as well if I had not. I can see so many possibilities for AR projects in my current teaching situation and they are very different from what I found last year. Amazing.
Ish, I think your project is great. I know it will be a lot more work, I think it is worth it. I believe it is important for ELL students to keep their first language. I tell my parents that their child being able to speak two languages is an asset and that if they can learn both well it will be of great benefit to them later. I find that many of my students' parents say that their children don't want to speak their native language after they have come to school and have learned English. Why do you think that is?
Prop 227 left me a bit "bamboozled" as well. Did you read the language used in the proposition? WHOA! In terms of your new topic, does your school participate in "Los Dichos?" It is put on through Project Cornerstone and brings Spanish speaking parents into the classroom to co-teach lessons with teachers. It's pretty neat. I don't know if it is really fitting for your project- perhaps more along the lines of bringing in culture and acceptance in the classroom.
Being older and having taught longer, I knew Prop. 227 was a very bad thing. Children do not receive the scaffolding or support necessary to feel proud and successful. School is a somewhat frightening experience for monolingual Spanish speakers. Your project sounds great, Ish. Best of luck with it. ~Theresa
Let's do some math.
You are talking about the legislation which took place 10 years ago.
Okay.
NCLB came into play about 8 years ago.
Here is our math problem (which is actually a larger societal problem):
1 bad piece of legislation which effects EL and minoriy students
+
1 bad piece of legislation which effects EL and minority students
= (equals)
less social studies, science, art, and physical education (which build knowledge bases and self-esteem to help in other content areas)
which = (equals) more mandated commercial programs ( which are less engaging) which=(equals) testing testing tesing, everything is about testing which =(equals) less joy and more frustration for teachers and students
which = (equals)
Thousands of EL and minority students dropping out of school
which = (equals) less students feeling qualified for higher education which =(equals) more EL and minority students (as adults) who have lower paying jobs which = (equals) a continued cycle of lower wages and more difficult less fulfilling lives...
Yep!
It all seems to add up!
When government gets involved, they mess things up!
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