Bringing Jessi to Tears

On Friday, my class concluded taking the annual CELDT. Everything was going great until I noticed that many of my students had completed the first portion of the writing section within 10 minutes of starting. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing! Many of my students are at a point in their English language development that they could handle the the demands of the exam, however, they chose to breeze right through it.
After the rest of the class finally put their pencils down, only five minutes later, I reminded them, rather sternly, of the importance of the exam. They were reminded of how this exam would negatively affect their futures if they decided to blow it off like they were. My bantering didn't work, however, as they continued in the very same manner for the second section of the exam. At this point, I was bursting at the seams with disapproval and disgust. A cloud seemed to have blocked my vision for a few seconds as I ranted about how disappointed I was at my students, but when I finally came to, I noticed that only one student had been deeply moved by my anger-induced address. When I had fully snapped out of it, I noticed that "Jessi's" eyes were swelling up with tears for no apparent reason (yeah right, I would've been led to tears if I were in his place too).
Before I continue, it's important to shed some light on Jessi's story. He is a young 5th grade student who came to me at the end of last year as a 4th grader. He spoke not one word of English, and quickly became a "problem student" in and out of the classroom. He is constantly trying to be funny, and is incredibly adept at horseplay activities. In spite of all this, he is actually one of my favorite students! In this occasion, Jessi's test-taking behavior really upset me. Even though it was very natural for him to be the first to finish (on account that he couldn't understand the test and mark any answer) I became irate when he did what came naturally to him. I closed my proximity to him and demanded (in a whisper-shout) that he go back and check his work because he was just sitting there looking around the room. Immediately, he finally succumbed to the pressure and let the tears out. That scene haunted me the rest of the day.
Immediately following this scene, I removed his exam and relieved him from taking the rest of the writing exam. How could this boy perform what was being asked of him if he couldn't even read the prompt? How could he demonstrate his knowledge if he was specifically told he could not write in Spanish and had to produce writing in a language he could hardly understand? Later on that morning, at recess, I asked Jessi about what he experienced during that morning exchange, but he couldn't quite describe what he felt. He simply said that he felt better. I asked him if he had felt helpless because he couldn't do what was being asked of him and he answered, "yes." I swallowed my pride and asked him to forgive me, and he graciously did.
Later that day, during the time set aside for the bilingual unit, Jessi came to life answering questions and participating in class discussions. What made the difference, you ask? The difference was that he could answer in a language he knew well and in a language in which he could produce what was being asked of him. We discussed Sandra Cisneros' La Casa en Mango Street, and shared our hopes about the house of our dreams. Everyone had something to share, including Jessi, who was eager to share that his dream house would include "una cancha de futbol a soccer field, una casa de tres pisos a three story house y una piscina grande a large swimming pool."
I am not advocating that Bilingual education is for everyone, but I do believe that it is good for my students. Students who do not have access to enough mainstream language models, and who are new to the United States. They bring many skills and lack a few others academically speaking, but that can be evened out through a strong bilingual education program.
In closing, I'd like to say how much fun it's been to create a unit that didn't exist before. It has not been easy by any means, but the process has sparked a renewed joy of teaching for me. I look forward to completing the unit in a couple of weeks and see my students grow and trade those tears into a joy of learning.

Bamboozled by Good Intentions

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.