Literacy in Education, In a Historic Context
Chicago has Historically always been very diverse in Language and culture. According to Farr in 1890 three quarters of the 1 million residents of Chicago were foreign Born.
Why Is ELL education still such a hard concept in American education, even though this country was always multi lingual?
According to Farr "34.3% of students 5 or older speak a language other than English" This being predominately Spanish in Chicago. this raises an interesting question. There is no Official Language in the U.S. yet our school system is very English focused.
If there are that many Children that speak other languages, Why do we base our education literacy ability on English alone?
Why is English literacy more valued in the U.S. than literacy in other languages?
Many of the policies that the educational system were built of of were extremely Euro-Centric and in specific centered around our colonial history. This disenfranchises and creates a sense of otherness to non Europeans in the U.S. but more specifically non English speakers.
Klinger mentions how Bilingualism rarely refers to equal proficiency in each language.
Do you think it is fair that ELL students are held to the same academic standards as a native english speaker in terms of literacy? Imagine going to school in another country and being tested in a language you are not proficient at and that is a gauge of your intelligence. Is that fair?
Do we as teachers under this educational system, set up ELL students for the same level of success as native speakers, and does this possibly contribute to wealth inequality among immigrant families?
what can we do to level the playing field in this country?
The question is a difficult one to answer, as it either requires schools of multiple different languages within this nation, or a heightened English learning program for immigrant children.
Are there other options to prevent ELL students to succeed on an equal level when the challenges they face academically are far different than that of a native speaker?
Chicago has Historically always been very diverse in Language and culture. According to Farr in 1890 three quarters of the 1 million residents of Chicago were foreign Born.
Why Is ELL education still such a hard concept in American education, even though this country was always multi lingual?
According to Farr "34.3% of students 5 or older speak a language other than English" This being predominately Spanish in Chicago. this raises an interesting question. There is no Official Language in the U.S. yet our school system is very English focused.
If there are that many Children that speak other languages, Why do we base our education literacy ability on English alone?
Why is English literacy more valued in the U.S. than literacy in other languages?
Many of the policies that the educational system were built of of were extremely Euro-Centric and in specific centered around our colonial history. This disenfranchises and creates a sense of otherness to non Europeans in the U.S. but more specifically non English speakers.
Klinger mentions how Bilingualism rarely refers to equal proficiency in each language.
Do you think it is fair that ELL students are held to the same academic standards as a native english speaker in terms of literacy? Imagine going to school in another country and being tested in a language you are not proficient at and that is a gauge of your intelligence. Is that fair?
Do we as teachers under this educational system, set up ELL students for the same level of success as native speakers, and does this possibly contribute to wealth inequality among immigrant families?
what can we do to level the playing field in this country?
The question is a difficult one to answer, as it either requires schools of multiple different languages within this nation, or a heightened English learning program for immigrant children.
Are there other options to prevent ELL students to succeed on an equal level when the challenges they face academically are far different than that of a native speaker?
1. If there are that many Children that speak other languages, Why do we base our education literacy ability on English alone?
ReplyDeleteI think it is mainly because English is a universal language. Historically speaking here, England once owned appoximately 80 countries and about 25% of the population after they reached their peak during the colonial period. Many of those countries of course no longer exist and the population has grown, but still, English language and values are embedded into their cultures. I do think we should spread out and become a more bilingual country, though... But the question then becomes: what would our secondary language be? To that, I would have to say Spanish. I remember seeing an article way back when, saying that Latinos are eventually going to become the majority in this country, surpassing the white/caucasion population.
2. Why is English literacy more valued in the U.S. than literacy in other languages?
I think my previous answer can also be applied here as well. I'm not sure if we value it more than we see it as more prevalent, though. I mean, we have plenty of courses in college and high school that teach different languages... So I do think we value other languages, too. But a big problem in learning languages is: how can one could go about applying it when most Americans tend to speak English? One would have to study abroad in order to make full use of the language that was learned (like Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Polish, etc.)
3. Do you think it is fair that ELL students are held to the same academic standards as a native english speaker in terms of literacy? Imagine going to school in another country and being tested in a language you are not proficient at and that is a gauge of your intelligence. Is that fair?
That is not fair at all. I think some teachers tend to realize this, too. I know in high school and even in some college courses they never penalized your score based off grammar and punctuation, especially if they realize you are fresh from another country trying to learn English. What really matters is the content that is provided. I certainly think (and hope) teachers could provide one with resources to learn English so that they do not make the same mistakes... But that differs from teacher to teacher.
4. Do we as teachers under this educational system, set up ELL students for the same level of success as native speakers, and does this possibly contribute to wealth inequality among immigrant families?
ReplyDeleteWith all of the resources we have that are outside the classroom, I think ELLs have plenty of opportunity growth in their linguistic and educational capabilities. I think this goes for anyone, too. For example, a couple of friends of mine grew up in the Philippines for a large portion of their childhood... They were able to assimilate into American society, even in a more socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhood, because their parents were big on education. They were always on them to do their homework and perform well in school. Fast forward a few years, they graduated college and became quite successful in their respective fields.
Another example would be my birth family. My grandfather immigrated from Mexico and served in our armed forces. He raised my father, who, despite making mistakes in life, grew to be an incredibly skilled programmer in his youth. Same went for them... While it was tough to learn the English language and become accustomed to the U.S. education system, they persevered and reaped success from their hard work.
This is just my perspective, though... I am not sure what it is like in other parts of the suburbs, rural counties or Chicago. I know some parts are worse than others, but I think the issue of schooling for ELLs often lies within personal/family cultures than the system itself... If students are raised by parents who do not value education, they will tend to latch onto that as well--not unless they have a personal drive to make a change. But I digress, this is only my opinion/perspective. What do you think?
5. what can we do to level the playing field in this country?
I feel knowledge of politics is needed to answer this question. I feel this might be wrong... I am rather ignorant in this process... but I'll take a crack at it and say I think we need to do the following:
A; reallocate state/federal funds in addition to eliminating wasteful spending in general... Such that we send educational funding (and possibly additional funding that comes from eliminating wasteful spending) to schools that are socioeconomically disadvantaged and underperforming in each state's rural, suburban and urban counties
B; I think we also need to spur economic growth, paired with lower income taxes on the lower/middle income groups and a SLIGHTLY higher income + corporate taxes on the rich. I say slightly higher taxes on the rich because the last thing we want is for big businesses/people to relocate to another state/country that has lower taxes. That would mean many people would lose jobs and potentially lose a substantial amount of their income to the point where they would want to move to another state/country, too.
I think by doing this we can have generate more funds from the rich, while letting the lower income groups keep more of their money to keep the "engine" running. Once a solid grounding is established, we can then gradually increase property taxes and therefore be able to provide additional funding that would go to schools.
C; I will probably get hate for this... But I think we also need to break up the teachers unions such that those in the top + middle income groups make less pay and lower-income teachers receive an increase. This is so that we can subsequently change our hiring process such that we attract the best teachers to fill open positions... And by increasing the standard for hiring, we can therefore provide a better education to our communities
Q: Why Is ELL education still such a hard concept in American education, even though this country was always multi lingual?
DeleteA: I agree with Alex in the sense that English was a dominant language in the U.S and that contributed to our current ELL education being a bit inefficient and a hard concept. But I think education in the U.S has always been undervalued and regressive. Educational policies in the United States aren't innovative and are often restricting the teachers and schools from setting up a curriculum that truly helps the students in the modern day. Education and academic success also goes beyond the classroom.
Q: Do we as teachers under this educational system, set up ELL students for the same level of success as native speakers, and does this possibly contribute to wealth inequality among immigrant families?
A: Education is different from district to district so it's not the same for every school. I think generally, they aren't set up for the same amount of success but I do think that teachers do try their best to help ELL students. But factors outside of the classroom are important. I agree with Alex in the sense that all parents have to stress the importance of education. But most immigrant families have parents that work multiple jobs. So they may not be able to help and teach their children. And often times the parents may not speak English well either. So that opportunity to practice English and expand their vocabulary at home isn't given to ELL speakers.
Sorry, my response to the last question didn't post so I'll just add it here.
DeleteQ: What can we do to level the playing field in this country?
A: I think that the very nature of a capitalistic society and the concept of self-preservation will prevent us from truly having a level playing field in this country.
But I think there are several things we can try to do to address the problem.
First I think there needs to be more public information on the state of our education system, curriculum and the flaws in American Education. If there isn't a baseline/guideline, then how will the American people know if a problem exists?
Second, we need our government to reallocate our federal budget into our neighborhoods, infrastructure and early childhood development. Arguments can be made to cut the spending of any federal program or department; so in that sense the program that would have their budget cut is somewhat arbitrary. People in education understand that the factors outside of the classroom are what really contributes to the student's success. Teachers and schools only contribute to about 30% of the students success. The environment at home, neighborhood and socioeconomic status are greater factors and influences to a student's education. So, we must invest in our neighborhoods and infrastructure.
And again I think that how education and the American curriculum is set up is flawed and could use some reforms. The curriculum shouldn't be so restrictive to teachers. We should be a honest with our students and explain that school (especially college) is not for everyone. We also shouldn't use standardized tests to measure intelligence and academic progress. Also we don't need to force STEM courses to every student especially if they intend to go into a field that does not require STEM.
Q: Do you think it is fair that ELL students are held to the same academic standards as a native english speaker in terms of literacy?
ReplyDeleteA: No I do not think it is fair, especially because English is a hard language to learn, and even native English speakers are still learning more of the language each day. I think people might be scared that having different academic standards for ELL students might make it seem like you aren't pushing them, but I feel as though if you do not tailor lessons and assessments to them then you are not allowing them to succeed or learn. I also believe that ELL students are probably held at the same academic standards because they are minorities and from what we see with other education policies, there is underlying racism in this idea of keeping them at the same standards as native english speakers.
Q:If there are that many Children that speak other languages, Why do we base our education literacy ability on English alone?
A: I think we base our education on English alone because it is the most widely spoken language and communication is power. I think that it is also because America is more focused on having the already successful people become more successful than to focus on lifting minorities up to even the playing field.
Q: What can we do to level the playing field in this country?
A: I think ideally we would be able to have more funding and more solid programs for ELL students, maybe even a new curriculum that could include them. However, I believe that because we live in a generally selfish society focused on making more money, this would be near impossible.
Q: If there are that many children that speak other languages, why do we base our education literacy ability on English alone?
ReplyDeleteA: Why is English literacy more valued in the U.S. than literacy in other languages?
I think it is based on English because that is the set language emplaced in this country. Our curriculum is based on the knowledge of English and is used universally in or out of the classroom. That being said, it is not fair to have English be the set language because in the United States, there isn’t one. There are people from all over the world who speak many languages. Therefore there should be classes taught in more than one language, not just English.
Q: Imagine going to school in another country and being tested in a language you are not proficient at and that is a gauge of your intelligence. Is that fair?
A: I think that it is unfair for a student to be held at the same academic standard in a language they are not proficient in. How are they able to understand and contribute in a language they do not fully understand? They won’t be able to as much because of the language barrier, or in other words, not be able to because there isn’t that full comprehension of the language.
Q: Do we as teachers under this educational system, set up ELL students for the same level of success as native speakers, and does this possibly contribute to wealth inequality among immigrant families?
A: We do not set these students up for the same level as success. Learning a new language is difficult, especially English because of how it is set up, making it hard to learn. So, there is often failure or not as much comprehension as there is a big push for these students to grasp the language almost immediately. Also, that doesn’t mean they are actually understanding what the words mean. The push that is put in place is not the way to handle the learning of a new language. It is going to take time and some students are going to take longer to understand than others.
Furthermore, this could stem from inequality among immigrant families. I feel that an idea that is pushed in this nation is that you need to know English as soon as you come to the United States. That is not a fair notion especially since many people who move to America sometimes do not know English or have the opportunity to learn it. Hence, there is such inequality towards immigrant families as they are being judged for not already knowing English when they come to America. Either from not having the opportunities to learn it such as not being able to afford it or know anyone who speaks the language.