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What aspects of this information do you think is important to remember as you develop your
teaching philosophy?
The inability to be fluent in english is not measure of intelligence. When you say inability
to be fluent in English, do you mean that they dont have the capacity (ability is a tricky word in
the education world :) or that, at the time they are in your class, they have not yet had the
exposure to or access to resource to develop these skills? You can have very capable, very
intelligent students that may not be fluent in english. Since I am NOT directly responsible to
teaching them English, I still need to create content that transcends language and challenges all
students. I like that you add not directly. Yes, you are Bio teacher, but you may very well find
yourself coaching students in the development of English in order to teach Biology. And other
languages are often best learned when not the end goal themselves, but as a means to
something else (like understanding Bio). Finding ways to help make this English accessible to
ELLs, especially given the vocab rich subject of Biology, will be of great benefit to them. I used
some videos for visual learners, but good videos can still be useful for ELL students. I also
intend to make certain projects have bi-lingual content, but in all honesty, most of this would be
geared to spanish-speakers. Can I have true equity while catering to only one non-english
language?
Thanks Jeff. You pose some interesting questions. I appreciate you sharing. You have some
questions that I am sure will continue to be presenting over the next 8 weeks and into your next
years of teaching. I look forward to seeing how your answers develop.
Edwards Responses
What is your response to the information presented in the resources?
The articles and videos presented illustrate the contradiction we still have between the ideals of
our legislation and the wisdom still lacking in how to implement an equitable education system
that includes all of its students. I am struck by how many of the same issues are still very
present as in The Lemon Grove Incident circa 1930 which happened in San Diego, Americas
first desegregation case. Also, a little troubling that the discussion in the videos involved only
White people ( Im guessing Anglos) while the subject matter is about Blacks and Latinos. While
very important and noble contributions, it only reinforces the idea the that the control of the
educational system is a White/Anglo affair, the rest of us are guests.
Americanization School in Oceanside - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanization_School
Interesting points! I think intent and implementation are key to consider and thinking about what
voices are left out of the story. Nice work.
How does this information relate to your personal educational histories?
The challenge of how to include ELL students in our educational system has always been linked
to the idea of who the education system was set up for in the first place, White, Anglo, Christian,
males(and secondly those who can assimilate as close as possible). Varying degrees of
segregation have always been present in my formal education starting with the constant request
to identify my race/ethnicity. In my experience I see students overcome this obstacle by
integrating formally or informally, invited or subversively. In the form of voluntary integration
programs or by way of social behavior or status (acting more white, sports, arts, religion).
Was interesting to see the lack of academic success despite all the conflict and effort that has
been put into place to rectify the damage of segregation. Buuuuuuuut
Are there case studies where Whites, Blacks and Latinos have done well academically in an
integrated system?
What are the social effects on White students when not integrated with the racial/ethnic makeup of the society they will live in?
Great questions! Well have some opportunity to continue discussing these points over the
remainder of the course.
What aspects of this information do you think is important to remember as you
develop your teaching philosophy?
We have a long history of classifying and segregating and while for the most part, the belief that
all children should have access to the best education we can offer is common place in my view.
Yet, we can still not shake the reflex of identifying students in a hierarchy and deciding who
should get what attention and resources based on ethnicity and race. There are varying
histories and relationships with institutional racism depending on the label and the time period.
Even in the current predominant challenge of Spanish speaking ELL students California there
are a number of approaches and innovations being developed. We need to be open and alert
regardless of the source.
Thank you Edward. I appreciate you sharing and your insight. Im curious about your last line
here. open and alert regardless of the source. Im curious if you are talking about the
approaches and innovations and where they come from?
Emilys Responses
I knew almost nothing about plight of Native Americans in the public education
system and the boarding school system that was established. It was not a story
that I had ever encountered before. I am ignorant about a lot of the details of
segregation that still exists in the school systems. The information presented in
these resources provided an introduction to a lot of circumstances of inequality in
schools and communities and I hope to understand this better as I become a
teacher.
I grew up in a very white suburb of New Haven, Connecticut and went to a private
high school that was predominantly white. So, in a way, I was educated in an
insulated environment. But another part of my education came from the community
in which I grew up, which was comprised of the families and practitioners of the
urban community health centers where my parents worked. This community
reflected the diversity of my city. I was always struck by the contrast between my
neighborhood and my school and my city.
My only question about this content is a pretty general one: what are some of the
best practices for a teacher in a multilingual classroom? Great question. We will get
there. :)
This information reminds me to be culturally sensitive as a teacher. It reminds me of
the invisible and visible biases that students and their families struggle against
before they can even start their homework. I hope, in my career, that Ill be able to
make some kind of positive impact to correct imbalance in the system, although I
am not sure yet what that would look like.
Thank you Emily. I think its important to consider what we can do on an individual
level, as you hope (and Im sure you can) do! Well get into what some of these
strategies might look like, but being aware of the issues is a great place to start.
Brendans Responses
What is your response to the information presented in the resources?
I often wonder if those that make policy, have much experience in enacting said policies.
Actually, I dont really wonder, I know that it is rare for that policy makers to have experience
enacting their policies. Though the initial concept, and spirit behind this legislation is in the right
place, it has clearly not be enacted properly. In many ways the methodology of integrating
schools has actually contributed to the segregation of those same schools 50 years later. I
wonder if localized schools are creating student bodies which do not accurately represent the
local population, without bussing I wonder how this is happening, unless parents are moving to
specific local neighborhoods for that school (yes), or if the cities are being stratified into white,
brown and black neighborhoods (yes), and that is being represented in the school after the
fact. There are a lot of factors at play here. Resources (social capital, time, money) for example.
How does this information relate to your personal educational histories?
Though my own educational history is not unique, it may be odd in our group. I attended
a majority of my k-12 education at Department of Defence schools (interesting & Id say
unique!), that were created to educate the children of deployed military and civilian contractors.
Though far from a military school, I found that this system was MUCH more regimented and
rigorous than the last couple years of California public school education I attended. The DoD
schools were very integrated ethnically, as well as culturally. Though, I must admit, that a
school almost entirely being attended by Navy Brats would create an usual school culture. In
many ways I would like to revisit one of those schools abroad to observe not that I have a bit
more of an eye for it. Yes, that would be interesting. Id love to do this too. I think that the DoD
schools created a highly integrated Faculty/Parent/Student culture, different cultures from the
standard white culture were highly respected, and appreciated, especially since the school and
American culture itself was foreign in its own context. Beyond cultural / ethno-racial groups,
would you say that the school represented a range of socio-economic groups as well?
What questions do you have regarding the content?
I know that the apparent quality of a school can have significant effects on property values
locally. I wonder if that is the driving factor behind neighborhoods self-segregating, or if these
neighborhoods are segregating and that had driven the aberrant localized populations of white
schools and brown schools. I think there is a lot at play here!
What aspects of this information do you think is important to remember as you
develop your teaching philosophy?
I guess it comes down to holding two ideas in my head at the same time. Though I think
it can be done. The idea of treating each student with the same regard, attention, and care
regardless of ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. While at the same time respecting that some
students will come into my class with certain disadvantages, either from not having a mastery of
the language they are being taught in, coming from schools with different, potentially lower
standards, or just different educational backgrounds. Its an interesting dichotomy, trying to be
equal and fair while understanding that each student is an individual with unique needs, some
of which will require more attention than others. Yes, good. Id encourage you to keep thinking
about what fairness means when it comes to education. :)