I believe that it is extremely important for all teachers to create an inclusive learning environment for their students, especially when it comes to English Language Learners. For ELL students, going to a school where they will be learning in a language that is not their native tongue must not only be extremely challenging, but very intimidating as well. I think that in order for these students to truly thrive and succeed in school, they must not be exposed to a segregated learning environment, but rather an inclusive learning environment, which allows for a sense of equity throughout the classroom.
In the textbook, “Learning to Teach Everyone’s Children”, Carl Grant and Maureen Gillette describe one teacher’s (Mr. Rice’s) classroom. I really enjoyed the description of Mr. Rice’s third period class because it allowed me to actually visual an inclusive classroom and see what it would look like to have a variety of students from different backgrounds working together to complement each others’ strengths. For example, Mr. Rice may pair a student who has great verbal and speaking skills with an English learner student who may lack these skills. I think this is a great idea because it not only allows students to work together and collaborate in small groups, but it also gives students like the English Language Learners the opportunity to work and learn in a less intimidating, less stressful one-on-one environment.
Grant and Gillette make an excellent point when they explain how segregated classrooms create an underclass of students, which leaves these students feeling like they do not measure up to or fit in with the rest of their peers. It is inevitable that with segregated education and classrooms one group will feel inferior to the other, which is why an inclusive educational environment is so important. Feelings of inferiority can really limit students not only in education, but also in life in general.
Gillette, Maureen, Grant, Carl. “Learning to Teach Everyone’s Children” Equity, Empowerment, and Education That Is Multicultural. Thomson Wadsworth, a part of the Thomson Corporation: 2006
Good post.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent exercise in my 350 class was when the Professor, a native Spanish Speaker, conducted a mock class in Spanish during one session. Most who didn't understand Spanish felt frustrated, not necessarily inferior. Many cultures don't feel their native tongue is inferior to English, rather quite to the contrary.
Inclusion is always a good idea. The movie "The Lemon Grove Incident," is related to this topic.
I like the idea of "additive bilingualism." It reminds me of something I read from Richard Rodriguez, a L.A. Times reporter, who wrote extensively on bilingual education. He wrote about his experiences in school as a second language learner. His teachers at the time (30 years ago)went to his Spanish-Speaking parents and told them not to speak to thier children in Spanish at home. The teachers reasoned that the children would learn English more quickly, and the parents would learn English as well! Thank goodness times have changed. Mr. Rodriguez commented that this experience created a chasm in the private relationship he had with his parents. He and his brothers and sisters all went on to graduate from college and lead successful careers, but they were never able to recapture the intimate personal relationship they had with their parents. So sad to me! We must honor private language, while teaching children when, where, and how to use thier public language. Those who will be most successful in their careers and in thier private lives, will be able to shift from one language to the other appropriately.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important not to make those students who speak languages other than english feel inferior. Every language our students speak should be seen as an assets both for themselves but also for the classroom as well. Students with multiple language skills are a wonderful resource for helping everyone understand what it is like to speak another language and how that language relates to the culture in which it is spoken. Thinking that other languages are anything but an amazing resource in our classrooms is just ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI think another point to bring up is by having your students be aware and understand the other cultures that exist in the classroom. I think so many children are taught to be polite and not ask, and by doing that they make their own judgments. Rather, create an open communication and safe environment for the students to ask questions, and allow the students teach one another like you mentioned above, by working together. By doing that, the students become more aware and comfortable and open with themselves and each other.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog very informative and it provided crucial information that needs to be presented in the classroom. I think that segregated classrooms are a terrible idea and only breed inequality in the education system. Like a few other of my peers mentioned, thinking that other languages are anything but an addition to the classroom is completely ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI also read that passage about Mr. Rice and I really like the idea of pairing up certain children with one another so they can bring out the best in each other. All kids are on the spectrum of learning and not one is in the same exact place. When you pair kids together appropriately it is an advantage for all students.
ReplyDeleteYou are discussing an important but difficult issue. On the one hand, we don't want to make any child or group of children feel excluded. On the other hand, we don't want to hold back children who are doing well (or better than their some of their classmates) for the sake of the whole.
ReplyDeleteIn special education, teachers develop individual learning plans to address the various levels that their students are at. The same could be applied to "regular" classrooms (with the help of technology and some aides). That way, everyone could learn in the same classroom, but be individually helped or challenged. Some of these things are, of course, easier in theory than in application.