Sunday, March 29, 2009

Community Inquiry Project Details

Community Inquiry Project Question:

How does the English-Spanish language barrier affect student-teacher relationships, particularly with Spanish-speaking students who do not speak English as their first language? What are the implications for classroom learning?

Subsequent Questions:

  • How do language barriers inhibit classroom learning?
    o How does parental involvement (or lack thereof) affect reading, literacy and English language acquisition?
    o What sort of strains do these language barriers place on teachers? (Interviews with ESL and English/History teachers) Within the constraints of NCLB? School-directed objectives?
    o How do these outside factors impact NCLB restrictions?
    o What sort of issues do language barriers place on these students when they are not in their ESL classes and in the general student population?
    Ø Information from Annotated Bibliography
    Ø Interviews with Teachers:

English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher(s) Interview Questions

  • Where do the majority of your students come from?
    o What are the basic student demographics?
  • What is the student-to-teacher ratio?
  • What is their level of English prior to coming to Memorial High School?
    o What is their reading/writing ability in English and Spanish?
  • What is their level of English after attending ESL classes?
  • What sorts of difficulties do your students have in their classes within the general student population?
    o Do they have difficulties in their classes that are taught entirely in English?
    o In which subjects do they have the most difficulty?
    o In what way does the ESL program here supplement those classes?
  • How many of your students are enrolled in the Bilingual program here at Memorial?
    o Can you tell me more about the program?
    o How many students are enrolled in this program?
  • Can you tell me about other ESL/language acquisition programs here at Memorial?
  • How much involvement do you see from the parents of students in the ESL programs?
  • How much involvement do you have with the parents of students in the ESL programs?
    o Are they responsive to the program?
  • Has the ESL program at Memorial been successful?
  • How long does it take a student to pass through the ESL program completely?
    o Do students who have passed through still receive supplemental ESL education?
  • In the last NCLB results, Memorial High School was recognized as one that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress. It has also been classified as “in need of improvement.”
    o To what do you attribute these results?
    o Does the fact that many of the students have Spanish as a prominent language in their lives have anything to do with this?
  • Has Memorial High School faced any NCLB sanctions?
    o Do you think they are due in part to the language barrier?

English Teacher(s) Interview Questions

  • Where do the majority of your students come from?
    o What are the basic student demographics?
  • What is the student-to-teacher ratio?
  • How many of your students are Spanish-speaking?
  • How many of your students speak Spanish at home?
  • Do you think that these students (who speak Spanish at home) have more difficulty learning in English than students who only speak English?
    o If yes, how so?
  • How is their reading/writing ability?
    o Do you feel they encounter any difficulties due to a language barrier?
  • How have these difficulties/language barriers made it more difficult to teach?
  • Have they prompted you to change/alter your curriculum in any way?
    o How so?
  • What do these language barriers do to state-mandated testing results?
  • How has the school performed?
    o To what do you attribute these results?
  • In the last NCLB results, Memorial High School was recognized as one that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress. It has also been classified as “in need of improvement.”
    o To what do you attribute these results?
  • Does the fact that many of the students have Spanish as a prominent language in their lives have anything to do with this?
  • Has Memorial High School faced any NCLB sanctions?
    o Do you think they are due in part to the language barrier?
  • Do any students ever have trouble expressing themselves (verbally or in writing) in English?
    o Do you feel this is due to their language limitations?
  • How involved are the parents of your students in the schoolwork of their children?
  • How many students of Hispanic descent plan to graduate and go on to college?
    o What are the main goals of these students?
  • What do the majority of Memorial students do after high school?
    o Do many of them drop out?
    o Do the goals of these students effect how they perform in class? (Are they apathetic/enthusiastic?)

Student Interview Questions

  • How long have you been a student at Memorial High School?
  • What is your ethnicity?
  • In which subjects do you excel? Why?
  • In which subjects do you perform poorly? Why?

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Inner-city Teaching and Social Structures

Perhaps the most striking point that comes from reading Unequal Childhoods is that child development comes from the social structures in which children are raised. Their childhood interactions - their ability to organize, their creativity, their views on responsibility, their manner of speech and interaction with authority figures - all help to shape their later-life skills. Economic status (and strain), and thus the opportunities available to them, greatly determines how children will be when they are adults.

Lareau contrasts the upbringings, interactions and extra-curricular activities of children within middle-class, working-class and poor families. Children from middle-class families are taught to interact with adults and to question authority. Because of this, they often cultivate a sense of entitlement. Children from working-class and poor families, however, experience a divide between themselves and authority figures. Much less emphasis is placed on interaction between children and adults. The activities out of school are most likely regarded as mere "child's play," with little importance given to the child's development.

This stark contrast between middle-class families and working-class or poor families is one that I had vague notions about during my own upbringing. Upon reflecting on my middle-class upbringing, I have an understanding of what Lareau details in her book. In my family, much importance was placed on structured extra-curricular activities. My parents oftentimes sacrificed their free time in order to help foster my interests.

Besides touching upon middle-class family life, Lareau also makes a lot of great points about working-class and poor children growing up in urban environments. Many, like the ones mentioned in the book, do face daily difficulties like where to wash clothing or when the next paycheck (or other source of income) will come. It's no wonder that with such economic difficulties, less importance and attention is given to a child's schoolwork. It is understandable that when faced with illness and economic troubles, many families must sacrifice education for mere survival.

This is, perhaps, one fact that is all too prominent in urban schools and one that must never be ignored. As a future teacher, in an urban environment or otherwise, it is critical to remember that students come from vastly different family backgrounds. The experience of teaching in the inner city is as diverse as its students and their cultural structures.
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Saturday, March 21, 2009

Annotated Bibliography

The article I've critiqued for my annotated bibliography can be read in PDF full text here.

1.) Holland, William R. (1960). Language Barrier as an Educational Problem of Spanish-Speaking Children.
Tucson, Arizona: Exceptional Children

Language Barrier as an Educational Problem of Spanish-Speaking Children focuses on efforts to provide educational assistance to Spanish-speaking students. It notes that despite many efforts geared toward improvement Spanish-speaking students, the achievement gap between them and English-speaking students remains a considerable one. Holland later offers insight into the cultural and psychological factors that affect learning and language acquisition among students where English is not their first language. This article ties in directly with the objectives of the research assignment: Finding and understanding the related cultural and community-related factors that either promote or inhibit learning among Spanish-speaking students.

One of the main points Holland attempts to address is how many Spanish-speaking students are “handicapped in later life” because of the public school learning experience and teaching practices. He goes on to discuss the inadequacies of the public school experience toward Spanish-speaking students, and the psychological studies have been geared toward these children.

In the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), study organizers attempted to measure the English, Spanish and bilingual aptitude of Spanish-speaking children in grades 1 through 5. By asking questions in English, and then supplementing them in Spanish when the question was not fully understood, administrators found that more than 40% of the subjects had moderate or serious language barriers. These results, although geographically limited to Tucson, Arizona, are indicative of a large-scale issue apparent in public schools. The study’s results could even project onto similar urban communities with large Hispanic populations.

By far the greatest point Holland makes in his article is that “the utilization of cultural information is indispensible for understanding the educational problems of Spanish-speaking children.” This refers to the fact that students – whether Spanish-speaking or other – are essentially the product of their home environment and culture. Socio-economic status, language spoken at home and attitude toward learning in general all play a major role in forming a student.

These factors, along with the scientific results of language barrier studies, help to show how the learning experience for native Spanish-speaking students is inherently different than their English-language counterparts. It’s an issue that must be recognized in urban schools and for the betterment of public schools as a whole.

2.) Sepulveda, Betty R. (1973). The Language Barrier and its Effect on Learning.
Denver, Colorado, USA: Elementary English.

http://csaweb112v.csa.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/ids70/view_record.php?id=2&recnum=20&log=from_res&SID=mvk6luko9i8g8smk9ioq6mpuq2&mark_id=search%3A2%3A0%2C0%2C22

This article spans the historical significance and present problems caused by the English-Spanish language barrier that exists in American Schools. While touching on environmental factors, like socioeconomic status and English-language formation on the streets, it offers insight into the implications for the school learning environment. It gives suggestions as to lessen the language gap and enhance correct English language acquisition among underprivileged children. The Language Barrier and its Effect on Learning fits in perfectly with planned research about the language barrier in urban school systems. It also offers critiques of current English-language acquisition practices and suggests various solutions to them.

3.) Reese, Leslie; Thompson, Sylvia Linan; Goldenberg, Claude. (2008). Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities.
United States: Routledge, Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=34230560&site=ehost-live

Based on the research collected from 14 communities in California and Texas, this article seeks to find the language and literacy resources that are available to Spanish-speaking students. It focuses largely on the children’s home life, their language practices there and their exposure to print materials in English and Spanish. It also goes on to discuss the assumptions that many teachers possess when considering access to print materials. In the poor urban environment, the sometimes inability to access developmental reading materials is apparent. The article is notable for its focus on the Spanish-speaking communities and families as huge factors in the student’s learning process.

4.) Salazar, Maria del Carmen. (2008). English or Nothing: The Impact of Rigid Language Policies on the Inclusion of Humanizing Practices in a High School ESL Program.
Denver, Colorado, USA: Equity & Excellence in Education.

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=33325195&site=ehost-live

This article focuses mainly on the English as a Second Language programs in high schools. In a case study it was found that ESL teachers who had more leniencies and fewer adherences to rigid language policies were able to foster a more open and “humanizing” relationship with their students. This relationship, in turn, created a better learning environment for their students who ultimately performed better academically. There is a great contrast between this and ESL teachers who adhered strictly to language policies. The results of this study show that students with a better relationship with their teachers perform better academically, which is just what I aim to research in my community and school inquiry.

5.) Davis, Eden. (2006). Unhappy Parents of Limited English Proficiency Students: What Can They Really Do?
United States: Journal of Law & Education

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=20567961&site=ehost-live

http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/4075864-1.html

In this article, Davis addresses the implications of the No Child Left Behind Act on students who have limited English proficiency (LEP) and the limitations parental right to address their concerns. While pointing out the difficulties No Child Left Behind has had on LEP students, it also addresses the other government programs aimed at improving language acquisition. It offers suggestions to help these LEP students overcome the language barrier that exists in their schools. Not only is this article beneficial to research about school-related language difficulties among Spanish-speaking students, but it also addresses the government stipulations that affect all U.S. public schools.
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Monday, March 16, 2009

Another Community Inquiry Project Question

As a former ESL teacher in Spain, I have become very sensitive to the realities of language acquisition. As I have now returned to the U.S. and plan to teach here, I am thinking about the difficulties that many students may face if English is not their first language. When talking about urban American school environments, one of the top concerns is the language barrier among students and teachers. The following question is one of great interest to me:

How does the language divide/barrier effect student-teacher relationships, particularly with Spanish-speaking students who do not speak English as their first language?

I would like to address how the language barrier may inhibit classroom learning in the U.S. I would also like to explore the programs/efforts that have gone into effect in the schools to combat this language divide. Subesquently, how much money goes into these programs/efforts? What have the results of these programs/efforts been?

In West New York, census data states that 78.7% of its residents are Hispanic. My stepmother works in West New York public schools and tells me that the amount of students who cannot speak English is a major concern. I would like to futher explore this dynamic and hopefully discover the implications for urban education as a whole.
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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Culture of Me

Standing up to dust some dirt off my pants, I saw it. A black car with no windows came bolting along the street ahead of us. Its engine boomed and it came directly at the small park we were gardening in. We froze, unsure if the car would turn away from us in time. With a deafening screech, the car turned to the side, narrowly missing the flimsy wire fence bordering the park. The man in the car - a tall, skinny black man - jumped out, screamed profanities at us and walked away. He left the car, with its door open, in the middle of the street.

In the ninth grade I accompanied a group from the women’s club of my town on a community service trip to Newark, NJ. The objective was to clean up a small park and plant bulbs for the coming spring. But as we got to planting, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was the fact that we were twenty or so women gathered together, or that we were the only large cluster of white people for many blocks.

It was one of the oddest and most jarring experiences I had had up until then. But it only served to bolster one of the cultural values that had been instilled in me from adolescence. The only way to not “end up” in an environment like that was to work hard and get a good education.

My parents, both journalists for a prominent newspaper, had fostered a very educated, information-based environment in our home. Some of my earliest memories include listening to thick-accented BBC reporters and watching armored vehicles roll across the TV screen. I could see that other parts of the world – even other parts of my state – were not as well off as we were. And my parents constantly reminded me to be grateful for all I have. Not taking advantage of access to great education was to waste one of the most important things in life.

My neighborhood in Glen Ridge, NJ is predominantly white with, as my mother says, “astronomically high taxes.” But expenses of this sort were always worth it to send her children to one of the top ten high schools in the state. Race was not really an issue where I grew up, partly because most in my town were white. But since Glen Ridge is only 5 miles from poorer neighborhoods like Newark, my peers and I were vaguely aware of the so-called “bubble” we lived in.

Within a small, competitive educational environment like Glen Ridge, I quickly learned that education was everything. High school and college ultimately determined what type of job one would have and where one would land in life in general. So going to college was never debatable. Without it, life was certain to go nowhere. Like schoolwork, always being active and occupied was also very important. I became engrossed in every sport offered through my school system. I ran, swam and competed in triathlons. In both my academic and athletic life I learned that becoming great at something always requires time, dedication and effort.

And attending Pennsylvania State University was my way of dedicating myself to the world around me. Part of my decision to go to one of the nation’s ten largest universities came from the fact that I went to such a small suburban high school. My graduating class had only 108 people and I felt an urge to get away from its small, suburban environment. I knew that I needed know more about the world outside the “bubble” that was my town. It’s only through these life experiences after high school that I have truly seen the world.

Apart from getting to know hundreds of individuals with backgrounds completely different from mine, I was able to travel and study abroad; one of the greatest influences in my life. While living in Spain, I was shocked to find out first-hand that similar racial tensions also existed thousands of miles from my part of the world.

The elementary school I worked in was populated with a majority of Spanish children. There were also a few black, Moroccan and Chinese students that attended. I noticed that race did play a significant role in interactions among the children. Because there were so few minorities in the school – accompanied by the fact that all illustrations in schoolbooks were of white children – their differences were highlighted. Even at such an early age, tensions about race and “normalcy” were present.

During my time in Spain, I learned to speak fluent Spanish and got a taste for people, places and cultures that are far removed from my own. As I traveled around Europe and Africa I found that people, although separated by cultural and language differences, essentially face the same amount of trials and tribulations as Americans do.

By learning the Spanish language, it opened my eyes to another world. I noticed that upon my return to the US, I could understand a whole range of individuals I never would have listened to in the past. And these people became infinitely more humanized. No longer was the Mexican man behind the counter of McDonald’s just a food server. He became more real and more human to me than ever before. My international experiences have given me great insight to the mostly homogeneous environment I was raised in. It’s given me a great respect for people different from me.

After having come to know people and cultures outside of my “bubble,” I’m sure that an experience like the one I had in Newark would not shock me as it once had 10 years ago. Looking back on it now, and considering the racial tensions present in Newark at that time, an event like that isn’t as difficult to understand.

My culture – my upbringing and my later-life experiences – has prompted me to be more understanding of differences within the classroom. Because I understand what it feels like to be in a completely foreign environment, I can only hope to promote an open and understanding classroom environment. Students in any type of schooling environment will inevitably be distinct based on their personal cultures and upbringings. The opportunity to have an education is an invaluable one, but it’s also realistic to understand the cultural and racial distinctions among learners.
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Friday, February 20, 2009

What kinds of student-teacher relationships exist in urban schools?

The schooling experience, whether good or bad, is ultimately influenced by the teachers who have shaped it for the students.

When thinking about urban schools, the one overriding interest I have is the relationship that exists between students and teachers. As I've never attended an urban school, I'd like to know if the dynamics involved are anything similar to the experience I've had going to a suburban school.

In considering student-teacher relationships in urban schools, a number of subsequent questions pop into mind:
  • What is the average student-teacher ratio?
  • How involved are urban teachers in the lives of their students?
  • How much interaction do urban teachers have with the families of their students?
  • How much does this interaction between students and teachers affect urban schools, districts and communities in general?
  • What are the benefits/losses attributed to communication (or lack thereof) between urban students and teachers?
I believe that in addressing these questions I will be able to better understand the dynamics that come into play in urban schools. Typical urban problems such as teacher attrition and poor national rankings may become more clear to me. I'd like to probe further and find out if urban schools really have poor student-teacher relationships, as I've been lead to believe. If this is so, I would also like to find out the source of these problematic relationships. Is it the fault of the students for acting out and creating trouble? Is it the fault of the teacher for not being able to adequately relate to the students? Do teachers in urban schools have preconceived notions about their students that ultimately affect the way they teach?

My findings might completely contradict my previous ideas, but I feel it's a topic worthy of exploration.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Selfishness in Education

In Urban Schools, Public Will by Norm Fruchter I recently became very interested in an article he sited about creating public change efforts in order to improve failing schools. He mentions a scenario by Paul Hill in which a mother decides to take her daughter out of public school because of its bad performance and enroll her in private school. The proceeding professional arguments by Fruchter and others about the scenario state that the mother is doing a disservice to her community. They say that in removing her daughter from public schoolsshe is affecting the general welfare of the broader community. By taking an individualistic stance on education, the opportunities for improvement in a failing school are ultimately lessened.

While I understand Fruchter’s point of view that individualistic acts undermine a strong sense of community, I can’t blame any family for acting in this way. Education is ultimately a selfish venture. When all is said and done, the education that every child receives and employs in their future endeavors is an individual gain. I believe that any parent who takes their son or daughter out of a failing public school and enrolls them in private school is completely justified.

Ultimately, parents must look out for the greater good of their offspring. If that means no reform will come to failing public schools, so be it. It is not always a top concern to look out for others, especially those who are not within immediate relations and who personally do not care about education. Students should not become martyrs by staying in schools that don’t serve their needs. Education is a personal possession and being proactive about it is the only way to achieve success.

It’s true that many parents of students in poor-performing school districts do not rally for change. Sufficient time and effort to produce change are not always readily available. Parents in urban districts work hard to make a living and simply do not always have the time to be involved in significant educational change. Therefore, when taking time, money and effort into account, a simple fix like switching schools is a selfish, but justified response to a failing school.

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