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Career in teaching
Challenges of bilingual education
Challenges of bilingual education
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I remember that day when I received a call from Carteret Schools District, and the lady told me, “I was selected for the position of Bilingual teacher.” That day was the best day for me, and I was so proud of myself by choosing a teaching career as I always wanted to be a teacher, and this realization came to me when I was in the high school. However, when I started this career I realized that I have to travel this journey with strong vigor and motivation. In the end of every day, I love to reflect on the strategies that I used with my students were successful or not. If not, what are the reasons behind that? Every day is not the best day for me; however, as a teacher I can understand that a person can learn from her/his mistakes. I always consider my weaknesses, and try to turn into strengths as we all know hard work, motivation and dedication are three essential ingredients to become a successful teacher.
1) Through my experiences of teaching, I have discovered
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The first and the foremost one is to explore in the area of time management. I believe the best way is to educate myself by observing different experienced teachers’ classes. I would like to broaden my horizon in the area of time management by learning effective strategies through classroom observations, and implementing best practices in my teaching. Another way to overcome this obstacle by attending after school professional development programs which my school district offers every month. I have already scheduled for Time Management professional development program which will be held on April 27th, and it helps novice teachers to master their skills on time management by providing various strategies. Last year, I attended this kind of workshop where I gained a ton of knowledge and implemented some of the strategies in my classroom, however I still need some improvement in this area as suggested by my
Richard Rodriguez offers an alternate yet equally profound truth: While our heritage and culture may remain forever tied to and expressed in our native or "home" language, only through the dominant language of our country (English in most cases) can we achieve a place in society that gives us a feeling that we belong amongst everyone else. The only way we can truly become a part of our community and fit in is to dominate the current spoken language. In the United States, the dominant language is Standard English. In this excerpt from "Aria," a chapter in his autobiography entitled "Hunger of Memory": The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez discusses public and private languages, and agrees that his achievements in English separated him from his Spanish family and culture but also brought him "the belief, the calming assurance that [he] belonged in public." We as human beings want to feel we belong. We search for that place in society where we are most comfortable all our lives. One should consider the benefits of mastering the dominant language of the society they live in, but should also take into account the harm of taking your native language for granted. I will attempt to explore both of these considerations and examine Rodriguez place in life now, by stating the facts of who is now by the childhood decisions that were made.
The reason I want to be a teacher is so I can make a positive impact in the lives’ of children similar to the teachers that taught me who impacted my life growing up. When I was six years old my family left Mexico and migrated to Greenville, Texas. The transition was challenging; I left behind everything I knew and was forced to adapt to a brand new world where I could not understand the language that everyone spoke. Luckily for me, Greenville had a bilingual program and I was placed in the classroom of Ms. Ramirez. I will never forget how she treated all her students, she truly is one of my biggest inspirations as to why I decided to become a bilingual teacher. Every time I stepped foot in her classroom, I always felt safe, secured, and
Policy in the United States towards foreign languages has long been a complicated process. The nation was founded by polyglot immigrants and welcomed, to varying degrees, many subsequent waves of immigrants speaking languages familiar and foreign. Most immigrants learned English and despite efforts to maintain their mother tongue, the “permissiveness and apathy” of American society towards second languages allowed the gradual erosion of many mother tongues. English, although the common language in schools, the courts, government, and the business community in the United States, is not the official language of our country. This fact juxtaposes paradoxically with the necessity of speaking English for success in our society, and the dying out of many languages native to immigrants after the third generation. Since no official policy at the federal level governs the official language of the United States, nor the teaching of foreign languages until after the Second World War, language education in the U.S. remained a patchwork of local policies.
Bilingual education in public schools has been the topic of much discussion over the last several years. This discussion has been prompted due to the ever increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking persons emigrating to the United States, especially in those states that border Mexico--California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. What the debate seems always to overlook is our country’s other non-English speaking members. This country is now and has always been the “Melting Pot” for the world with persons emigrating to this country from most every country in the world; however, we commonly gear the focus of bilingual education toward our Spanish-speaking citizens.
“After the Immigration Act of 1965, legislation law was passed to contribute the public schools in dealing with the arrival of non-English-speaking students. Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 supported programs for educating these students with English as a second language, including transitional bilingual education programs” (Echevarria and Graves 2011, p.350). This Act did not completely articulate how to go about educating these students. An unclear message was received or not received in whether there was going to be a process of their first languages or a complete transition to English. “The outcome of Title VII was that most ELs were consigned in English-only classrooms without suitable instructional
The author Maria de la Luz Reyes explains through several characters born and raised in a family that spoke different native languages but he managed to excel in learning English. Biliteracy refers to the ability to communicate and write more than one language and this represents a major achievement because it takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication to realize it. The situation surrounding biliteracy is controversial because some parents appreciate when their children learn more than one language but others are not as Collins explains in the book, Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Biliteracy and its influence differs and Collin Baker identifies that diverse bilingual classes and schools, culture and language, influence dissimilar
Literacy is vital for reading and writing of all children, both hearing and deaf. Research has shown that having a strong L1 foundation, it can be applied in learning how to read and write in English. Advocates of bilingual bicultural education agree that the reading and writing skills that are acquired based on the strong foundation of their L1 develops the foundation of L2 (Evans, 2004; Puente et al, 2006). Researches conducted by Padden & Ramsey (2000) show that ASL fingerspelling skills are related to English literacy and vocabulary knowledge (Hile, 2009). One study done by Padden & Ramsey (2000), showed the fingerspelling tasks that were given to thirty-one deaf students in two groups (3rd-4th graders
In order to learn more about the bilingual education program in the Public School system, we felt it would be essential to discuss a few controversial issues with some bilingual teachers, and ask them for their opinion on the effectiveness of the system and the concept of bilingual education. We also questioned the benefits and disadvantages of the program. We wrote and asked these question with Latino (Puerto Rican) migrants in mind, however the Public School system consists of many ethnic groups which speak other languages other than Spanish. As one of the teachers stated, the political connotation that Bilingual Education carries is that of concerning only Spanish and English. We interviewed Mrs. Aida Ramos (Vice-Principal), Ms. Clara Velez (Bilingual Math Teacher), Mrs. Irene Killian (TESOL), Ms. Zoraida Ortiz (Bilingual Science Teacher), and Ms. Nancy Harrison (TESOL/Bilingual Computer Lab Teacher).
When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.
Being bilingual always made my life differ as if I lived two lives, speaking Spanish at home and English everywhere outside of home. On the daily basis at my house, my family speaks Spanish. When we communicate we speak very fast, at times we can not even understand one another. After this occurs we all burst out in laughter super loud, no boundaries are enforced in our lexicon. The enforcement changes when entering a different discourse community.
Being bilingual implies a process in which everything looks so difficult at the beginning, but at the same time it is easier than what it looks like.
To begin out of the countless professions one has to chose from in the world today I have chosen to become a teacher. I have chosen to become a teacher because I myself am a product of some whom I consider to be the best teachers in the world. As a child in North Carolina I was inspired by a wonderful woman named Mrs. Hollyfield. Mrs. Hollyfield taught me that no star was too far out of reach, if I put my mind to accomplishing my goal I could make it. Mrs. Hollyfield inspired me to be the best I could be at anything I wanted to be. As I have grown I have had other important teachers, some whom I am surrounded by daily whom inspire me to set out to accomplish my dreams. These wonderful inspiring people in my life have led me to the decision of becoming a teacher.
My interest in teaching started at a young age. I used to watch my teachers in awe as they were able to find new ways to get their students involved and excited to learn. Their enthusiasm to teach was so inspiring. I would often find myself using that same fervor as I grasped each concept. I, then, was able to relay it to my fellow classmates as a peer tutor. To this day, becoming a teacher is a passion that flows through me. However, my enthusiasm and passion are not the only reasons I would be a good teacher. I aspire to see a student’s ability to grasp the knowledge they never before understood. I aspire to see a student succeed at something they never thought they ever could. I aspire to not only support students with academic skills, but also with life lessons about the value of community, pride in one’s own ethnicity, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and more. I aspire to play a fundamental role in ensuring that all students from all cultures and learning abilities have the opportunity to be guided in a positive learning
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
When I was growing up, I remember attending elementary school, learning a new language seems to be difficult at first, but I was able to learn the English language because of the dedication of one of my teachers. Now, as I reflect on this experience, it is obvious that she was dedicated and enjoyed teaching her students to be successful. I know today that she made a difference in my life as I navigated through my education experience and high school years to present.