This article from the Rocky Mountain News demonstrates something many in the foreign language/ESL fields already know; teaching immigrants English is an uphill battle, and not always for the reasons one might expect. 1) There aren't enough English classes that are accessible to students (both financially, location-wise, and child-care wise). 2) Some (and please, I know immigrants are as varied as U.S. citizens) immigrants come with little education in their home language; teaching someone to read in English is infinitely harder if they can't read in their native language. Many of the immigrants who are educated speak at least some English, and therefore learning it is much easier. Imagine learning a different language if you can't even read in your native tongue.
It seems many of these articles say the same thing - immigrants want to learn English, but there aren't enough programs, they aren't easy enough to get to, given the constraints of being a member of the working poor, and it's not easy to learn English.
"Pressure to speak 'American' grows." (Quintero, F. Rocky Mountain News. Oct. 2, 2006)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
HQTs
Or, to laymen, "Highly Qualified Teachers."
Case in point - for some teachers, taking a teacher qualification program in order to meet the highly qualified teaching standards of the states is degrading, expensive, takes away from their real duty of teaching, and, most importantly, is completely useless to someone who has 22 years of teaching experience. That's what professional development is for - keep up with lifelong learning, constantly improve teaching methods, etc. But being told that you're not a "real" teacher - well, that's just ridiculous.
Go to the private schools!
"EduCracy Run Amok." (The Education Wonks blog. 10/12/6.)
Case in point - for some teachers, taking a teacher qualification program in order to meet the highly qualified teaching standards of the states is degrading, expensive, takes away from their real duty of teaching, and, most importantly, is completely useless to someone who has 22 years of teaching experience. That's what professional development is for - keep up with lifelong learning, constantly improve teaching methods, etc. But being told that you're not a "real" teacher - well, that's just ridiculous.
Go to the private schools!
"EduCracy Run Amok." (The Education Wonks blog. 10/12/6.)
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Cite your sources!
I cited Bennett and Page's op-ed in the Post in this blog entry last week, and this week in my History of Ed class, we discussed it (I sent it out to everyone in the class). In any case, the article cites James S. Coleman's research, stating that his research proves "that there's no reliable connection between the resources going into a school and the learning that comes out" (Bennet, W. 2006-9-21). My professor, being the dedicated scholar she is, went back to check the source. I'm not sure that the report "makes clear" that funding has no impact on outcomes; it seems that after Brown V Board, Southern schools increased their funding as a sort of noncompliance compliance with Brown (see Wikipedia, "James S. Coleman," last updated 9/19/6). I'm just citing sources from the Internet, so I would probably need to dig around a little more to get a more scholarly opinion. This isn't one of my areas of research, so I don't know if I would have time to do it... one of my problems seems to be that I'd like to research everything!
In any case, Coleman's report makes a strong case that black students do better in integrated classrooms. This seems to be the main thrust of his argument, not that funding doesn't matter. His report eventually led to busing, which I think we can agree was a bit of a disaster. I think their hearts were in the right place, but as for for actually working... not so much. I can't seem to find an actual draft of the report online, but I'll keep looking. It's interesting to look at the social and policy effects of research; like an author's novel or play being adapted to film, television, or the theatre, sometimes the author of the research has no say and orignial intent is thwarted in the reproduction.
I have to run - tons of work and not much time!
In any case, Coleman's report makes a strong case that black students do better in integrated classrooms. This seems to be the main thrust of his argument, not that funding doesn't matter. His report eventually led to busing, which I think we can agree was a bit of a disaster. I think their hearts were in the right place, but as for for actually working... not so much. I can't seem to find an actual draft of the report online, but I'll keep looking. It's interesting to look at the social and policy effects of research; like an author's novel or play being adapted to film, television, or the theatre, sometimes the author of the research has no say and orignial intent is thwarted in the reproduction.
I have to run - tons of work and not much time!
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
No Desk for Them
A funny article on teachers who don't use desks. I never did. I shoved mine to the back of the classroom and used it to pile up (aka "lose") student papers. Sometimes my 7th grade study hall would re-organize it for me, but I still never sat there. I ran around from the tape recorder to the dvd player to each kid to the computer too much.
But this article does show how desperate some are for school reform - at one point the article says something about how "no studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of not using a desk." Um, we have to do studies for this? I think that it depends on the teacher's style. I used to sit on top of one of the kids' desks and teach, too. In fact, my eighth graders would never sit in one desk, and when I finally asked them why, they said, "Because that's where you always sit, Ms. Cottrell." Gosh, hadn't even noticed it myself.
At the bottom of the article is a great layout of one teacher's classroom. This is my dream classroom. A rolling cart for a projector! Tables for my students so they can work together! Even if I were teaching college (which I am thinking is more and more of a possiblity, because PhD's for college instructors are mandatory, and the number of college teachers is only going to increase), I would want a set-up like this. I think it's great for students of all ages to work together.
"At the Head of Some Classes, Desks Dismissed." (It just goes to show you that when I saw this title, I thought they meant student desks. What teacher sits in front of the classroom and teaches from a desk?) (Matthews, J. The Washington Post. October 3, 2006. Page A08.)
But this article does show how desperate some are for school reform - at one point the article says something about how "no studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of not using a desk." Um, we have to do studies for this? I think that it depends on the teacher's style. I used to sit on top of one of the kids' desks and teach, too. In fact, my eighth graders would never sit in one desk, and when I finally asked them why, they said, "Because that's where you always sit, Ms. Cottrell." Gosh, hadn't even noticed it myself.
At the bottom of the article is a great layout of one teacher's classroom. This is my dream classroom. A rolling cart for a projector! Tables for my students so they can work together! Even if I were teaching college (which I am thinking is more and more of a possiblity, because PhD's for college instructors are mandatory, and the number of college teachers is only going to increase), I would want a set-up like this. I think it's great for students of all ages to work together.
"At the Head of Some Classes, Desks Dismissed." (It just goes to show you that when I saw this title, I thought they meant student desks. What teacher sits in front of the classroom and teaches from a desk?) (Matthews, J. The Washington Post. October 3, 2006. Page A08.)
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