The students in the class in which I am tutoring are very well behaved. They all listen to the teacher and do as they are told, with the exception of a few troublemakers. They are always so excited to see us when we come to tutor and are curious about what poem we’re going to read and which game we are going to play that day. They still have that desire to learn that fades more and more as you progress through school, and it is very welcoming to see how much they really enjoy me being there.
According to Infoworks the school that I visit is 58% Hispanic, 30% African American, 7% White, and 5% Asian and Native American combined. These percentages surprised me because the classroom I am in has a majority of African American students. I have noticed that there are a few students in the class that sound like English is their second language, they have slight accents. Most of the African American students speak a watered down version of “black English” which they most likely hear at home. For the most part the students act and interact just as any other 5 year olds would around the country. They laugh with each other and have fun, bicker about whose turn it is to go first, and tattle to the teacher when someone steals their crayon.
It is surprising to me that with over half of the school population being Hispanic, only 24% of the students get ESL teaching. On the first day I was at my school to tutor I walked by a classroom in which the teacher and students were speaking Spanish. It caught me off guard at first but the more I observed the more I noticed signs and posters in the hallways that were written in both English and Spanish. I also noticed at the beginning of the school day and in the main office, that some parents were having conversations with their children in Spanish. It made me think how hard it must be for these young children to have to speak one language at home and then come to school and learn in a totally new one. But it is not only hard for the students as Claude Goldenberg discusses in his article Teaching English Language Learners. It is also hard for the teachers and staff to figure out what is the best way to teach these children so that they don’t fall behind in school. I think it is hard for the teachers to not only have to learn how to teach these students to learn in a foreign language, but also to take these students, 93% of whom are not white, and teach them how to be successful in the white man’s world. To teach them how to abide by the codes of the culture of power so they can be successful in their lives, that is the real challenge in the classroom.
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Hi Grace,
ReplyDeleteYes, the challenge of learning a new language is great, but so is the advantage of becoming truly bilingual/biliterate. And, you're also right--the challenges of teaching non-native English speakers is great, but so is the benefit of having bilingual citizens. So, I encourage you to see these children as gifts rather than deficits. Given your commitment to multiculturalism, I am convinced that you already do!
Dr. August
Hi Grace! It seems like you are have an amazing time at your school and getting so much out of it. Having only a few trouble makers in a classroom is awesome! Sometimes you can have a whole classroom full of trouble makers. The percentages on info works surprised me as well! You work in that school and notice what races you have in your classroom and to have a majority of African American students in your classroom when 58% of the population is Hispanic shocks me. In Jonathan Kozol's article "Still Separate, Still Unequal" he discusses a school he went to in Missouri where they claimed to have a diverse background school. However, the school was filled with mostly African Americans, therefore the diversity the school was claiming to have was very limited. I feel that our experience in the Providence school systems is an excellent example of how we are bettering ourselves as teachers. You were able to walk into your classroom and realize that you did not have as many Hispanics in your classroom as you did African Americans and you can adapt as a teacher to better your classroom. WE are able to recognize the diversity in our classrooms that may not have been in the classrooms that we were in as children. I am so happy that you are enjoying your experience at your school!
ReplyDeleteHi Shana,
ReplyDeleteI would like to encourage you to reconsider characterizing students as "trouble makers." That locates the problem in the student. Could it be larger systems that are at play? I know that these questions will be ones that you will ask when you have your own classroom--that is the kind of teacher you will be :-)