All students with limited English proficiency must be properly identified and assessed to ensure the provision of appropriate…
The Florida Consent Decree is a legal document that address the civil rights of English Language Learners (ELL) students. This document focuses on their rights to equal opportunity and/or access to all of the educational programs within the education system. The Consent Decree makes sure that these students will be provided with a clear and appropriate instruction that way it balances the playing field; that way the student has a better chance of being successful. The Florida Consent Decree is broken up into six sections that touch on a broad range of aspects and how it affects the student, school system, and school employees. The first section is called Identification and Assessment.…
Carter then describes that restrictive language policies still occur today due to the common misunderstanding of Spanish speakers. Carter presents the misunderstandings in the form of four myths: Latinos aren’t interested and cannot learn English, speaking Spanish hinders their ability to speak English, children will learn Spanish at home, and that Spanish is taking over schools. Carter disproves each myth by providing factual evidence and personal experience. For instance, Carter mentions that social science data shows that Latinos learn English at a fast rate and that some evidence suggests that policies restricting a student’s usage of a home language affect literacy skill in English. Carter also mentions that he has yet encountered a young person that refuses to learn English. Making language policies such as Proposition 227 nothing but problematic. Carter concludes his argument by stating that Spanish is an economy and cultural resource that should be cultivated not dismantled, and should, therefore, be provided as an educational policy along with…
In Article 11, of the Arizona Constitution, it is stated “…that legislature shall make such appropriations, to be met by taxation, as shall insure the proper maintenance of all state educational institutions, and shall make such special appropriations as shall provide for their development and improvement” (Hoffman & Rex, 2009.) The goal of this section of the Constitution is to ensure the safety and success of the Arizona school system. There are ten sections to this Article that include rights and regulations of students, including those that are disabled. For example, in Section 1, it states that children who suffer from hearing and vision disabilities are guaranteed a fair education. In Section two and three, the supervision of the schools and the state board members are mentioned. Other issues covered include funding and fair admission regardless of sex, religion, or politics. These sections addressed many of the common issues of any school system.…
The Proposition 227 requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. However, in “The Political Paradox of Bilingual Education”, Crawford argues against Proposition 227 and provides an overview of the political and educational discourse on immigrant children’s language rights. He starts with questions such as “Was the proposition intended primarily to assimilate limited-English-proficient (LEP) children more efficiently? To teach them English as rapidly as possible? To encourage bilingualism and biliteracy? The bill’s legislative history provides no definitive answer (Crawford). According to Crawford, proposition 227 enforce bilingual regulations and the research findings are less encouraging. He explains that the regulations on bilingual provide inequalities to limited-English-proficient student. Hence they are failing to be successful in academic performance and achievement. Crawford supports his argument with examples that in San Francisco, LEP students were only instructed in English and since some students failed to understand the language, they resulted in poor academic performance (Crawford). Thus, Crawford points out how politics…
The issue of English language learners (ELL) and their rights to an education has been a major topic of debate for many years. Should ELL students be taught in their first language? Will they learn English, or should they be put into English speaking classes? That has been the topic of discussion amongst educators. Which method is better for the student? The arguments continue and many states and school districts have made a decision on what to do. One state in particular had a serious ELL problem, so California took action. In 1998, California implemented a program called Proposition 227.…
The federal government has changed the ground work and the organization of scholastic lessons in the educational systems in 2001 with the “No Child Left behind Act”. The law say that each state is to embrace English Language Learners in the state assessment and evaluate the student’s language skill “with valid, reliable assessments in the areas of oral language and reading and writing skills, more specifically comprehension, speaking, listing, reading, and writing”(Cook, 2007). The requirements of these assessment also include assisting in the students’ accomplishment of the state’s academic achievement standards. Since the federal standards has been made to the educational system there needs to be a new method created and evaluated in the way that states and schools can continue adjusting and properly evaluating English Language Learners.…
If you turn over a permission slip or handout from a public school in Southern California on the backside you will find the same English words translated into Spanish. The act of translating the paper for the “child’s” wellbeing only provides a false illusion to the parent’s that the need to learn English is trivial. In reality it actually hinders the immigrants’ chances of success by denying the full language immersion in English that is needed to thrive in America, not just survive. And once one group of immigrants is catered for, it unjustly secludes others of equal treatment. The responsibility of speaking English falls on the shoulders of every immigrant. The lack of a shared proficiency in the English language…
Proposition 58 ensures all students can achieve English proficiency this is really important for our students now and future generation because some students are not given opportunities to learn English with effective teaching methods. Proposition revise the low standing 227 because it restricted the schools from using the most updated teaching methods so students can learn. Proposition 58 expands opportunities for English speakers by learning a second language.Students are being affected by the discouraging school education. Proposition encourages districts to provide a program allowing students to be proficient in a second language. Proposition 58 provides a better future for our children and our state. By allowing our children to learn a…
The failure to provide curricula adapted to the specific needs of the children of minorities and migrant workers can also lead to low literacy rates amongst these groups. Similarly, where a child does not have an adequate grasp of the official language, the failure to provide additional language classes in the official language and to provide classes in minority or migrant languages could have the effect of retarding the progress of those children through school.…
In Roswell High School we have over 1250 students; out of these students eighty percent are Hispanic, seventeen percent are Caucasian, three percent are African American, and one tenth percent are other or two different ethnicities. Thirty-eight percent of Roswell citizens are only spanish speaking or speak little english, many books and pamphlets at Roswell High School are english only, causing native spanish speakers to be at an educational disadvantage. Though some teachers speak spanish, much time in class would be used translating rather than covering the criteria in the already limited time frame. Teachers who do not speak spanish may rely on bilingual students to help teach or translate for other students to learn. If teachers do not do those options the solely spanish speaking students fall behind, or are taught by teachers that speak spanish but do not comprehend the material they are attempting to teach, this may also cause the student to fall behind as…
This semester I observed a first grade bilingual classroom at Martin Elementary. The classroom contained three ELL’s at a variety of levels. The instructor, Mrs. Guerrero, used lots of sheltered instruction strategies not only during the set time for bilingual instruction, but throughout the rest of the content areas. Throughout the semester, I saw how Mrs. Guerrero used specific strategies to teach vocabulary to her LEP students. The first thing I noticed was how she had seated them near native English speakers. This was so they would be able to interact with native English speakers, listen to how they pronounce and use words, and also so they could help him out when he needed it. Mrs. Guerrero used a variety of materials for vocabulary instruction.…
According to Garcia, Jensen, and Scribner (2009) the term “English language learners (ELLs)” is used to refer to students who are not yet proficient enough in English in order to properly benefit from the instruction provided exclusively in this language. Garcia (2012) notes that research has categorized ELLs into three cohorts. Garcia (2012) exemplifies these three groups by indicating that in California, the long-term ELLs are the largest cohort that makes up about two-thirds of the ELL population in that state. The rest of the ELLs include recent immigrants who possess either low or high previous academic background (Freeman, Freeman & Mercuri, 2002). The report developed by the Grantmakers for Education (2010) states that even though many immigrant children are ELLs, most of the ELLs were born in the United States. Grantmakers for Education (2010) report that over 75% of ELLs enrolled in elementary grades are second generation or probably third generation Americans. This report also indicates that about 95% of immigrant children were born in the country. According to Garcia (2012) each of the three cohorts of ELLs identifies possess a unique set of academic and linguistic requirements. Distinguishing between U.S.-born ELLs and their immigrant counterparts is essential to meet the specific needs of each group through the use of different…
Being different when it comes to language is hard for others to accept. Some bilingual students in a study reported that they felt isolated and discriminated against by fellow classmates who were perhaps native to the area they were in. Most immigrants find it very hard to fit in because they either speak a different language or speak in a different way. What happens to some of these students is similar to what happens to illiterate students. Not in every case, but in many they are teased, ignored, or put into different kinds of classed due to their inability to keep up with the students in the regular class. The issue is that the students eventually may give up or fall into a depression due to their social situation. There are ways to fix…
Valerie Strauss, “Studies question Arizona’s policy on English learners” Washington Post 2:51 PM ET, 07/ 8/2010…