Week 6

I found “Unfinished Knowledge” very interesting because it discusses how although some teachers make have good intentions when it comes to getting to know their students culturally, they may not be going about it the right way.  This article made me reflect a lot on how I view culture and how I was culture to be discussed in my classroom.  To avoid making generalizations and stereotypes I want to try to get know each one of my students on a personal level.  I will never assume anything about any of my students.  Each student has had different experiences in his or her life that make them who they are.  I think that the strategies that Barbara used were ok, but she tended to generalize.  I believe it is important for teachers to never get a fixed idea in their heads of what a culture is or looks like.  After all, culture is always changing and can depend on a person’s experiences.  This is why I want to take the time to get to know each of my students.  I want to learn about their life experiences and how they have affected them.  I want to build authentic relationships with my students and let them know that I am genuinely interested in who they are and their culture. 

Other readings discuss writing of ESL students versus writing of native English speakers.  I think that American schools push the organization part of writing a little too much.  I do think it is important for students to organize their thoughts, however, because of different cultural backgrounds; they may want to organize and share their thoughts in a different way.  Who are we to tell them that their way of thinking isn’t correct and that they need to do it a different way?  I remember being in school when I was younger and my teacher constantly making us fill out a graphic organizer before writing essays.  We were all so tired of that same graphic organizer because we understood and we didn’t need it pushed on us anymore. 

I also think that it is unreasonable to expect ESL students to perform as well as native English speakers on tests written in English.  I strongly believe in tests being administered in students’ native language.  I agree with Silva that students need more time and help from teachers.  I also believe though, that some things do not need to be pushed on them so much.  Sentence structure and grammar need to be mastered of course.  But I do not believe that students should always have to follow that same intro, three paragraphs with ideas and details, and a conclusion.  If students want to organize and express their thoughts in a different way, than they should be allowed to do so.  Teachers can still give advice or help them clean up their work, I just don’t think it is ok to tell students that their way of thinking is wrong or not as good as the way we organize our written papers here.

"A Step from Heaven"

"A Step from Heaven" was an amazing story of the challenges and struggles families experience when they immigrate to the U.S.  I volunteered in an ESL classroom at Oakdale Elementary school last semester and there would always be new students coming in from different countries all over the world.  I would constantly think about how scary and strange everything must seem to them.  The technology, the routine, the expectations, rules, might all be completely new to them.  I couldn’t imagine coming into a new place where you can’t understand what people are saying and they can’t understand you.  I remember a little girl from Congo who didn’t want to eat the cereal that they gave her on her first day at school.  She looked so scared and I wished that there was something I could do to make her feel better.  The story about Young brought back a lot of memories from helping in the ESL classroom.  It also made me think about the struggle students experience trying to fit in with a new culture while trying to hold on to their native culture.  I think that students who have these struggles get placed in a middle identity.  They’re caught between these two cultures that they either want to be a part of or are somewhat forced into being a part of.  The relationships that deteriorate between parents and their children is so saddening.  Young becomes embarrassed of her parents and their home.  She lies about where they live and her parents’ occupations.  While facing these struggles, Young also has to deal with family issues at home.  School and her friends become an escape from her home but she still longs for her parents’ approval and for her parents to be proud of her.  How do children like Young ever find their identity and who they are?  Would it help if they had someone to help guide them and help bring meaning to what they are feeling?  Do all of the children who immigrate to the U.S. also face the same identity struggles?  Do they ever find an identity that they feel comfortable in?

Kang’s article also made me think of identity struggles.  Kang emphasizes that in order for students to successfully become bilingual they need support at home as well as in school.  Parents must be on board and be consistent in their language use.  Parents ideologies with respect to their children’s language development  and how parents implement their ideologies can have a big impact on children’s successfulness with becoming bilingual.  Kang also talks about how students identify with the language that they feel they can express their feelings in.  Although I can see how that would greatly impact what they identify themselves as, I still believe there is a middle identity that many children get put in and many of them are remain confused without some kind of guidance to help them feel comfortable in this middle identity.  I myself have experienced this.  I grew up with an American culture as well as a Mexican culture.  Growing up, I never really thought about what all of that meant.  Many times people didn’t realize I was Mexican unless they heard my last name or were told.  When I got to college and went to Mexico to live for a month, the feelings of being caught between these two cultures were amplified.  However, with the help of friends who were going through the same feelings and my professor, I now feel comfortable in this middle or third identity and hope to one day use it as a tool to help my future students who might also be going through the same thing that I did.

Identity

The discussion of second language learners and identity has always intrigued me.  I've always wanted to learn more about it and how I can help guide my students in figuring out who they are.  So many ESL learners get confused on who they are when they grew up around one culture and then suddenly get immersed into another.  As a bicultural student, I didn't have anyone to help guide me.  It wasn't until I got to college that I was able to talk about it with people who had similar experiences.  I want to make sure that my students don't have to go through the same thing as me.

In particular, I found Norton’s discussion on motivation and investment very interesting.  I had never really thought about the difference between the two and how they can impact someone’s second language acquisition.  This made me think about my future classroom and how it is important to create a safe and warm environment.  Students will come into my classrooms with different reasons for their motivation and with a different amount of investment.  Some students may have families which highly encourage their children to learn English while some families might not want them to.  As a bilingual educator I will have to take these things into consideration and try to build on what my students have come to my classroom with.  By making my instruction authentic and by building authentic relationships with my students, I can help motivate them.

Norton also discusses identity and resistance and how language learners can maintain membership of their vernacular communities and cultures while learning a second language.  I have often thought about this topic in some of my bilingual education classes.  I would often question how I would feel as a second language learner in a foreign country, forced to learn the language and culture to fit in and be successful.  I can’t say that I wouldn’t be resistant at all.  I need to take this into consideration with my students and use their resistance as teaching moments as Norton points out.  This is another reason why I want my classroom to be warm and inviting and why I want to have authentic relationships with my students.  I want them to be able to be themselves and feel that they can express themselves.