Languages

Multicultural Education 2120

               1. In my opinion these programmatic decisions should be based on what the children’s needs are at the school.  If there is a school with a majority of Hispanic kids then they should be put in a program to where they can learn the material for they need for class and also learn English.

               2. Some of the attacks on bilingual students are justified.  I know where I went to school even if some of the kids were in an ESOL class they would speak English in the class but throughout the rest of the day they would speak their native language.  Also test scores for immigrant children are low and the dropout rates are high.  These are some of the reasons why people think are ESOL and other programs should not be part of our curriculum.  In my opinion I still think these programs should be in our schools maybe we just need a change in how they are run to make a difference in the test scores, grades, and students themselves.  

              3. Even though I think that these programs are needed in the schools some researchers would tell me I am wrong.  An article written by Education Week states that, “Nationwide, only 12 percent of students with limited English at or above proficient in mathematics in the fourth grade on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress compared with the 42 percent of students not classified as English language learners” (Editorial Projects in Education, 2011).  If we still want these programs to be part of the schools then there needs to be a serious change in how we teach these kids because if the test scores do not get better they may get rid of the programs all together. 

Bibliography

      Editorial Projects in Education. (August 4, 2004). English-language learners.      www.refworks.com/refworks/