Saturday, April 4, 2009
Language
Within the school system the issue of bilingual education has become a touchy issue for many. This has resulted in the linguistic background of many students being marginalized as being unimportant and problematic to their very educational futures. The problem with this is that by simply forcing these students to learn English and depriving them of their own languages, they not only may not fully understand English due to the issues relating to the meanings in their own linguistic background, but it also forces them to deal with injustice from which their trust in the system itself may never return (377). I feel that bilingual education is a necessary aspect of a decision to become urban educators as we need to offer opportunity to the fullest, and this can only be done by allowing students to utilize their own linguistic background in order to grow i their knowledge of English, as well as the other subjects, to move towards their fullest potential.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I would have to agree with Tim's statement. As urban eduactors it is necessary for us to open up lessons to everyone's experiences so that every student understands the material being covered. Students cannot understand English and all other core materials if they cannot utilize their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both about integrating lesson plans to be more inclusive for bilingual students. It’s very important as educators that we provide bilingual students access to the curriculum and the process. Some of our students may or may not be citizens must it’s important that they are aware of their rights as students in the educational system. If not then they will grow up not caring about American society or questioning the way that things work in society, especially if they are excluded from it.
ReplyDelete