Date: April 18, 2013
Name: Katrina Bell
Name of Persons Interviewed: Ms. S., Ms. V. and Ms. M.
Why I chose each of these people: I chose to interview
them because of their devotion and conviction to advocating for children and
their families. When I first visited this site I was very much amazed at what I
saw and observed. These teachers as well as the Director are very passionate,
caring and devoted to their work. All my years in child care I never
experienced anything like this before.
My research on advocating for bilingual education focused
on the following questions:
1. What can teachers do to implement effective bilingual
education in an early childhood classroom?
2. What are the benefits for young children to learn two
languages simultaneously? (bilingual acquisition)
3. How can early childhood teachers empower parents, in
their native language?
These topics relate in many ways to the persons I
interviewed. The one topic of greater importance is teachers implementing
effective bilingual education programs into the classroom. They feel that
immigrant parents really want their children to learn English but at the same
time value their mother tongue. In order for this to take place there are
concerns about the learning resources. Without the language learning resources
they need, immigrant children are not prepared for success. They firmly believe
that in order to achieve true English proficiency, a combination of teaching
methods is required. This includes a student learning subject matter in his or
her first language as well as a bilingual program. Teachers should be
implementing effective bilingual education in the classroom.
At their site one thing they do is that to be effective
in the classroom teachers follow a general process that addresses a variety of
learning styles. They stress hands-on activities that are active,
collaborative, and of high interest and relevance to all students. The most
successful classrooms also integrate the use of technology and make it
available to students in both languages. Although students in the bilingual
program receive specialized instruction, they have opportunities to participate
in the core curricular activities of the school in various ways.
The program works for them because the teachers feel at
ease with the students’ first language and English. The teachers are also
literate in both languages. In addition, the school provides classes in the
first language for teachers who want to become proficient in specific content
areas. For example, the social studies themes addressed in their classrooms are
used as the content for language development class. Teachers are given the
opportunity to develop vocabulary related to the theme and are provided
opportunities to facilitate a discussion on the topic with other peers.
Effective teachers feel that expanding their vocabulary is essential if they
are going to be effective in implementing bilingual education in the classroom.
They have involved
themselves in advocacy efforts within the field and work with the community.
They meet with parents, teachers and administrators to discuss their individual
and team responsibilities. Collectively the team provides support to ensure
that students reach the goals established for all students. Parents and those
within the community are encouraged to interact with the school, even by
parents of English-dominant children. Their involvement in school varies. They
are encouraged to help at home and in the classroom, as well as to have input
in the various decisions the school has to make, from how many computers to
purchase to how much homework students should have. They are informed about the
bilingual program as well as the general curricula and other activities in
which the students participate. The correspondence sent home to parents is
always in the home language, as is the information they receive in the school.
They work hard in bridging the gap between school and
family. Since language and cultural differences can separate family and school
participation they have strategies in place to address these differences include
reaching out to parents with little formal education, addressing language
differences through bilingual services for communicating both orally and in
writing with families about school programs and children's progress, and
promoting cultural understanding to build trust between home and school. They
tap into the supports available in their local communities and beyond. They
collaborate and include partnerships with local businesses, health care and
other community service agencies, colleges, universities, as well as supports
provided by the school districts and state.
When it comes to advocating for children they recommend
that you don’t give up. There are many challenges, but there are also wonderful
opportunities. Our current struggle with bilingual education is a larger
ongoing struggle. Each action in defense of bilingual education is also an
opportunity to listen deeply to parents and their needs and wants and desires
for their children.
Many parents whose
first language is not English continue to struggle for the economic, social and
spiritual well-being of their families. These efforts spring from a profound
commitment, strength, tenacity, intelligence and all those other qualities that
are fed by the love for their children. Our biggest challenge is to help all
parents channel some of that awesome strength and those marvelous energies to
create a strong bilingual voice for all children. Parents and families deserve
our organizational support to organize themselves to save, protect and improve
not just bilingual education but our total public school system.
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