Nouns with ESL/ Observation #1

Teaching

With my third graders, I have an hour to spend with them everyday. On this particular day, we focused on Language Arts because the students struggle the most with that particular aspect of English in their classrooms. The purpose of the lesson this week was to review everything they had been discussing about nouns in their classroom. To begin with, we discussed what nouns were (person, place, or thing). I had a few objects or pictures that could be categorized under a person, place, or thing. Each student got a few and had to sort them under person, place, or thing. We then discussed it as an entire group. Secondly, we went on a Scavenger Hunt around the classroom and school to locate all of the nouns. The students all did a great job with this aspect of the lesson because it was just a quick review of what had been discussed in their classrooms.

When we came back to the classroom, the students were given an activity where they had to cut out words and place them under person, place, or thing. This activity was a informal way to assess whether the students needed more time on identifying nouns or if they were ready to move onto proper and common nouns. One of my students in this group is a CORE student, therefore I made modifications for her and worked one-on-one with her so if she needed help sounding out a word, I was there to provide support. Once the students were finished, we checked them as an entire group.

All of the students had a great time with the Scavenger Hunt around the school and did an amazing job! They completely grasped the concept and were ready to move onto proper and common nouns for the next day! :)

Community

The students are all such great friends because they have been in ESL together since 1st grade. Therefore, they have been able to create a sense of community and are very helpful to one another. If someone needed help with a word or the concept, the other students were very respectful and considerate. They did not make fun of the student or laugh. The students in this group are extremely loving and caring students! During this time, my EA works with a Non-English student. Normally they work on different stuff than my group does, but since he is in the same class and is able to identify most nouns in English now, he came along on the Scavenger Hunt. All of my 3rd graders are Hispanic and were so helpful with the Non-English student. They would speak to him in English until he did not understand something and would quickly speak Spanish to him to help him understand. They truly want everyone to be able to learn English.

Most of the students in this particular group, are intermediate which means they had to have scored a 3 on their ELDA the previous year. However, due to time constraints, I have one CORE student. I see all of the students for an hour since I do have the one CORE student.

Ethnographic Perspective

During the lesson, I observed the students working cooperatively with each other. They have been together in ESL for 2 years now and all have developed a strong relationship with one another. By observing, you can tell that they have a strong desire to learn and want the best for the other students around them. All of these students come from families who place a high value on education and therefore so do the children. Informal interactions occurred during my lesson and you can see that students are very considerate of one another and are helpful to each other. From the interview, my student answered the question regarding two of the other students in ESL. He stated they were his friends because "they helped him when he did not know an answer." Therefore, demonstrating the community and interactions the students have with each whether they are formal or informal.

If an outside observer came into the classroom during this lesson, they would have seen different types of learning happening. I try to provide the students with as many opportunities to view the concept as I can to help reach all students. We learned about nouns through visuals, auditory, listening, and kinesthetic learning. Also, I like to introduce the vocabulary the students need to have in the beginning, then guide the students through a very hands-on and engaging activity, and at the end have them work individually or in pairs to complete an independent activity. Therefore, I know where the students need help and can make the appropriate accommodations for the independent practice or review the next day. I like having the students work together during the guided instruction because it helps all of the students take on the tutor role and feel welcomed and accepted. They aren't forced to tell answers they may not be sure of until they have had a chance to work with their partner and discuss it. Therefore, they are actively taking a role in their learning and being able to discuss the concept to revise their original understanding or be able to thoroughly explain the concept they understand. The students then know they are all welcomed and accepted no matter where they are in the English proficiency.

New Beginnings

For the past year, I was a graduate assistant at MTSU. I graduated in May with my Masters and am continuing my ESL add-on endorsement. While I am taking my last class this semester, I am also a first-year ESL teacher! I have close to 30 students I see each day in grades 2 - 5. I work with an amazing and supportive group of teachers who have helped me adjust to being THE teacher. :) A big difference from student teaching and I must admit at first it was very overwhelming. However, when you get 30 hugs and see the "ah-ha" moments from the students, you realize that the stress from paperwork, evaluations, etc. is all worth it! I also am in a school where the ESL population is mainly Hispanic students and am grateful to have a full-time EA who speaks Spanish fluently. The biggest challenge I have so far is being able to communicate with the parents. I am using the little bit of Spanish I know so that way I communicate directly with them, but use the EA for most translations. I am excited to share my journey with you as this year progresses!

Factors that Affect Teachers

As teachers, we all know that there are a plethora of outside factors that affect our students, our schools, and ourselves. This week in our Grammar class we read articles that highlighted some of these factors; such as, teacher’s cost of living, schools going green to help with failing test scores, sesame workshop, educating children that were affected by Katrina, and child farm workers just to name a few.

Since I am not in the classroom yet, I chose to focus on the teacher’s cost of living, since the others were about teachers already in the classroom. The article Teachers’ Cost of Living Matters More compares teacher salaries in different cities or regions against the national average or other U.S. cities. The cities are ranked by the adjusted and unadjusted elementary teacher pay. For example, in Memphis is adjusted pay is $50,797 and the unadjusted pay is $45,108, which is one of the higher when it comes to the difference between the two rates.

When I first enrolled in college, I decided to become a nurse. All I heard about growing up was to have a job that paid well and had great job security and therefore nursing seemed the best option for me. I had thought about teaching, but everyone told me I should become a nurse because it paid quite a lot more. So, for my first two years of college, I was a Nursing Major. However, when I met my husband and was miserable in my classes, we discussed me switching majors. The pay did come up because of how low teachers get paid in Tennessee. However, I decided my happiness was way more important than pay.

After reading the article, I was shocked to see that some pay rates dropped when they were adjusted in consideration of the cost of living. If the cost of living lowers the pay rate, I don’t think that would be fair to teachers. Why lower their pay just because the cost of living is lower? That doesn’t make much sense to me. However, if the cost of living is more, I believe teachers should get paid the adjusted rate. Teachers play an important part in society today and the future society. Some jobs that I feel are less important get paid a lot more. For instance, garbage men in larger cities can make up to $65,000, which is more than all of the teacher’s salary based on the chart in the article!!!! I cannot believe that! Teachers put in so much work than just the "work day". There are more things they work with outside of those 8 hours, such as helping children with their home life, staying after to grade or tutor students, research teaching techniques, etc. Hopefully, they will change teacher's salary because teachers use their personal time and money to help better their teaching techniques for the betterment of the children in their classroom.

Multiculturalism in the Curriuculum

The reflection this is week will be based on the following three articles: Organizers See 'New Civil Rights Movement' in Immigration Protests, Multiculturalism in School Curriculum, and Toward a Centrist Curriculum: Two Kinds of Multiculturalism in Elementary School.

From the last post, we learn viewpoints of multiculturalism in general. Now, we take a closer examination of multiculturalism and its role in elementary classrooms. In regards to multiculturalism in the curriculum, there are different viewpoints on what it should look like and how it should be taught in the classrooms. In the article Toward a Centrist Curriculum: Two Kinds of Multiculturalism in Elementary School, Hirsch brings up a lot of good discussion of what a multicultural curriculum would include. Hirsch states that the proposed curriculum by the Core Knowledge Sequence would have the following characteristics: "1) It encourages knowledge of and sympathy towards the diverse cultures of the world. 2) It fosters respect for every child's home culture as well as for the cosmopolitan school-based culture. 3) It gives all children competence in the current system of language and allusion that is dominant in the nation's economic and intellectual discourse". I completely agree that these characteristics need to be incorporated into the curriculum because teachers must facilitate classroom learning as well as social cohesion. Hirsch states "classroom learning cannot go forward effectively unless all students in the class share some common points of reference".

Through teaching multiculturalism in the classroom, a true sense of fairness for all students will be observed. In the article What is Multiculturalism in School Curriculum?, the author brings up a valid point discussing that to teach multiculturalism in the curriculum, a teacher does not have to move away from teaching the traditional curriculum. For instance, I believe in Social Studies if the teacher presents all sides and feelings to events that occurred the students gain a deeper knowledge and respect for all countries or people involved. The article also brings up the fact that some consider multicultural curriculum is demonstrated by teaching African culture solely during Black History Month or about women during Women's History Month. I believe that cultures should be taught throughout the units to integrate the cultures and teach about respect, similarities and differences, and understanding of all cultures. I currently am not teaching in the classroom, however I will incorporate integrating the different cultures and viewpoints to the units in the curriculum. I also believe after presenting the students with the different viewpoints from history events that they discuss them and understand that it is ok to have different opinions as long as you can respectively argue your stance without disrespecting other's views and culture.

After reading the articles, I get a broader understanding of what it means to teach multiculturalism and integrating it in the curriculum. In today schools, I thinks the curriculum, policies, and structure of the schools aren't consciously used as a means of social control. However, in some senses I am very naive. I only know that from here on out the curriculum must change because America is changing. We are growing more diverse and the curriculum should teach to the different diversities and make them feel apart of what they are learning.

Viewpoints on Multiculturalism in America

“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” – Jimmy Carter

After reading the Pithissippi Burning, an article in which the author discusses white supremacists who are opposed to a multicultural society, I am speechless at the debate of allowing “non-whites” to live in America. Growing up in Nashville, I was always surrounded by people from all different cultures and loved to learn how we were different and similar. I cannot understand how people could ever have an issue with multiculturalism. The article discusses how “White America” is in danger and those who believe in an “Aryan nation” is fearful of what the future holds. The article also raises the question of what the “other side” is going to do in regards of the idea. What happened to America being an equal opportunity for everyone? After reading the article, I am appalled that people are even having a debate on multiculturalism and claiming it has a negative impact on America. Racism needs to end so America can build a multicultural society that treats all equally and with respect and understanding.Besides, who gets to decide who belongs in America and who doesn't? No one should have the right to deny anyone of the freedoms in America and be respected.

In the article The Challenge of ‘Multiculturalism’ In How American View the Past and the Future, Samuel Taylor discusses the different viewpoints on multiculturalism in America. The main issue discussed was that America is losing its history due to the fact of including different cultural perspectives on topics in history and states “Multicultural" history was therefore to be a broader, more inclusive history that would give every American his rightful share of America's past.” The article states that by doing so future generations will lose their patriotism and pride in being an American citizen. By teaching “multicultural history”, I believe we are not stripping children of being proud of belonging to America. I believe it helps teach patriotism because they can be proud to belong to a nation that respects and welcomes all cultures into the classroom. By learning about each other’s culture, we can only then begin to accept the differences amongst us.

How do I teach grammar?

“Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone--not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning.” (David Crystal, “In Word and Deed,” TES Teacher, April 30, 2004)

When teaching grammar, the teacher should have a understanding of Standard English, grammar, and the value of studying grammar in order to properly teach grammar in an ESL classroom. Standard English is difficult because people view it as the “correct” way to use English and has been referred to as a “dialect”. However, Standard English depends on where in the world the English is being used because each region has their idea of what is “correct”. Standard English is taught in schools, appears in print, and heard on news broadcasts or documentaries. Growing up, I did not know anyone with a difference accent, or Standard English, until I had a friend from New Zealand move to my school in High School. We thought it was weird the way she pronounced certain words.

The grammar of Standard English is more uniformed than Standard English is itself because of the varieties of English usage. There are fewer questions about what is grammatically correct than what is the “correct” way to pronounce words and proper ways to use English. Initially, I never thought about the Standard English and grammar being different. I thought what was taught in school was the only “correct” way to pronounce words, write, and speak English.

How will I help students learn the grammar they need? How do I teach grammar?

These are two important questions when working in an ESL classroom. Thinking about my ESL classroom, I believe that although the student’s Standard English should be honored and not made to seem inferior, it is important for students to learn to speak grammatically correct because it will aid them in their future with jobs, interviews, become an effective writer, etc. In the classroom, I believe ESL students need to hear prescriptive grammar because they first need to learn the basic structure of English that they will use in formal settings, will read in most print, and hear on some television shows. However, I also find it interesting the way a student then use the language with friends and family in informal settings. Students should be aware that in different situations, different usage of English is used. I am a firm believer that a teacher should become a facilitator of the student’s learning and the students construct their own meanings through activities or inductive reasoning. Therefore, I like the idea of using ht inductive approach to teaching grammar. Lessons may be more helpful if they allow the students to explore the grammar concept through an activity or exercise. The teacher may want to spend a lot of time exposing and engaging students to practice and exposure with the structure or grammar concept. Lastly, teachers may want to use guided practice so the students will feel comfortable enough to produce or verbally use the grammar concept.

Multicultural Education

My definition of multicultural education:

The United States is becoming increasingly diverse. Therefore, multicultural education is crucial in creating understanding and acceptance of all cultures. Before reading Paul Gorski's The Challenge of Defining "Multicultural Education", I thought I already had my definition figured out. However, my definition only covered a small portion of everything multicultural education truly entails. Multicultural education combines curriculum and education in the classroom to teach students how to accept, understand, dismiss prior prejudices and stereotypes, and appreciate cultures that are different than their own. Students will be prepared to work with people from different geographical areas and accept their differences and similarities.

Reflections on the challenge of defining multicultural education:

Multicultural education is difficult to define because it is viewed differently by so many people. Another challenge is that most of the definitions only include one aspect of multicultural education and leaves out the other vital aspects. Teachers and education institutions are among those who seem to not share a similar definition of multicultural education. Gorski states that "some see it as a shift in curriculum, others as a reference to teaching styles and testing practices, while others view it as a method for social transformation". With all of the different definitions, multicultural education is difficult to implement in the classroom across the board.

Challenges facing classroom teachers with implementing multicultural practices in their classrooms:

One challenge that classroom teachers face when implementing multicultural practices in their classroom is wanting to teach and explore cultures from all over the world and finding the time due to preparing the students for standardized testing. With so much time dedicated to teaching material that will be on TCAP, teachers are left with only a small window of time to allow the students to learn about new cultures. Unfortunately, the students then do not get to explore more in depth the differences and similarities of the cultures.