Week 9: Assignment 1

There is a prevalent and historical problem associated with bilingual programs. Students from the program have routinely complained of the unfairness of the system that ignores the specific needs of each learner. Many students have been forced to stay in the programs for extended durations, lasting up to five years. The program also fails to identify if English-speaking students are forced to use a strange tongue when they would have benefitted from remedial help in improving their academic outcomes. Such conditions are demonstrated by the high dropout rates among Hispanic students in these programs compared to other racial segments (Fiske, 1985). These federally supported programs have thus become associated with broader social and political issues with political stakeholders using public schools as the new bureaucratic battleground.

The issue portrays the varying political dimensions held by critics as well as advocates of bilingual programs. It boils down to the immigration issue as bilingual programs are normally catered to serve immigrant communities. The program has attracted political and mainstream attention for its growing costs with the right-wing questioning the usefulness of investing in such programs. They cite that bilingual programs minimize the assimilation of these segments of society, avoiding the integration of these students into American society. They use their weaknesses to reinforce the need to establish a common language, English, instead of emphasizing on others. On the other hand, supporters of such programs are largely left-wing that agitates for the increased wellbeing of all citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic differences. The controversy is an explicit indication of institutional prejudice in the American system as a result of limited political capital. Immigrant communities have been under systematic and institutional discrimination with the issue remaining prevalent in this day-and-age of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations against undocumented immigrants.

Unfortunately, because of the current school closure circumstances, I wasn’t’ able to talk to parents about the school relationships. However, I was able to talk to one of the teachers that I observe about the teacher-parent relationship both in my classroom and in the school. When speaking, the teacher stressed to me how important it is to keep a strong relationship with parents. The more the parents are involved, she finds the better her students do academically. Especially with the new online learning that is going on currently, it is important to keep the parents in the loop to keep their children on track. She explained to me how she uses the app “remind” to communicate with parents daily. This app allows for the teacher to send messages to the entire class’ parents. The teacher posts most homework assignments and some classwork on remind everyday after school so the parents can be involved in what their child is learning. She also says she constantly reminds parents that her email and phone are constantly open for any conversations or concerns that need to be had privately. When I asked the teacher about literacy development, she says she really tries to get parents on board with reading with their children at home. She stresses how important reading for 20- 30 minutes a night at home is, especially for bilingual students. She said most parents are on board with this however, the parents that are not too involved, she does see a bit of decline in their children’s work.

References

Fiske. E. B. (1985, November 10). The controversy over bilingual education in America’s       schools; one language or two? The New York Times.            https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/10/education/controversy-over-bilingual-education-       america-s-schools-one-language-two.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap