Entry #1 Introduction
My name is Jacqueline Escatell, and this is my senior year at the University of Houston. I am currently student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom. I do not have any ELL in my classroom at the time, but I am excited to meet my future ELL students. I was an ELL student myself and my classes until 2nd grade consisted of mainly Spanish-speaking students. We felt very isolated from the rest of the school. We weren’t invited to participate in the school events, and we had our table in the cafeteria. I believe that it would have benefited me to interact with students that did speak English. I would’ve loved to feel more welcome in my school. My parents only speak Spanish, so I remember always having to translate their conversations with English-speaking individuals. I felt very insecure speaking English in elementary school because I thought my peers would bully me for having an accent.
I remember my parents had to work long hours and were unable to help me complete my homework due to them not knowing English. I am aware that many of my future students will have this issue. “Additionally, poor and minority students, as noted earlier, tend to have parents with low levels of education who are unable to provide assistance with difficult schoolwork or afford expensive supplemental educational services.” (Wright, 2019, p.16). As a future educator, I will help these students still receive the resources they need to be successful. I can offer after-school tutoring or provide resources where they can receive tutoring and donate supplies, they may need. Students get discouraged and may not try their best if they realize they may not have the appropriate resources they need to complete an assignment. I will create a safe and welcoming classroom environment so my students can feel comfortable asking their peers for help when needed. “Teachers need to know their students’ cultural backgrounds and how culture influences learning at school.” (Wright, 2019, p.18). My students will all come from different backgrounds and sometimes certain strategies will not work for some students. My teaching philosophy will be to build relationships with my students and their families. I will learn about their culture and how it will influence their learning at school. I will always remain open-minded and never make assumptions about any of my student’s cultures.
References
Wright, Wayne (2019). Foundations for teaching English
language learners: Research, theory,
policy, and practice. Caslon Publishing. Third
edition.
Hi Jaqueline!
ReplyDeleteI loved what you said about providing your students with the resources they need in order to succeed. I agree that for students to grow, they must have a self and welcoming environment to fully flourish. This is making sure you are individualizing the plan for each student who needs this help. I also think it is important to have those close relationships with other teachers who can provide insight on ways that worked for them. It is great to have an abundance of resources you can reach out to and building relationships with them and the students family to really gain understanding of what will work best for a certain child.
Hi Jacqueline!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching your video and reading your reflection, there are several things that you said that I agree with. I can imagine how you felt in school because I was also an ELL student. The thought of feeling excluded and not belonging is upsetting. You stated that your teaching philosophy is to build a relationship with your students and their families, and I believe this is the right direction to go. ELL students may have difficulty learning English, and your consideration in providing extra resources is very thoughtful. Wright stated, "They also should build on the considerable strengths that ELLs bring with them to school, including their home languages and the funds of knowledge they have access to in their homes (2019, p. 17). Having ELL students in your classroom, I'm glad to hear that you will remain to have an open mind. Even though ELL students are in the process of learning English, they may have other areas that they are fully skilled. As a future teacher, you need to learn all about them and utilize this to further their learning. I do not doubt that you will have any trouble with this.
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DeleteHi Ivonne!
DeleteThank you for responding to my comment. I believe we did have very similar experiences growing up as ELL students. I am glad we know what we enjoyed from our ELL classes and what we did not like. As future educators, we will be able to change and do what we best think will benefit our students. "Encouraging ELLs to maintain and develop their home languages while they develop proficient in English benefits the individual ELL and his or her family and community, as well as this nation." (Wright, 2019, p.24). I definitely will encourage my students to maintain and develop their home language while they learn English. It is so important that they do not replace their mother tongue for English. It will definitely help my students to be fluent in both languages.
Hello Jacqueline!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reflection! As I was reading your blog, I found many of your experiences growing up as an ELL, to be relatable to mine. I went through similar hardships, especially after I moved from California to Texas. My parents also rarely had time to help me with homework, and I could feel that absence the most whenever I was assigned major projects in school. I’m sure there are other children that might be going through something similar, and it makes me sad to think about it. I really appreciate your willingness to learn more about your students and their different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, Wright mentions that many minority students have “little access to interesting books and other reading materials” and that often leads them to have lower reading scores than wealthier students (Wright, 2019, p, 17). As future teachers, we should try our very best to adequately support our students, whether it's providing more resources or making the content we are teaching relatable to them.
Hi Gabby!
DeleteThank you for responding to my post. Moving to a different state as a young child is already challenging but as an ELL student it is even harder. That is why as a future educator I will do my best to ensure that my future students have all the resources they need and offer them help with their homework assignments. "Educators who work with ELLs must be aware of the diversity in their schools and surrounding communities." (Wright, 2019, p.23). It is so important that I truly get to know my students and am aware of the surrounding communities.