[etni] Integrating Native Speakers
- From: Shelley Cooper <shelleycooper2002@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 14:21:19 -0700 (PDT)
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As a teacher of native speakers at the junior high
level, and as the parent of two native speakers at the
elementary school level, I have seen many sides of
this issue. And the key here is this - this is a land
of immigrants, and Jews from all over the world come
here with different talents, skills, abilities and
needs. This, I thought, was a land where a Jew could
come and feel welcome. Instead, our children are made
to feel like they are second class citizens because
they have an English skill that the native born
Israeli doesn't have. These kids (Anglos) are pushed
aside and ignored during their elementary school years
because many (not all) teachers and administrators
don't want to or don't know how to deal with them.
They become discipline problems because they are
bored, and their parents are viewed as elitist and
pushy just because they want to keep their childrens'
English level high. It is not acceptable for these
Anglo children to sink down levels just because no one
wants to deal with them.
I have seen many incoming 7th graders who can barely
read and write English, yet speak quite well, because
they have had no formal instruction. They just speak
in the home. But it's not enough. And it's high time
that ALL children be taught in the public school
setting at levels appropriate to their skills. This
can be done with a combination of school funding and
parent funding.
It is the responsibility of the school and the Anglo
parents to set out a framework, goals, and a program
geared toward achieving those goals, FOR THE BENEFIT
OF THE ANGLO STUDENT, i.e., native speaker. Ideally,
this should be done in a separate class. If that's
not possible, due to small numbers and financial
constraints, then all parties concerned, (students,
teachers, parents and administrators) need some level
of flexibility and compromise.
Example- 35-40% of the total English hours can be
allocated to a separate framework for native speakers.
During this separate time, a native speaker teacher
could provide some real instruction (like how to use
dictionaries, teach spelling rules, introduce new
vocabulary, do some grammar), he/she could assign
reading and writing tasks, and work out expected due
dates. Then, these students can use the rest of their
regular English time to sit in class, or in a separate
physical setting, and actually do some real work.
Someone has to monitor that the students are really
working during this time, so perhaps it's best for the
native students to phsically be with the rest of their
class, with the expectation that they do real work.
There are ways to work this out, but certainly the
Anglo students and their parents should not be viewed
as "just another problem". Our country is full of
problems. Let's quit fighting with each other and get
on with the business of building a strong and secure
future for our children, whether they be Sabras,
Ethiopians, Russians, South Americans, Anglos,
Orientals, Europeans or whatever.
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