This week’s blog about “biases” has made me think a lot
about not only good things but the “biases” that could possible affect me in
daily life and have the potential to affect my teaching in the classroom. Some of these biases are positive and some
that have the potential to be negative, but I feel that awareness is the key to
making changes so that it will not negatively affect my classroom. I feel that the bias that I have is for
people who move to the United States
and do not learn the language and then expect us as United States citizens to accommodate
their lack of English speaking abilities.
I feel that this bias really became apparent when I went to college in Las Cruces because being so close to the border and often
visiting the border city of El Paso. There were many times that I encountered individuals
who expected someone like me to speak Spanish to them even though they could
speak some English. I don’t mind
speaking Spanish to people who make the effort to speak English or to the
elderly who don’t know English, but when there is no effort made and I feel
like I am struggling to communicate it frustrates me. Although I have mostly felt this impact with
the Spanish language I feel this way about all languages. I think this is something that can possibly affect
my teaching especially depending on the area that I teach in. I think it is important to realize that not
everyone wishes to learn the English language and that it is important to make my
students and their parents feel comfortable when they come into my classroom
and even though I may feel the frustration of them not speaking the language I
will have to make these adjustments.
Hi Nicole! I understand where you are coming from! I often find it extremely frustrating when people decide to move to a country and do not make an effort to "assimilate." Language is the key in communication. I feel that if you are going to move to another country then it is your responsibility to learn the customs and languages of that country. I would not decide to pick up and move to France without at least learning basic French. I guess this is a bit harder with the United States... we don't have an official language. So, I guess those of us who feel this way have to find ways of coping with our bias, and I think as you said, we must put our frustration aside and focus on the child and his/ her education in whatever language that may be.
ReplyDeleteHello Nicole, Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that awareness is key to deal with our biases. Knowing about them can help us be better persons.
Nicole, I am glad that you wrote about this for this weeks assignment because it is a bias that I hadn't thought of, but I definitely share with you. I actually did some research for a class last year and discovered that thousands and thousands of education dollars goes to funding for students who do not speak English. And I am not talking about students learning to speak English, but just straight up don't and are not expected to. I have a hard time with this also because I feel that in order to live in the US and be a productive member of this society you need to be able to speak English. But I also agree with you that I definitely do not have as much of a bias towards those who make an effort to learn or to elderly individuals. I actually worked very hard with an ELL student from kindergarten to second grade and in that time he went from not being able to speak ANY English to a proficient second grader. That is the kind of gratification that makes me forget biases!
ReplyDeleteNicole thanks for sharing. I share your frustration. I am not sure what grade you want to teach, but helping children who don't speak English well is very important, in keeping the importance of their original language. They will function better in society, while keeping their roots.
ReplyDelete