Touch the Future - Teach!

           In the past twenty-five years, demographic shifts have produced in changes in the student profile of our nation’s schools. While the presence of multilingual and biliterate children dates back to the earliest epochs of American educational history (Crawford, 2004; Kloss, 1977), school districts across the country have witnessed an increase in the number of heritage, bilingual, and second language learners. 

            Regrettably, our nation has failed to view our children’s diverse linguistic and cultural traditions as an American resource. On the contrary, a variety of deficit ideologies (Valdés, 1997) have fostered debilitating myths regarding the value of our citizenry’s bilingualism and biliteracy. In turn, false notions of linguistic deficiency have prompted the majority of school districts to adopt policies aimed at replacing the primary language of linguistically diverse learners with American English. At the same time, global institutions cite the necessity for multilingual and biliterate nations. Both domestic events and international trends demand the reconsideration of educational practices aimed at substituting one form of monolingualism with another. The realization of our nation’s biliterate potential remains an untapped source of strength, security, and pride within a population of children growing at five times the average rate of their peers (Menken & Antuñez, 2001).

Heritage, Bilingual, and Second Language Children in American Schools

            The quality and type of educational services provided for heritage, bilingual, and second language learners varies considerably according to school district (Hamayan, 1990; NCES, 2003). As a whole, these biliterate potentials comprise an underserved and misrepresented academic population. Many bilingual children are either denied essential instructional support or are staffed into remedial or special education programs (Hamayan, 1990; Baca & Cervantes, 2004; Halcón, 2001). Both actions fail to honor the instructional needs and civil rights of these students. 

            In those academic contexts where specialized instructional support is administered, the majority of programs seek to transition the child from home to school languages. By viewing a child’s primary home language other than English as a cultural mismatch or academic handicap, schools have implemented inappropriate, untenable, and harmful educational prescriptions (Thomas & Collier, 2002; Hamayan, 1990; de la Luz-Reyes & Halcón, 2001). Many parents appropriately fear their child’s attendance in school may result in the deterioration of familial and cultural bonds among a host of other ills (Wong-Fillmore, 2000).

Bilingualism & Education

            Contrary to myths of linguistic deficiency, psycholinguistic research has associated bilingualism with a multitude of cognitive advantages. When compared to monolinguals, bilingual individuals exhibit superior competencies in divergent thinking, creativity, metalinguistic awareness, and communicative sensitivity among other benefits (Baker, 2001). The longitudinal research of Thomas & Collier (1997; 2002) includes a multitude of findings significant to linguistically diverse families. Their research on bilingual program models established that after four to seven years in a dual language program, bilingually schooled students outperform their monolingual counterparts in all areas of academic achievement. The number of years of formal education in the primary language was identified to be the strongest predictor of second language student achievement (Thomas & Collier, 2002). 

            When provided grade-level instruction in their first and second languages, both resident and immigrant children challenged by low socioeconomic conditions achieved at high levels in their target or second language (Thomas & Collier, 2002). Enrichment bilingual programs, including 90%–10% and 50%–50% models were associated with the lowest percentage of student dropouts or pushouts. To date, these models remain the only programs enabling children to score at the 50^th percentile or higher on achievement tests administered in their first and second languages (Thomas & Collier, 2002). When implemented through high quality, well designed enrichment programs, the goal of biliteracy produces a myriad of benefits for linguistically diverse communities and youth.

My Research Agenda

            Toward this end, my research agenda is committed to realize three separate, yet integrated goals. First, I seek to further advance the sociocultural framework constructed by Lev S. Vygotsky as applied to educational and other meaning-making contexts. A Vygotskian approach affords educators and researchers the opportunity to move beyond binary, dichotomous perspectives to examine and resolve multidimensional aspects of current issues that confound progress in schools and society.   

            My second goal is to contribute to the literature on emergent biliteracy. While a plethora of scholars have been associated with the pedagogical aspect of biliteracy, researchers have only begun to establish a foundation for empirical research specific to the dual listening, speaking, reading, and writing of young children in two languages (Bialystok, 2001). I am intensely interested in how young children make meaning while acquiring listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiencies in two languages. Indeed, my current book presents the semiotic portraits of two such meaning-makers. The academic publisher, Peter Lang, will be showcasing these children’s case studies in a book called Portraits in Emergent Biliteracy in the spring of 2010. My intention is to conduct subsequent research in this vital area to enhance limited understandings regarding the biliteracy acquisition of children between pre-school and third grade. 

            The third goal of my research agenda is to address the requisite for relevant, challenging, and linguistically appropriate instruction for native, heritage, bilingual and second language learners. Demographics suggest that by the year 2020, one-out-of-every-four public school students in the United States will be a second language learner. These statistics herald the creative re-education of all K-12 educators. The interface between our students and an ill-prepared teaching force demands research, practice, and policy by which parents, legislators, teachers, and administrators might more appropriately educate and celebrate linguistically diverse children. I am especially interested in the establishment, implementation, and assessment of dual-immersion, enrichment and alternative bilingual models. 

            At the macro level, I wish to contribute to the efficacy of these program designs through the identification of dynamics that guarantee their success. At the micro level, I am interested in examining and refining instructional approaches that integrate content area knowledge with language-literacy learning. I am currently analyzing three years of data using Echevarria, Vogt & Short’s (2004 ) Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). The SIOP and other empirical means identify quantitative and qualitative trends and themes in regular classroom teachers’ mastery of specially designed academic instruction in English. 

Professional Objective

            In sum, my professional objective is to utilize teaching, service, and research to advocate for a more equitable, enriched, and superior education on behalf of all children and the educators that serve them. As a former Title VII fellow, I feel an obligation to the parents, families, and communities whose labor contributed to my own education. My hope is to expand the research base on behalf of culturally and linguistically diverse children with the aspiration that all children may one day be afforded similar opportunities.

Dr. Cathrene Connery, Dept. of Education - Nov. 5, 2009

Every seven years faculty members may apply to take a sabbatical that is either a semester or a year away from traditional responsibilities at the college to engage in research and other work related to their academic interests and development. During my sabbatical year of 2008-09, I conducted an interview study with a group of parents/caregivers of youth of color, mostly African American, about the experiences of their children and families with issues of race and racism in school. These parents/caregivers reflect a wide range of social classes and include both biological and adoptive parents of numerous races/ethnicities. The purpose of the study was to gather stories -- or what we call in this kind of research, “narratives” -- that illuminate experiences, issues, and perspectives important for teachers to understand and respect as they work to improve their teaching and interactions with students of color and their families.

I conducted thirteen interviews, each 1½  to 2 hours long, and an Ithaca College student who is helping me with the project transcribed them.  I’m currently in the early stages of analyzing the interviews, having installed them into a computer program that allows me to identify common issues, patterns, and themes.  This preliminary analysis has revealed a number of themes and observations that are very important for educators to understand and address in their work with students of color and their families.  Study participants reported that:

·         they and their children were sometimes the objects/victims of low level expectations/assumptions grounded in negative/racist stereotypes, especially as this related to the guidance and placement of their children

·         their children were, at times, racially harassed and/or disrespected by peers, educators, and/or staff

·         race/racism at times played a subtle role in interactions with educators (“racial micro-aggressions”) causing uncertainty, discomfort, and doubt on the part of both the parents/caregivers and their children

·         the perspectives and concerns of parents/caregivers of children of color were sometimes marginalized in meetings with educators and certain institutional practices

·         institutional procedures and practices sometimes took precedence over addressing the needs of the child

·         the curriculum sometimes failed to present and promote multiculturalism and a respect for diverse cultural identities, and this had negative consequences for children of color

·         disciplinary practices and punishments were sometimes unequal/unfair along racial/ethnic lines

·         experiences with racism in the community influenced how their children interpreted and experienced things that took place at school

·         skin tone sometimes seemed to influence school experience, with darker skinned children treated more negatively than lighter skinned children

·         their own race-related experiences with school influenced their concerns about and interpretations of their children’s school experiences

·         educators sometimes seemed unwilling to really listen to and/or partner with the parents/caregivers

·         many educators seemed unable or unwilling to acknowledge, discuss, and address issues of race and racism

·         the experiences described in the interviews were often distressing and emotionally draining to deal with and discuss

My next step is to “pull out” the stories that best illustrate these issues and themes and to prepare them for use in a workshop I will do with a group of Ithaca School District teachers in early December.  These teachers are “equity mentors” from each of the schools in the district, and in this role they attend workshops around issues of diversity then lead trainings, in each of their schools, based on what they’ve learned.  During spring semester, 2010, I’ll also be leading a series of workshops, with another group of Ithaca teachers who are interested in better addressing issues of race and racism in their teaching.  After that I’ll begin to write articles about my study for presentation at conferences and publication in journals in the field of education. 

Already, though, stories from this project have become an important part of my teaching, as these life experiences provide compelling illustration for some of the things we are reading about and discussing in my classes.  These stories powerfully convey the importance of being more sensitive and skilled in addressing issues of race and racism in schools.  I am deeply appreciative these parents/caregivers have been willing to give of their time and emotion to contribute their stories, and I am humbled and motivated by what they’ve told me.

Jeff Claus, Associate Professor, Education Department--October 21, 2009 

           Have you ever taken time to go back and thank a teacher who made a difference in your life? Almost all of us can remember a special teacher at some point along the way who left a lasting impression on us. It might even be that this teacher is one of the reasons why you might be thinking about becoming a teacher.

            I was fortunate to have lots of great teachers in my life and each one of them has had a role to play in shaping my life. Mr. Chambers taught me how to love poetry. His favorite phrase when the class was struggling with a passage was, “Move that word and look behind it for the meaning.” I didn’t know it then, but that was my initiation into the critical thinking process. Mr. Chambers also ran “Fridays with C.” He would be available in his classroom every Friday during lunch period and we could bring our lunch to his room and chatter on about everything and anything. Sometimes our conversations were about school and sometimes they were about life. He never pushed his own agenda, but he had a way of getting us to look at things from different perspectives. I didn’t know it then, but he was teaching us how to look at issues from multiple perspectives. And then there was Mr. Caruso who taught math. Math was always my least favorite subject and I struggled mightily, but I loved Mr. Caruso. He convinced me that I could do it and he never allowed me to give up on myself. He knew that I was really uncomfortable being called on in class until I had time to listen to other students’ questions and learn from his responses to them. So he always waited to ask me a question until at least half way through the lesson. I didn’t know it then, but now I know that he was demonstrating the importance of individual differences in students and how important it is to get to know your students and how they learn if you are going to be a truly effective teacher. Mr. Iacovino taught social studies and he helped me through the most difficult time in my life when my Dad passed away. He knew just what to say and do and I will never forget his kindness to me.

            When I look at my own life, I see each of these three teachers and their influence in how I approach the world. I am grateful for the role each one of them played. I was only able to thank two of them in a formal way. Mr. Caruso died shortly after I graduated from high school. Teachers are a little bit like farmers; they till the soil, plan seeds, and water the plants regularly while they are under their care. But unlike farmers who get to see the results of their efforts when the crops come in, teachers don’t always see the fruits of their labors long-term. They plant lots of seeds, but it is often years later when their crops come in as students mature and find their own place in the world. Is there a teacher in your life who would love to hear from you? Perhaps this is a great time to say thank you.

   The end of the fall semester is always an exciting time for our education students and faculty. It marks the end of formal classes meant to prepare students for their semester of student teaching which will begin in January. Students have their teaching assignments and the holiday break gives them a few final weeks to pour over texts they will be using, dream a bit about how they want their curriculum units to unfold, and put the final touches on their professional teaching wardrobes. It is a time of anticipation. While this interim time period does signal the end in some ways,  it also marks the exciting start of our students' professional lives.

   As faculty, it is now time to step back a bit and allow our students to demonstrate what they have learned. While we'll still be available to offer support and advice from time to time, we are confident that every student we have placed for student teaching has the potential to be successful in the classroom. We'll miss the quick little visits in our offices for advice on a lesson plan, the class discussions where we dissect a teaching strategy gone awry, the recounting of encounters with students during field placements, and the general sense of excitment as student teaching draws nearer and nearer.

   It is time! You have been well prepared and you have our support and confidence. The end and the beginning is where we are right now. Touch the future - teach!