Bi-Lingual Education

Bi-Lingual Education Essay Bilingual EducationEducation is very important. There use to be a time when you didn’t have to go to school. When it was only important for men to have an education. Times have really changed. Now it is crucial for everyone in our society to have an education. Survival is the main reason: a cohesive society is another. Our schools today need to keep Bilingual education as a tool for teaching: not only for the sake of our society but also for the sense of our culture. Bilingual education in our schools is crucial: but still there is talk about banning the use of foreign language in the instruction of our young children. We have to work to change that kind of attitude. We have to proceed from the assumption that bilingual education is a sound educational proposition for all children and that it addresses the needs of all the constituencies of education. Now more than ever the words of Thomas Jefferson ring with special meaning: in 1977, in a letter to his nephew, Jefferson said: â€Å"Bestow great attention on Spanish and endeavor to acquire an accurate knowledge of it. Our future connections with Spain and Spanish America will render that language a valuable acquisition. The ancient history of that part of America, too, is written in that language†. (qt. in A Relook ’66). Hispanic leaders should plan an initiative to help Hispanic youths do better in school. Its a coming-together as a community to deal with a very pressing issue. The organizations should be composed of public officials, students, educators, administrators, and business people and should try to determine the biggest problems facing Latino students in their community. These groups need to work together to develop a statewide agenda. Hispanic students, according to some studies, lag behind other students in classroom performance; have the highest dropout rate of any ethnic group in the country; and, according to federal data, are less likely to pursue higher learning(Tucson â⠂¬â„¢66). We as a society, need to have a school system that prepares our students for higher education if that is their choice. Society needs to work together to change the educational process for Latino students. Consider these numbers, which we drew from As A Relook at Tucson ’66 states† Minority groups are being shortchanged by more than 200,000 teaching jobs in the public elementary and secondary schools of the nation. In 1972, the enrollment of the nation’s public schools was 44.6 million. As a relook at Tucson ’66 states, the number of English speakers in the Western Hemisphere is only slightly larger than that of Spanish speakers. By the year 2000 the number of Spanish speakers will be far greater than the number of english speakers. Statistics indicate that the United States is now one of the major Spanish-American countries. One statistical example: If the figures on illegal Mexican aliens are correct, that means that every year the United States adds another city the size of Albuquerque and Tucson combined. Or, put it another way, it adds another state larger in population than Wyoming and Alaska combined†(a relook at Tucson 14). The policy of most governments toward bilingualism in the home is and long has been one of neglect. A few countries actively encourage it, especially if the second (non-community) language is the more important language in the country or in the world, or if the minority (community) language is the language of a group given special consideration under the law. Many countries, which have recently been colonies, for example, encourage their young people to learn the language of their former Mother Country, because bilingualism of this type is important in international trade and politics. However, we could find castles full of research and still very little is being done in public schools to improve and enforce bilingual education. We have to use the research being conducted about bilingual edu cation and improve bilingual education. Some public schools want to stop bilingual education, saying that its detrimental to students but they dont put any consideration in improving it, or educating themselves on the needs of not just Latino but all children. All bilingual children deserve further discussion on the issues of culture, immigration, ethnicity and adjustment. READ: Free Grapes of Wraths: Steinbeck's Language Essay Truly bilingual workers, proficient in English and a second language, will be more valuable and marketable as global trade continues to grow. With these facts in mind, some states are launching a visionary effort to develop a dual-language work force. The idea is to convince local school districts to offer a second language beginning at the prekindergarten level and encourage employers to help adults learn another language. Spanish is an obvious second-language choice for many because of the rapid growth of Hispanics in our country. The relationship with Mexico and Latin America will grow stronger if businesses take advantage of their position and opportunity. More than 22,500,000 of our countries population already speaks Spanish http://www.docuweb.ca/SiSpain/english/language/worldwid.html). However, officials cite a growing demand for more Spanish-speaking professionals. The future work force would be better positioned to build international connections if most professionals had a second language. Students would gain a better understanding of the world by learning another language. Pursuing a dual-language work force is a sound idea that will boost the countries’ economy and personally benefit its individuals. We as a society should encourage local school districts, businesses and civic-minded groups to embrace the effort. We must try to build a society were human diversity is promoted and not destroyed. The key to program improvement is not in finding a program that works for all children and all localities, or finding a program component (such as native language instruction) that works as some sort of magic bullet, but rather finding a set of program components that works for the children in the community of interest, given the goals, and resources of that community. The best bilingual education programs include all of these characteristics: ESL instruction, sheltered subject matter teaching, and instruction in the first language. Non-English-speakin g children initially receive core instruction in the primary language along with ESL instruction. As children grow more proficient in English, they learn subjects using more contextualized language (math and science) in sheltered classes taught in English, and eventually in mainstream classes. In this way, the sheltered classes function as a bridge between instruction in the first language and in the mainstream. In advanced levels, the only subjects done in the first language are those demanding the most abstract use of language (social studies and language arts). Once full mainstreaming is complete, advanced first language development is available as an option. Gradual exit plans, such as these, avoid problems associated with exiting children too early (before the English they encounter is comprehensible) and provide instruction in the first language where it is most needed. These plans also allow children to have the advantages of advanced first language development. A common argu ment against bilingual education is the observation that many people have succeeded without it. This has certainly happened. In these cases, however, the successful person got plenty of comprehensible input in the second language, and in many cases had a de facto bilingual education program. For example, Rodriguez (1982) and de la Pe?a (1991) are often cited as counter-evidence to bilingual education. Rodriguez (1982) tells us that he succeeded in school without a special program and acquired a very high level of English literacy. He had two crucial advantages, however, that most limited- English-proficient (LEP) children do not have. First, he grew up in an English-speaking neighborhood in Sacramento, California, and thus got a great deal of informal comprehensible input from classmates. Many LEP children today encounter English only at school; they live in neighborhoods where Spanish prevails. In addition, Rodriguez became a voracious reader, which helped him acquire academic lang uage. Most LEP children have little access to books. READ: Customer Service In Abc Stores EssayRandom assignment to treatment and control groups, as in medical experiments, is the highest quality research design because it increases the confidence in the conclusion that any differences between the groups after a period of treatment can be attributed to that treatment. The results from the five studies in which subjects were randomly assigned to bilingual and control programs favor bilingual education even more strongly. The estimated benefit of bilingual programs on all test scores in English according to these studies with random assignment is .26 of a standard deviation. The positive effect on reading scores is .41 of a standard deviation among the studies with random assignment. And the improvement in scores measured in Spanish is .92 of a standard deviation in the studies with random assignment to treatment and control groups. All of these estimated benefits of bilingual education from studies with random assignment are extremel y unlikely to have been produced by chance. The fact that the studies of bilingual programs with random assignment, the highest quality research design, have even stronger results greatly increases the confidence in the conclusion that bilingual education positively affects educational attainment. In sum, the NRC report finds that on average, bilingual education programs are more effective than English-only programs. However, there are many other important factors that influence student outcomes. There is much more work left to do by the schools if we are to enable LEP students to achieve at high academic levels. Improvement would have to focus on teachers, teaching, academic content and standards, accountability, school-wide leadership, program integration, parent involvement-and effective use of the native language to assure high level and meaningful learning for all students from the time they enter school. Proposition 227 removes an important tool use of the native language fr om the hands of educators it would only serve to make even more difficult the challenges of school improvement. A society with no education cannot compete in the modern world. We as a society need to fight to keep Bilingual education as a teaching tool in the schooling system. Social Issues

Unguarded Gates vs. A Broadway Pageant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unguarded Gates vs. A Broadway Pageant - Essay Example His enthusiasm overshoots his subjects, as Whitman makes references to different races, ethnicities and cultures of the world with poetic grace. This is in sharp contrast with Thomas Aldrichs poem, titled Unguarded Gates, which takes on hues of Xenophobia and White Supremecist attitude. In fact, the poem is so laced with hostility and fear toward other races and cultures that it would shock anyone reading today. It should be noted that not all of Aldrichs poems were like this, which explains why he was considered an important poet during his lifetime. But given that the poem was written toward the end of the nineteenth century and that Aldrich could not have foreseen the occurrence of the two World Wars, his attitude toward other peoples of the world, is more a product of ignorance than one of malice. Even Whitmans poem bears marks of cultural ignorance, a his references to the other exotic parts of the world is clichà ©d and stereotypical. In A Broadway Pageant, the reader can clearly see that Whitmans view of the Orient and beyond is no more than that acquired through postcard pictures and popular trivia. But Whitmans ignorance in this regard does not mitigate against the spirit of the poem, which is one of respect and regard for the cultural outsiders. At the time of Whitmans writing of the poem (circa 1860) the trans-pacific relations between the Orient and the New World was in its inf ancy. It would see its peak in the coming decades, before meeting the nadir during the 1940s, when Japan and the United States were are war. But, despite this temporary setback, it is a testament to the spirit of human solidarity that the two countries have maintained amicable economic relations ever since. This is consistent with the basic theme of A Broadway Pageant. Considering the times we live in, with the phenomenon of economic

Teach Me a Piece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teach Me a Piece - Essay Example In the later years, artists who were inspired to compose music with influences from Patton referred to him as their founding father. This paper will give a discussion on how the piece â€Å"High water everywhere† was constructed in terms of lyrics, the importance of the piece to me and audience at large and the social situation of the pieces composition. The discussion will also include the appropriate readings of the piece, and conclude with the important issues from the reading. The piece â€Å"High water everywhere†, has been constructed in two parts, the first part of the piece has seven verses, while the second part has six verses. The lyric is a lamentation of the flood calamity that had affected the whole of Mississippi. The lyrics continue on to address the aftermath of the flood, and what people ought to do to save one another from more harm. Patton, talks of how he wants to move to various places around the state, but those places too, had been affected by the flood that hit Mississippi. The melody in the song is smooth, since the piece itself had a theme of consoling the individuals faced by the calamity. The lyrics make the listeners of the piece emotional as it features a real story about peoples suffering. Patton sang solo while playing a guitar (Springer 60). The piece is important to me due to a number of reasons. I respect Patton from the start because he pioneered the development of a new genre of music better known as delta blues. Pattons creativity aided in the development of a novel genre of music, which had never been witnessed before. The piece is also important since it has embedded history in a form of melody. The piece managed to ease the pain experienced by victims of the Mississippi floods. The piece is one of the songs in the 1920s that took to heart a social situation. Most artists, during the 1920s, composed songs whose themes addressed issues of love and the general art of seduction. I am intrigued with Patton because

Media Coverage of Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Media Coverage of Climate Change - Essay Example The mention of virtue is ridiculed, and even the word itself has fallen out of favor" (1928). This assignment reflects on the media coverage of climate change in United Kingdom and struggle towards exploring how British newspaper reports on climate change. There are some historical issues that have been discussed in this analytical report. It also provide with the literature review of history of climate change and how the media contributed a great deal towards communicating environmental issues. It also sheds light on how some famous newspapers of Britain reporting on climate change. According to research, if newspapers do not exaggerate it will be more meaningful and real to public. As a reporter, they need to find out how they can report the news that engage public and awake their attention rather than create havoc among them. The review of literature will look at several British newspapers related to reporting climate change. It will also shed some light on what is Climate change, what is Global Warming and how it effects the environment. Climate is the pattern of weather in a particular place, how much windy and sunshine it gets, how much rain it's going to be is all included in weather change. As we all know the world climate is all under the influence of sun. Since the beginning of the universe, the earth rotates on a tilted axis, and because of this different of the world is heated at different times making some places hotter than other and cause change in season. The change in temperature causes the change in air pressure, producing storms, hurricanes. The sun's temperature also warms up the seas unevenly which sometimes causes underwater winds. Association between atmosphere and oceans sometimes produce critical weather patterns such as El-Nino, a sort of strange weather happens every few years in the pacific. Scientists are of the view that large amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere, and hotter temperature on earth affects the climate and brings change across the whole planet. And this change is already on its way to earth in different parts of the world. But it's nothing new. Earth's climate has been changing over from the past hundreds of millions of years, sometime getting colder sometimes warmer. Climate change people talk about these days is somewhat different. Scientists believe that it is not happening naturally but our way of living and consumption is making it happen. Mostly it is caused by gradual increase in fossil fuels. Traditional or natural climate change makes the whole world hotter or cooler, whereas modern climate change is making more erratic changes all over the places, making some places hotter and some cooler. This is what Global Warming is. Global warming works according to climate change. It's all because of what people do. Earth is getting warmer year by year but not in the sense of short term. It has been happening since 1990. Since then the whole planet has warmed up upto 0.8 degrees centigrade. And it is likely that by the end of the 21st century it's going to get 2.5 degree centigrade

Social Story W3 - Autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Story W3 - Autism - Essay Example To measure how often Adam stops playing with others or calls others â€Å"stupid† or â€Å"dumb†, his parents will be given a worksheet as will the other teachers he has and any friends of his who are willing to cooperate. They will tally the times, and for the adults, teachers and parents, there will be a note as to how the issue arose and how it resolved. Their perception of how angry Adam is will be ranked from 1 to 5. Adam is able to be very nice to others. He can be very outgoing and friendly. These skills serve him well in general. But he gets into trouble when he cant arrange his play or work with others or cooperate. Adam will be told when he is trading with others in Pokemon to explain why he wants their Pokemon, why it is in their best interests to trade, and to offer compromises. One simple compromise is for Adam to offer to catch new Pokemon for them, so that way they keep the one they want and he gets the one he needs from them. Adam and his friends will be encouraged to play games like Shadow Over Camelot where they have to learn how to cooperate with others and detect traitors. He will learn that there are some games where social skills, negotiation, understanding others needs and motivations, and empathizing with others are actually part of the skill set of the game. This will help him learn that others will not be â€Å"stupid† if they are playing the game that way. Adam will be given three warnings for playing with others for calling them â€Å"stupid† or disparaging them. If he fails, he will be given a timeout. If he can avoid doing so for several days in a row, the amount of days increasing slowly over time, he will be given access to a game of his choice. Adam will be taught to work with his friends on a game swapping system. He will be taught to play games they like on alternating days with the games he likes, so that he can try different games and cooperate with others. He will learn how to play social games this

Drama paper- August Wilson's Fences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drama paper- August Wilson's Fences - Essay Example For instance, the Big Bang Theory that was developed by theoretical physicists, and which is still studied up until today, argues that the Earth came about as a result of a gigantic collision of two monumental celestial bodies. There have been rather convincing evidences to this claim. In fact, science has successfully documented many proofs of the theory’s parallel notion to the basic principles of physics. So, in considering spirituality, faith or religion, as against science, evolution, and the old-Earth creation, which way should you go? Personally, I have been through a lot of stern confrontations in the past in so far as my faith, my spirituality is concerned. Due to the fact that religion and Christianity have been made known to man for so many years, there is a sense of inevitability in the way people conceive God. For me, I would not say that I do not personally believe in God, but in the same manner, I have my own questions about life, my existence, and the Creation. The doubts could come from various facets. Firstly, the question about whether the Bible is indeed written by God, or by the prophet who He [God] has provided vision to. Logically, there could be no answer to these questions because before the Bible has been introduced to humanity, there was no pre-existing concept about God. Everything was purely a sight of nature, and even if we go back to the times of the prophets, we could not discern whether these prophets really did exist because the only account we have that tells of their pre-historical existence is the Bible. Hence, the Bible indeed requires faith, a strong faith. Following this argument, sometimes I tried to reconcile science and faith by transporting the findings of science to the accounts found in the Bible. But this is just entirely futile in that science and faith are two contradictory entities: Faith is in the light of faith; science is in the light of evidence. But I believe in both; hence, it places me in a crossro ad where a very difficult decision should be made. If only I intended to be partial at my discernment over this particular matter, it would have been a stumbling upshot for me. No belief needs to be discarded; both can co-exist but they, faith and science, should not be related in all essence. ` Sometimes, since I somehow consider myself a believer, God is rather real to me. In my walk with God, I would not say that everything was a walk-in-the-park or a bed of roses; there were also some stumbling encounters that really shook my little faith and question God’s promises mentioned in the Bible. For instance, God said in John 3:16, â€Å"For God so loved the word that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.† (New International Version, John 3:16). At times, this verse could be very doubtful. Problem has been and will always be part of a person’s life. So, normally for a believer such as I, there is a insti nctive resort to God; but despite all of the confessions and sacrifices that you do, still you do not receive what you asked for. But it is not all sadness and confusion though. I have been through a lot of joyous moments in my walk with God. I know I am not the perfect believer but through time, I have learned to value God’s love to humanity and His unending provision to His people. Sometimes, I also reach lofty heights of faith. In those instances, I have realized that belief in God and His promises are not merely determined by how much logic you have in your

State-Supported Terrorism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

State-Supported Terrorism - Assignment Example These are the nations that pose a threat to the US National Security, although Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also come under the same list of â€Å"passive sponsorships† but regardless to their activities they are excluded out deliberately. In article 3 the writer, Daniel Byman has identified the states that are passively sponsoring terrorist organizations around the world. The states that are prominently known for their support are Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, and Lebanon. These states in order to strengthen their security jeopardize the National Security of US and drag societies into the darkest propensities. It is a widely known fact that 9/11 was orchestrated with the help of Saudi Arabia of which funding transactions were traced evidently displaying Saudi Arabia’s tacit terrorist sponsorship for destroying US security. Likewise, Pakistan is held responsible for the Talibanization within the country, as the members of its intelligence ISI are in full support of Al-Qaeda. These countries which are referred to as â€Å"non-state actors† stay at the corner, some may as well agree on fighting terrorism becoming invaluable allies for the time being. The problem is not with their attitude of doing something instead it’s their attitude of doing nothing at all about the prevailing threats to the national security. One way these states react to these problems is that they offer a middle ground to the problem to safeguard their own security they shift their problem to others by offering the terrorists to stay and get arrested or leave which moves them to other countries where they perform acts of terrorism. These terrorist groups often act as government’s partners and not as their agents, although they openly deny the accusations it is evident with the size of their training setups, their methods of recruitments and funding.