Thursday, October 18, 2007
Implications for The Immigration Explosion and No Child Left Behind
Public schools continue to be a mirror of the problems within our society. The United States has found that there is no simple solution to the exponentially growing illegal immigrant problem and its demands on public schools. As the government struggles to find a solution, public schools are increasingly feeling the burden to educate all children and “leave no child behind.” There are a number of implications for the future if this growing problem is not resolved. They include significant communication breakdowns that affect safety and lack of educational support to meet regulations set by federal standards. Current statistics prove the minority is slowing becoming the majority in schools. There are more than 4.4 million LEP children in public schools in the United States - twice the number of a decade ago, and nearly 10 percent of total enrollment. Whites are now in minority in nearly one in ten U.S. counties. As of 2006, non-Hispanic whites made up less than half the population in 303 of the nation's 3,141 counties, according to figures the Census Bureau. Both populations, minority language speakers and limited English speakers, are growing rapidly because of immigration and birthrates higher than the U.S. average. The reality is that language and cultural barriers and misunderstandings can get in the way of effective communication and create complications within schools, including problems with safety. It is not unusual for immigrant children to get over looked merely because of their limited English speaking abilities and their cultural differences. Immigrant children tend to be very compliant, with the goal of blending in. This poses great challenges for teachers who have difficulty recognizing the child’s true understanding of concepts and safety rules. Public schools do not have adequate support for bilingual education in order to effectively teach the growing numbers and meet targeted proficiency goals set by No Child Left Behind. Bilingual education is necessary to smooth over the transition of increasingly diverse classrooms. Addressing the illegal immigrant problem is necessary for all aspects in society particularly in education. It is not difficult to see what lays on the horizon if the immigrant population continues to grow faster than the English-speaking population without significant changes.
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2 comments:
It is interesting to see that the immigrant children can act so differently from inside to outside of the classroom. If my understanding is right, the kids tend to try and blend in during class yet outside of class conflicts concerning safety occur concerning the kids. Typically I categorize blending in with being quiet and stand offish, where those who cause conflict are considered to be more outgoing and open. I know that this is based on stereotypes, but I was wondering what an explanation could be for this behavior. Also are the safety issues that occur typically initiated by the immigrants, other students, or are they equally distributed?
Safety issues in schools are apparent in all children, not just immigrants. Immigrant children just have unique safety issues due to the fact that they have little to no understanding of the English language. These safety concerns arise from the inability of teachers and administrators to communicate effectively with the students. This breakdown in communication is a primary cause of disciplinary problems that could have potentially been because a student was unclear of what a rule meant. Teachers don’t have translators to assist in the communication process between their non-English speaking students. Poor communication can also put non-English speaking students in danger. These students stand the risk of getting lost on field trips for example because they don’t understand the directions given by the teacher. Another problem schools run into is when non-English speaking students miss their ride home. The administration finds it very difficult to get a hold of the parent because the student cannot tell the administrators his or her own address or the address is not on file.
I believe that immigrant children behave in such a way because of their appreciation for education. Typically immigrant children are given more opportunities in the United States to learn. The majority of these students probably didn’t have the chance to go to school where they came from or the minimal education offered was not satisfactory. Immigrant children’s level of appreciation is much higher than those American students who almost take education for granted. Furthermore, immigrant children are in a new and almost intimidating environment where they feel like they must perform in a manner that allows them to stay. Finally, the culture of immigrant children tends to be drastically different than those of American students. Foreigners are likely to have a greater amount of respect and authority towards teachers.
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