I read the article, Supporting the Literacy Development of Children Living in Homeless Shelters. I found this article particularly interesting in how effective literacy can be for someone of poverty. Last year was the first time that I had experienced having a student in my classroom that was living in a homeless shelter. He was a seventh grade student who has spent most of his life in and out of homeless shelters. What was most interesting about this student was that he was illiterate. This article shows how powerful literacy can be to someone who doesn't have much money. I often wonder how different this students life would be if he would have learned how to read. This article shows many ways in which a teacher can help a student who is living in shelters. Literacy can be a great outlet for students who are struggling with matters outside of the classroom. Something as simple as reading a book will help educate the children who have to live in homeless shelters giving them a better chance at making a better life when they grow older.
I liked how this article took you through five basic ways to help bring literacy into the homeless shelters. I think the most important point they made was to work with the director of the homeless shelter. If you want to implement any sort of literacy inside the shelter you must run it by the director first. You will need to explain to them how this will be a great way to help educate the students who are living in the shelters and also how it is inexpensive. There was a sentence in the article that stood out to me it was, "as educators, we must all first recognize the potential and possibility even in the most seemingly unlikely places." This shows that teachers need to be aware of all of there students backgrounds and understand that just because they may not have the most ideal living situation they are still fully capable of being a great student they just may need a little different teaching methods or in this case more resources. I dont see a reason not to bring literacy into the shelters as it will only help educate more people in this world.
As a teacher it is important to know all your students. By knowing your students you will have the ability to help them with their struggles. I read the article by Freeman. This article discussed the importance of recognizing struggling ELS learners. Each child has a different situation but they have similar traits. By getting background information on the students, you can work with the student but also have them going to other classes to help the situation.
ReplyDeleteI believe ELL students need a lot of support like the article was talking about. Teachers need to take the initiative and help the students scaffold their learning. In my Lansing school we have many students that struggle because of poverty issues. That is one of the main focuses in the classroom. Because of this, other issues like ELL students get passed up. There is one student that speaks Spanish in the home but in school is struggling to learn English. The other day he was asked to write words and he wrote “Si” instead of “yes”. My teacher was worried about his lack of performance so he was just admitted for special education help.
I also have student in my Haslett preschool class that speaks Russian in the home, and in school struggles with language in the classroom. He mixes up his letters and has poor recognition of letters. To help him and acknowledge that he is an ELL student we keep close attention to him that he is meeting all of the requirements. Also we add Russian books so he can compare with the English ones.
English language learner students should not slip through the cracks because they were not able to learn the language right away. As parents and teachers they need to work together to find the extra help that the student needs. It’s good that the student’s attributes are recognized in the classroom and encouraged to learn both languages.
In both of these articles in addition to the Scott article focus on establishing a relationship with your students. Whether your students are from extremely poverty stricken areas, families of varying languages, or urban environments, it is incredibly important to genuinely get to know your students, their needs and abilities.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes about teaching is "If a child cannot learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn" - Ignacio Estrada It is far easier to figure out how a child learns when we have taken the time to get to know them and their home situations.
In my placement for this class, most of the students are from middle class, English speaking backgrounds. I have, however, had experiences in the past with children that have come to the area as refugees. These children are not only dealing with language barriers, but more often than not poverty, tragedy, and difficult family dynamics. In these situations, when it can be very difficult to get to know the students, it is the most important! A teacher can better support his or her students if he/she is able to understand what is going on in the students' lives.
I have also had the opportunity to work with children from urban environments, such as those in this article. These students are also dealing with issues of poverty, racism, family hardships, among other things. If we can get to know our students, both as people and students, hopefully we will be able to be better teachers for them.