Question:
In explaining this point to resentful residents, Mr. Grubbs does not
cite the United States Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe,
in which the court ruled that public schools must educate all children,
whether they are in the country legally or not. He simply says that
these children are going to enter the work force some day and pay "your
Social Security."
This the quote you refer to, Richard? BJ is an ESL teacher. Wonder if she's
encountered this: "The regular teachers' attitude often is, let's hand the
E.S.L. student to the E.S.L. teacher and say, `Here is an E.S.L. student. Now
fix him.'
Answer:
I wish I could read the article without paying for the privilege. If so, I
would be better able to comment.
At my school, most of the classroom teachers are really interested in
helping the ESL students. Of course, there are always a few with the "YOUR
students" attitude. For the most part, however, classroom teachers are
frustrated because they don't know how to help the children. Fortunately,
ESL students come in all sorts of packages. A few speak no English at all
when they come to school. Most of my students, however, do speak some or a
lot of English. Often they are still in ESL because they can't yet read and
write English. It's the Newcomers, the ones who speak no English at all,
who pose the greatest concern for the classroom teacher. It's hard with 25
or more students in the classroom to find meaningful things for one
non-English-speaking student to do. The teachers are sympathetic to the
children and frustrated that they can't do more. Even with my 23 years of
ESL teaching experience, I can't help them plan a full day of meaningful
classroom activities for a single child who cannot speak English. We do try
to place newcomers in classrooms with another more English-fluent students
who speak the same native language. Having a translator on hand is a big
help.
The law regarding educating children of illegal aliens is something I think
most non-ESL teachers are unaware of. Besides, teachers don't know whether
the child is legal or illegal. It is against the law for us to ask.
Personally, I disagree with the Supreme Court's ruling, but that doesn't
affect how I deal with the children.
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