Adventures

I’m not really sure what week of observations I’m on…would have to check the field notes to know for sure. They’re going well. I’ve learned a lot.

First round of interviews start this week. I’ll let you know how those go.

I know I haven’t updated in a while. To be honest, it’s mostly because I hate blogging. But here’s an update on where I am…(if you’ve forgotten/I don’t know if I ever told you, but my thesis is on Best Practices in Teaching Reading to ELL 2nd graders)

I began my observations at the elementary school yesterday. I have a lot to work with. I will be observing 2 students in particular and interviewing their mainstream teacher, ESL pull out teacher, and the reading recovery teacher. I am taking a Critical Ethnographic approach, so I will be a participant-observer, offering any classroom help that I can. Since it’s only been 2 days, I haven’t gotten to do much, but I’m looking forward to it.

Another update soon.

Strange. It’s odd to think I’m more than halfway done with my internship, but when I think of how much I’ve done and learned it doesn’t seem so odd. I have finished the initial research stage and have nearly finished my principal interviews. The next step is the final report that I will write up for NCLR, detailing my background research, findings, and recommendations for NCLR and its affiliate schools. I only have three weeks left, and then it will be two weeks of locked-away research, where I will begin exploring the SLA perspective of language learning. I can’t wait to start exploring the connections that will morph into my final thesis product. I have already learned so much through the surveys/interviews combined with my previous literature review. I think what I’ve learned the most is that there is no formula for a successful school–which brings about the question what is the measure of a successful school? I’m not going to go off on a tirade about the ineffectiveness of NCLB and standardized testing as the banes of principals because the practical reality is that every school must accept standardized testing in some form and realize there is a time and a place for it. However, these tests are not the measures of schools. I’m finding the only way to measure a successful school is to talk to parents, principals, students, teachers and anyone else with a role in fostering an appreciation for literacy and learning. And when I think about that, all I can think is, whoever’s job that is (mine currently), have fun and good luck.

 Catches.

 PS: this post is especially vague and fruitless due to severe foot pain. you’ll get a follow up eventually.

Soon after writing my first post, I realized that unless you actually knew where I was and what I was doing (and there’s no reason why you should), then it probably doesn’t make very much sense. So to alleviate some of this confusion and convince you that I am in fact capable of a competent blog post, here’s a brief rundown of what I’m doing this summer and senior year.

 I am currently interning at the National Council of La Raza, a non-profit Latino-American civil rights and advocacy group. NCLR is a pretty big organization with several components and hundreds of affiliates. I’m working with their Education component following up on a project done by last year’s summer intern. I contacted La Raza midway through this past spring semester, asking them if I could intern with them, doing some sort of research project in preparation for my senior thesis in the fall. They assigned me a project surveying the services that their affiliate private/charter schools offer to ELL (English language learner) students. While waiting for the completed surveys to trickle back in, I have been doing a literature review of the types of TESL practices and models. I’m also conducting several principal interviews of schools that were recommended by their NCLR regional directors for having solid programs. The goal of the study is to survey the different models and teaching strategies put into place in these schools to assess the effective and still developing strategies. At the end of my stint here, I will write up a descriptive analysis of our findings and any significant implications.

When I return to WM in the fall, I’ll continue the research I have been doing but with a slight shift in perspective. Here at La Raza, I am focusing entirely on praxis. My thesis, however, will also research the latest second language acquisition (SLA) theories. The hope is to find some way to bridge SLA theories, which claim to understand the best way for individuals to learn language, and practical teaching models. Obviously a complete union of the two is idealistically impossible because there are so many factors that go into SLA that a teacher could never control in a classroom of 30, but if understanding of the two and how they interact can be brought closer together then I’ll consider my goal met.

So it’s taken a couple weeks but I’ve finally gotten settled in to my groove at La Raza, and things are looking great. My only task for the summer is my survey project and its corresponding research (which are both exclusively my own), so I have a lot of freedom to do what I need to get everything done. As the survey responses have begun to trickle in, I have begun setting up principal interviews to find out more about the dual language and bilingual education programs affiliated with NCLR. I have definitely been doing my own independent research to keep up because a lot of the techniques these schools use are very new to the literature and constantly changing.

Since all of the schools I have been working with are either charter or private schools they have many privileges that America’s public schools do not. It’s been really great to see schools that are able to implement unnecessarily controversial programs like dual language programs without the political obstacles that the public school systems face. At the same time, it makes it even more sad to see that these programs are effective and thriving, but where they’re most needed, they are only met with opposition and stigmatization. My hope is that this summer, I will be able to learn as much as I can about these programs, and when I go off to pursue my own teaching job, I’ll be able to implement the techniques I’ve learned in face of the millions of obstacles ESL teachers must face.