Yesterday a couple of girls asked me to help them with their history worksheet because they can't really read their history book. One section of the worksheet asked for three conflicts between the French and English, when they took place, and what the outcomes were. We answered all these questions.
Today the students came back with two of those three conflicts marked as wrong, which resulted in an "F" on their papers. Great. I can get A's in college yet I manage to get an F in 8th grade history. So I looked at the paper again, and the only thing I could determine is that conflict=war rather than conflict=war or problem. So we listed three wars, and I told them I hoped that was what their teacher was looking for. But really, the original answers made sense. I am realizing that I have great potential to be that mother who helps her kids with their homework and then calls the teacher upset when my child does poorly. I do not want to be that mother.
I guess it's just challenging to help these girls with their homework when they can't read the text. Usually I try to help by teaching strategies, enabling them to do the work on their own in the future (scaffolding). But I couldn't do that with this because they couldn't read it in the first place. Their teacher should really be giving them a modified assignment (and the classroom teachers do have opportunities to go to workshops on how to modify their material for ESL students). What do the students learn from me practically doing their assignment, besides that teachers are fallible creatures (and did I really want them to know that? :) )?
3 comments:
Good job anyway Julie! Perhpes the students should learn to ask clarifying questions of their teachers?
hey julie - poncho here. i understand the struggles with ESL students. for the vast majority of my students English is their second and sometimes 3rd language. in my novels class (wait a PE teacher teaching an English course? what is the world coming to?!) i like to have them read out loud from time to time and some of the students struggle so much that it hurts. do i just not do it or do i let them work though it in class? if you have any advice - since you're so brilliant and all - let me know.
hey ponch - you're teaching a novels class!? i'm so glad you're coming over to the side of the English teachers. :)
but really, thanks for your empathy in this. the thing with ESL students it that each student is at a different level of understanding English, and, depending on their level, they are only capable of doing certain things with the language. it's a matter of scaffolding the information and skills so that they can move forward.
i have information on this that i can send you with more explanation. i'm guessing you're school does not have a test used to assess levels of ESL learners, but once you know how to classify the levels, you might be able to get a sense of where you're students are.
do you want me to send you some info? i'm guessing you're super busy being a first year teacher and all, but the info is not from a textbook, it's from the DOE and meant for mainstream teachers to put into their classrooms, so it's pretty easy to follow without any training in ESL.
wow, what a long response!
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