My School Demographics
My school demographics represent a highly diverse community with a wide span of cultural and language backgrounds. The languages spoken by this diverse group of multilingual students, teachers, administrators, parents and other community members had included: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Hindi (India), Italian, Khmer (Cambodia), Korean, Laos, Malays, Nepali, Pashto, Poqomchi (Guatemala), Spanish, Swahili (Republic of Congo), Turkish, Vietnamese, and other Indigenous languages. In 2020, my school is comprised of 43% Asian, 33% Hispanic, 12% White, 9% Black and 4% Multi-Racial.17 About 50% are English Language Learners (ELL), 10% had exited out of ELL services, and 20% are children of immigrants who were born in the United States (these students are not classified to receive ELL services, even though a language other than English is primarily spoken at home). That’s an estimated total of 80% of the student body is comprised of recent immigrants or children of immigrants. I believe I have a huge responsibility to teach all students in a culturally responsive way that is compatible with – as well challenging to – how their brains function in a language other than English. It is important to teach history without marginalizing our diverse learners. As teachers, we often underestimate our students, especially the ELL, Special Education students, and students of color, by giving them below grade level work. When a struggling reader is able to read texts two or three years below his grade level, it is NOT time to celebrate, but it is time to set higher goals. Teachers should stop promoting a false sense of accomplishment that may cripple the growth of all learners. Primary sources from this unit can level the playing fields for all learners and at the same time, present students with new challenges and ways to think critically and imaginatively their rightful place in history.
Comments: