Graduation and ESOL

Getting this group to sit still for ONE decent class picture was, well, you know...

We've wrapped up another school year, and though two years of official teaching doesn't sound like much, I feel I've experienced SO much more than twenty-ish months of classroom instruction. Beginning this career hasn't been easy. Ok, starting ANY new career can be full of headaches, and when young twenty somethings decide to relocate to work outside their zone of family community, finding connections through the "good ol boy" system is ZILCH. You have to start from scratch, and that can be a herculean feat. If you teach at your alma mater, that's a gratifying experience. I'm sure of that. I've met so many people who say things such as, "Yeah, I graduated from here back in..." or the occasional, "Yeah, I student-taught here, so after that, they gave me a job." I sometimes find myself envying (what sounds like) the smooth transition from menial apprentice to fellow co-worker.  Being ME and my typical self, I chose the longer, more winding path, but for some reason deep within, I felt an inner drive to go somewhere new. I hate it sometimes, because it's awkward being the outsider who "didn't grow up around here."

Here I am, pictured with my two favorite seniors!

This school year was valuable to me for one major reason: my ESOL class. Teaching English to "speakers of other languages" is becoming more and more prevalent throughout the U.S, and schools are working hard to keep up with rising numbers of the ELL population. For years, I ignored the media's talk of immigration. Not anymore. I personally feel that having students from other countries/cultures adds rich dimension to the class environment. Teachers who have "English-learners" on their rosters should value the presence of such students and make an effort to speak to them one-on-one. Quite often, their backgrounds are different than ours, and thus their beliefs, attitudes, and expectations are worth learning. When teaching students from other counties (or for that matter, ANY student from a culture or background that differs greatly from our own), we become more educated and more sensitive to the needs and desires of such students. 

Another new detail I've observed this year: Teachers are excellent at content instruction, but may lack confidence when it comes to reaching our English learners, especially those ELs with lower English proficiency levels. After all, who enjoys being misunderstood? Not the teacher, and certainly not the student.

".....I'm as free as a bird now..."

"She seems like a sweet girl, but she won't talk in class, and I don't know how to make her understand the homework."

"Oh, you teach so-and-so? How can you understand him? I can't understand him when he talks."

There's much more to stay about this topic, but I'll save it for future posts. Being granted the opportunity to work with these students has been a blessing that I'll probably never completely comprehend. Perhaps the fact that I am also somewhat (I mean, just an insignificant little bit) of an "outsider" helps me relate.