The Role Of Immigrants In The Classroom

First off, it’s important to understand the difference between learning and education. Learning is the ability of an individual’s brain to acquire and retain information for a lifetime, whereas education is an aide to further strengthen a student’s learning capacity with the use of resources: teachers, libraries, classroom environment, etc. All students are essentially equal when they enter the educational environment, however students who don’t speak English have an unfair disadvantage in the american educational system.

English learners are currently the fastest developing student population in schools today. This makes it extremely important to provide these students with the programs and services they deserve. Providing a strong education for ELL students is what I personally believe to be an asset in America’s future. Today there are many challenges I believe teachers and students face when it comes to instruction and assessments.

I have read about how immigrants struggle to get their education in the United States because of lack of well qualified ESL teachers, limited resources in schools for immigrants etc. The education system has been very unfair for the immigrants because very little things are done to help them be more successful in getting their education. In an article published in Harvard University journal a researcher says, “Even though one out of every four children in the United States is an immigrant or the U.S.-born child of immigrants, many schools are ill-equipped to meet their needs,” which shows how the education system has not been fair for the immigrants (Tamer). As we all know there are lots of immigrants in United States and I think that the education system in United States should be changed in such a way that it suits everyone including the immigrants. In the same article Tamer says, “Even though one out of every four children in the United States is an immigrant or the U.S.-born child of immigrants, many schools are ill-equipped to meet their needs”, which shows more importance of schools and programs to help the immigrants in the United States.

“Where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin minority-group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students.” (Smith, 1990)

When these non-English-speaking children arrive at their local school for the first time, they will unfairly be expected to perform at the same level academically as their English-speaking peers, and this will be a big challenge for them because they will have a hard time understanding what their teachers are teaching and what their textbooks are saying. In addition, learning the English language is especially important for young English language learners who have recently immigrated to the United States because they have an additional and serious responsibility beyond just adding a new language; once they do begin to pick up the language, they will more than likely have to take on the role of translator for their parents and will become the sole line of communication between their non-English speaking parents and the school’s teachers, guidance counselors and administrators.

Over the years, there been people coming into America from all the direction globally including with their race/culture, religion/beliefs, gender/sex & age. More than half of the immigrant children are born in the United States. The common law of the United States of America is the constitution which derives the principles of the Civil Rights that offers appropriate education to any child born here or systematically gain citizenship. It can be very challenging for a child whose native language is not English but being given the access to high quality programs to best succeed in the classroom.

Education is one of the best ways to help immigrants to assimilate to their new country; in way that the faster they can learn the ways of the new country, the faster they can become a part of it. An immigrant’s children, if they even have any, need to be able to speak and read in English in order to attend classes and learn the material, as well as making friends. According to the Robert Wood Foundation, most immigrants would say that their lacks of English related skills are a major barrier to improving their life or social standards. Most school systems have what they call ESL classes, English

My child gets made fun of because he does not speak the English language very well and I cannot find a job because I speak little of the language. How can you help immigrants, mostly children, in getting an education?

What impact has immigration had on our school system? What laws have been enacted and overturned to protect the children of immigrants in the United States? What impact has it had on schools and the families? What impact does it have on me as a future teacher and on classrooms? These are just a few questions that I am hoping to discuss in this presentation. We are going to look at just how the children of immigrants have affected everyone in the fight for equal education.

Diverse cultures within the United States are rapidly developing and growing and the educational sector is the number one target to ensure that English –learners are receiving adequate education. Within the educational sector there are administrators and teachers who are involved in students lives on a daily basis to ensure that education is equal. In order to achieve the vital objective of equality, socio-cultural influences on ELL students, bilingualism and home language use, parental and community resources, and partnerships between families and schools all have to be considered to provide an opportunity for equal education.

If both immigrant parents go to work in a factory everyday and if there’s no adult that supervise the children while the parents are at work, the children are definitely at risk. And with the type of job in the factory that the parents do, the children are more likely not going to have a health insurance.

Tutored kids in a low-income housing project in Boston while in school. She felt powerless in the program because many of the students had emotional and physical experiences when they were younger that made educating them very challenging.

Compared with the native-born students, immigrant student success rate is significantly lower. Many immigrant children who struggle to reach their optimum levels in school because of language barriers, acculturation, and lack of resources at home. This problem is affecting thousands of young immigrant student is a negative way. When students newly come the United States, they have a difficult time with learning the English language and adapting to the way that schools work. What programs can schools implement to help immigrant student to ensure success in their new environment?

Through the years, many aspects in our society have become more competitive. Due to the economic problems that affect many countries, the process of finding a good job is getting tougher and more demanding. Regardless of what students are planning to do after they graduate from high school, students need to be college or career ready when they leave school. English Language Learner population in our schools is growing at a fast rate. ELL students form part of our society and the everyday changes taking place, will affect them too. ELL students need to leave our schools as well prepared as the native English speakers. Many students, regardless of their native language, struggle with Science and Math because they don’t understand the concepts that underlie the subject (Sotomayor, K. 2013)

In the United States, the term is often applied to English-language learners who need to develop English proficiency concurrently with academic language to succeed in schools where English is the primary language of instruction. All students, however, need to acquire academic language to thrive and succeed in academic settings, particularly students with cognitive or developmental delays, students who may live in unsupportive, dysfunctional, or unstable environments, and children from high-poverty, low-education, and otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds who enter school without basic language and literacy skills. By the time they begin school, most