The Successes and Failure of Educational Diversity Essay

The need for bilingual education is not directly related to the need for the student to have a more pleasant learning experience, but based more on the increasing need for these individuals to learn about their heritage, how they can present themselves to others in different scenarios, and being knowledgeable in both languages at a dual equivalence. The key

When America was founded, it was established on freedom and equality for all people. At first it was just religious freedom, but eventually freedom of speech, press, petition, and more. In time, America began to be known as a “melting pot” of cultures as more and more people came because they wanted this freedom; the more people who came though, the more problems America had. There were too many cultural discrepancies between people, and ultimately America, the country based on freedom and equality, faced challenges concerning diversity.

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

The United States is a diverse country of many cultures and languages. As diverse as the U.S. is, it is also the land were all dreams become a reality where everything is possible. That is why in recent years, bilingual education or dual-language education, has become a topic of interest and debate among the public. Some may think that bilingual education is waste of time, effort and money. However, these critics do not see the true benefits of a bilingual education. We need to focus on the positive aspects of a bilingual education and how it has benefited not only immigrant students but also American students among other matters.

Before outlining the arguments for and against bilingual education, it is first necessary to provide an overview of the controversy over bilingual education, and its emergence as a national debate. This controversy is basically centered on the question: Should the United States government incorporate the teaching of different languages into the public school system or not? Although it is currently permissible to learn secondary languages such as Spanish, French, German and Latin in public middle schools and high schools in the U.S., such classes have traditionally been geared toward broadening the educational experience for native English-speaking students. Therefore, rather than providing assistance to students whose native languages are not English, classes in American public schools are taught in English, despite the fact that increasing numbers of students in some areas of the U.S. do not speak English as their first language. In 1998, for example, (the most recent year for which statistics were available), statistics indicated that there were some

Four models of instruction are at the forefront of conversation in the great debate: (1) English submersion/structure immersion; (2) English as a Second Language (ESOL); (3) transitional bilingual education; and (4) two-way bilingual or dual language education. English submersion or structured immersion forces students to receive instruction in an English only setting. The teacher may utilize simplified English, through accommodations, so that students learn both English and academic subject material. This approach was initially known as the “sink or swim” approach, expecting students to “pick-up” the English language as they participate in instruction. The premise is that the more English a student is immersed in, the more proficient the student will become. Per Leidis Arechavaleta, “immersion was horrible, I remember crying for six months straight after being thrown in a classroom to start kindergarten when I was 4 years old” (Teacher and Cuban Immigrant, through personal communication, March 3, 2017). The second approach, English as a second language, looks similar to immersion however practices include support to individuals in their native tongue. Students may participate in either a push-in or pull-out model. In the pull-out model, students are removed from the general classroom setting and instructed for a portion of the day by an ESL teacher. Typically these classes are comprised of students who speak many different languages and receive English language instruction. They may attend classes for only a period a day, to work strictly on English skills, or attend for a full day and focus both on academics and English. Push-in models provide instructional assistance in the general education classroom by a specialized teacher. Transitional bilingual education offers instruction in the students’ native language and a certain amount of each day is spent on

Nearly everyone is required to take at least two years of a foreign language in order to attend college in the United States. But, how much does one really remember from that long ago high school Spanish Class? Imagine how much easier language would be to master, and how much more would be absorbed, if the languages were introduced in Kindergarten. By implementing more bilingual education programs within the United States Education System, children will begin to improve drastically academically, cognitively, and socially; Bilingual Education will also help to improve cultural awareness within both the American Education System and the United States itself.

In a globalized world, English is and has been universal language for communications around the world. For that reason, U.S. has never had an urgency to learn and appreciate foreign languages. Most of school systems treat language classes not important as the core curriculum. According to the current positions on bilingual education, schools in the United States teach languages at exactly the wrong time and exclude children from all the benefits that extend beyond pure communication. It’s extremely important to be bilingually educated to adapt into increasingly globalized world. Moreover, even necessary, for those who should reach out and speak at least one other language. Being bilingual comes with various advantages and immeasurable benefits.

It is true that in the last 150 years alone, bilingual education has come a long way and has been changed presumably for the better. Though, despite all of the good that has come from this evolution of education, there is still much more to be done. Bilingual education has quite a bit of improvement to be made in order to better benefit ELL students and help guide them through acculturation, rather than force them to assimilate to American society and bear the weight of racism and discriminatory

Bilingual education is a highly-debated subject in America and in many other countries. Many people are quick to point out problems produced by bilingual education. In my opinion, the benefits of bilingual education outweigh the problems. In this paper, I will discuss some benefits, problems, and solutions to these problems while also advocating the importance of bilingual education.

Bilingual education to most is just taking a Spanish, German, or French class, but it’s much more than that. Bilingual education involves teaching two languages at once, one being a native, and the other being a secondary language. With varying amounts of both languages being taught they should be used in accordance to help with the learning process (Bilingual Education). Bilingual education programs allow students to maintain their own cultures, while identifying the cultures, languages, heritages, and identities of others (Robinson). Bilingual education in youth is notable because of its positive effects on the brain, the long term benefits of being bilingual, and for a more general understanding of the fast growing Spanish culture in the

Like it or not, there has always been diversity among students in the classroom. It is the fact that each and every student is unique. From every circumstance, students bring a varying set of values, perspectives, and beliefs to the learning environment. Understanding the character of students is important in order to become a competent teacher. In fact, teachers should be aware and recognize students, as unique individuals, all acquire information differently than others. Some of these differences are due to developmental variations in cognitive, physical, intellectual, moral, emotional, and social changes caused by maturation and experience. And this reality of classroom conditions makes instruction much more challenging for teachers and

Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students gaining a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably than a judgmental and prejudiced view.

One of the most important aspects in my life is the ability to be able to understand people’s cultures, in order to achieve coexistence worldwide. Living with students from more than 90 countries during high school, led me to always take interest in learning about new cultures in the world. I found out that learning about other cultures promotes understanding between people, as it teaches people how to listen, be accepting of people whose ideas are different from ours. When I first came here to OU, I tried my best to get to know as many international students as possible in order to learn something new about them and their cultures (food, thoughts, choices determinants, country), and with the hope to embrace the idea of diversity and understanding during my experience. I found a group through a presentation in my Engineering experience class. CASA’s (Central Asian Student Association) purpose and goal is to “introduce and promote Asian Culture to OU & Oklahoma community and to help new students from central Asia adjust to OU life” ("Central Asian Student Association "), promoting “cultural diversity and understanding” ("Central Asian Student Association "). Therefore, I got more curious about knowing what values and content they promote to achieve cultural diversity and understanding.

The purpose of schools today is, unfortunately, to create a well-trained rather than well-educated workforce. However, the true purpose of schooling should be to educate all students equitably, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, etc., so that they can use logic and reasoning to make informed decisions (Spring, 6). Teachers are at the frontline in the struggle to create well-educated citizens within a diverse and democratic society. This essay will examine the criteria needed to create the ideal citizen of a diverse and democratic society, as well as how I as an educator plan to integrate and promote democracy and diversity in my teaching practices.