All Connected

[Unkotare]

Smithsonian Science Education Center - Talking Science Where STEM literacy and language acquisition meet


"Across the United States, student populations are increasingly diverse. According to the 2010 census, our school-age population is comprised of 45% ethnic and racial minorities. In 2022, that number will be 50%. It is important to realize that this means our classrooms are linguistically diverse as well: currently, 21% of our students speak other languages at home."

This reality is exerting, and will continue to exert, an effect on education in the US.

 

[Treeshepherd]

While the 'minority' population may become 50% in 2022, the average doesn't tell the story. The ethnic map of California is quite segregated.

My county (Humboldt) is over 75% white non-Hispanic.

San Bernardino County is 31% white non-Hispanic.

The central California city of Salinas is 15% white non-Hispanic.

 

[Unkotare]

Of course different school districts will have different needs and approaches.

 

[Unkotare]

And there is reason to be optimistic.

 

[Treeshepherd]

And there is reason to be optimistic.

Reason to be optimistic about what? That Shakespeare will be replaced by Juan Felipe Herrera?

I guess it depends on your perspective.

There's not a lot of reason to be optimistic if you're black and you see that only 3.4% of students in the whole University of California system are black. On the other hand, Asian/Pacific Islanders make up close to 30% of enrollment.

Probably a good thing if all students have an opportunity to learn Chinese/Mandarin. But then again, all students in China learn English now, and all the signs over there have English subtitles. English is the world language.

 

[Unkotare]

And there is reason to be optimistic.

Reason to be optimistic about what? ....

That adjustments are being made and results are starting to be realized.

 

[Unkotare]

That Shakespeare will be replaced by Juan Felipe Herrera?

....

He won't be, don't worry.

 

[Treeshepherd]

That Shakespeare will be replaced by Juan Felipe Herrera?

....

He won't be, don't worry.

I think Bill Shakespeare will be sent to the back of the book shelf, for more reasons than one. Our Twitterized vocabulary is causing old English poetry to become less and less accessible. In 20 years, maybe classic literature will be comprised on 20th century graphic novels.

In Math, the US ranks 36th. In Science we're about 28th in the world.

The results from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which are being released on Tuesday, show that teenagers in the U.S. slipped from 25th to 31st in math since 2009; from 20th to 24th in science; and from 11th to 21st in reading, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which gathers and analyzes the data in the U.S.

Read more: Rankings Of Countries In Math And Science - Business Insider

 

[Unkotare]

That Shakespeare will be replaced by Juan Felipe Herrera?

....

He won't be, don't worry.

I think Bill Shakespeare will be sent to the back of the book shelf...

He won't be.

 

[Unkotare]

Our Twitterized vocabulary is causing old English poetry to become less and less accessible....

Shakespeare didn't write in Old English.

 

[Unkotare]

In Math, the US ranks 36th. In Science we're about 28th in the world....

Compared to whom?

 

[Treeshepherd]

Compared to whom?

the other countries on the link I provided

Shakespeare didn't write in Old English.

that's why I didn't capitalize "old"

 

[Unkotare]

Compared to whom?

the other countries on the link I provided...

Who in those other countries?

 

[Treeshepherd]

Who in those other countries?

teenage students

 

[Unkotare]

Who in those other countries?

teenage students

The same percentage of them that we test here?

 

[mgh80]

That Shakespeare will be replaced by Juan Felipe Herrera?

....

He won't be, don't worry.

I think Bill Shakespeare will be sent to the back of the book shelf, for more reasons than one. Our Twitterized vocabulary is causing old English poetry to become less and less accessible. In 20 years, maybe classic literature will be comprised on 20th century graphic novels.

In Math, the US ranks 36th. In Science we're about 28th in the world.

The results from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which are being released on Tuesday, show that teenagers in the U.S. slipped from 25th to 31st in math since 2009; from 20th to 24th in science; and from 11th to 21st in reading, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which gathers and analyzes the data in the U.S.

Read more: Rankings Of Countries In Math And Science - Business Insider

Shakespeare's not going anywhere. I just taught Romeo and Juliet last year (and the kids-including the ethnic minorities who're actually a majority at my school) ate it up with all of the other kids. This year I'm teaching more Shakespeare....although it's Othello and I'd rather do Macbeth or Hamlet (which is too long so I get it).

They get into Shakespeare because eventually they start to catch on to all of the murder, scheming, betrayal, sexuality, etc. in Shakespeare (obviously in his tragedies).

 

[Unkotare]

Teaching science, or any other content, to students for whom English is a second language is a different process for teachers and a particular challenge for students. Any advancement that can be made in this area should go some way in eventually making headway against shortfalls in STEM-qualified workers in the American labor force.

 

[Unkotare]

"currently, 21% of our students speak other languages at home.

The problem is that many of these students are not having their language needs met at school. While 11% of students are enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESoL) programs, another 11% of students with language needs are under-monitored. This means that students many be in need of ESoL services, but they are not being provided access to these services. ESoL services require highly trained educators that specialize in language acquisition to work in conjunction with classroom teachers, and many schools and districts have limited access to these professionals.

This lack of access to ESoL programs is surely troubling for the under-served students and families, but it is troubling for the general population as well. How many students with possible futures as brilliant chemists or innovative engineers are lost to us simply because language is getting in the way of our ability to understand or assess all they know? How much vital talent are we losing?What happens to the development of these students' minds when they are frustrated with receiving mediocre grades because we don't use the right tools to get at their understanding? Given these issues, the achievement gap (especially in the STEM fields) persists."