Reply to Poll for Teachers. Your top 5 reasons for metro D.C poor performing schools.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Do you think it would help if the lower SES and/or ESL students weren't so concentrated? Again, I don't know how you address this within DC proper, since so many affluent families have left the system all together. But in neighboring counties that have more affluent students attending public school, wouldn't having the ESL and low SES students less concentrated make teaching easier because you wouldn't be quite so overwhelmed, and you would have more time for differentiation? Wouldn't it make staffing clubs and events easier if you had a larger pool of parents who could fund and/or staff clubs and events? Wouldn't it improve the academic culture if the majority of the parents did prioritize education and attend events and expect excellence from their children? [/quote]

It would greatly help with ESL if the kids were spread out more.  When you have a couple of kids who don't speak English, they are motivated more because they have no one else to speak with. They learn by playing with other kids on the playground and in their neighborhoods.   When you have a large segment who don't speak English, the motivation is minimal.  The only place they speak English is in the classroom.

I taught in such an environment.  When I had two ESL kids in my first grade classrooms, they picked English up very quickly.  I'm not sure how this works if they are older.  But, when I had seven or eight kids, they learned English much more slowly.  Some did not learn much at all.  I tried to break the kids apart--but, you really cannot do that if they are friends.  Wouldn't you be more comfortable hanging with kids who speak your language?  It's human nature.

As for the low SES who are behind because of lack of interest in the home, I don't think it works the same way.  Sometimes, the differences are extreme.  And, if the kids don't live in the same neighborhood--i.e. are bussed in--there is a division right there.  If the kids don't have a language rich background, it just is hard to catch them up.  Their experiences are just too different from the others.  And, by language rich, I do not necessarily mean English.  It is amazing how some kids do not develop basic language skills in the home.  Some parents never really talk to their kids about their environment.  ESL kids with a language rich experience in their own language, are able to learn English and do fine in school.

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