The situation at Bayview in the very beginning of the chapter with Shafiqa illustrates how the student body of the high school is drastically changing and how the teachers are not preparing themselves for a different, more diverse classroom. I understand where Mr. Boyd is coming from when he says, "How could I have known?" If I were in this situation, I would feel guilty for not being understanding or open minded towards the student and her situation. However, as Olsen states that the faculty are "white-skinned, speak only English, and many were raised in Bayview...and many speak privately of feeling 'invaded' by outsiders" (152). This faculty, firstly, isn't being open or welcoming to how their student population is changing. Therefore, they also aren't trying to educate themselves on the major differences that might exist between themselves and students, or student to student. The chapter explains how "the ethnic makeup of the school has changed markedly in the past decade-from a primarily white student body to a student enrollment where there is no single majority ethnic or racial group, where dozens of different home languages are spoken, and almost one-fourth are immigrants" (151). The difference between previous years to the present shows how the teachers, such as Mr. Boyd and Ms. Williams are favoring the homogenous population that the school used to have. Perhaps they aren't meaning to do so, but they are because the homogenous population that previously populated the school was like them too, and probably didn't require as much work on their part (such as educating themselves on beliefs, language, communication, etc.).
Despite the wrong approach that either teacher had on the situation, I think that the first problem was that neither one asked, "Why? Why can't you eat today?" This could have been for a multitude of reasons. Maybe her family is struggling financially. What if she was sick? (The question here would have been, "Why are you not able to run today?") In this case, it was something much more sensitive and deep. It was her religious beliefs, which is very detrimental on the students' relationship with these two teachers as well as her view on other white, English speaking teachers, or the culture itself.
Literacy Observations:
In my practicum, I was able to see several activities that promoted literacy. One of my cooperating teachers, in any subject, always has students read aloud the dialogue. Often times, in an ESL textbook that they are using, there is an example that includes a dialogue. Therefore, the teacher assigns each student a role to read. This is effective in such a small class that they have.
Another example of literacy was this activity that the teacher did in class. She had three envelopes (there are three students in this class) and handed each student an envelope. Inside were pieces of paper with different sentences on each. The teacher then read aloud a very beginner reading level book. At this time, students were only to listen and look at the pictures in the book. Then, they went through the book a second time and they were to find the piece of paper with the sentence on it that described what was happening in the book at that moment. They were to put these events in chronological order.
A third activity I was able to see happen in the classroom was moreso encouraging students to write. My other cooperating teacher printed out pieces of paper that looked like postcards. She had them choose from a list of cities from around the world to research. They couldn't be a city from their country. The students had to research the city, then write a postcard to their teacher acting like they had visited there over the summer. After this activity, the teacher had bought each student a postcard with an international stamp on each one so that they could actually write to their friends or family back home in their native country. She later mailed them for them.
(Discussions/Reflections Questions):
1. The teaching methodology that seems most dominant is task-based. Some of the characteristics include utilizing the computer for programs, websites, and pictures that enhance lessons. The program that is mostly used practices pronunciation, such as vowels and consonants. Role play is also brought into the lesson. I think that the teacher would agree with this description because she uses every opportunity she has to bring in a prop or picture or something that helps grab students' attention and communicate more effectively.
2. Students' interactions that are regular are typically between those that are Spanish speaking. This population is the largest in the ESl classes at my placement. They talk regularly in and out of class (I observe this in the hallways all the time). I would say that the nature of the class discussions are IRF. Other languages that are spoken include Japanese, Chinese, among others. Discussions in other languages are typically between siblings, such as Ken and Sotoryu, who are from Japan and the only students from Japan. Therefore, it is easiest to communicate with eachother.
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