By: Tishely Ortiz I was an adjunct instructor for over a year when I decided to teach English in Mexico. I fell in love with the country when I visited, so when I got word that a position for an English teacher was open, I jumped at the opportunity. The friend who referred me said […]
ESL
Advice for New ESOL Teachers: Whose Holiday and Why?
The United States is growing ever more diverse in languages, religions and ethnicity and school districts are working (with varying levels of success) to adjust to their changing communities. ESOL teachers are often in the position of go-between for their students and the larger culture, which can be a little awkward when the holidays come […]
Why Multicultural Education is the Answer
By Guest Writer Jennifer Healey After days of reading and watching various opinions and analyses of the recent attacks in Paris, I have concluded that the American public school system may well be our most important weapon in the fight against terrorism. When students are taught to respect differences and tolerate that which they […]
Welcome to America: Now Take this Test. The Realities of Refugee Students and their Teachers
This year’s ASCD Conference in Los Angeles was weighed down by sessions about the CCSS and flipped classrooms – topics that reasonably should have been big 3+ years ago. But there were a few diamonds among the rough; educators who presented with prescient understanding oncoming issues that the education community must face. One of those […]
Changes that Need to be Made in ESL
As an ESL teacher there are a few things that I wish would change in education today. These are things that specifically relate to English language learners. Of course, there are other aspects in education that could do with some tweaking, but for today The focus is ESL. 1. Licensing. Teaching English to speakers of […]
What’s an ESL Teacher Anyway?
Every year when I get my test data and begin to form groups and create a schedule, I come across at least one classroom teacher that has an issue with me. I feel that the issues come up because of ignorance. Ignorance of what an ESL teacher does all day, why we help more than […]
If You Become an ESL Teacher…
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] When I became an ESL teacher I was not prepared for a lot of what happened my first two years. It is very true when they say that you aren’t really […]
Refugee Students: Who will advocate for the UN-Common students who got Left Behind during the Race to the Top?
By Jennifer Healey Portland, OR The notion that ALL students can be lifted up and freed from their circumstances, past language barriers, out of poverty and away from war and crime and drugs, upward and onward toward a glorious middle-class future, is absurd. If we insist on being a country with an elite high school […]