ESL teacher co-teaching in mainstream classroom
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ESL teacher co-teaching in mainstream classroom
I recently read about Eastlake School District's official language policy, which states "All ELL's will learn at a high levels and all staff will take part in that responsibility." I currently teach ESL at the high school level and assume the role as co-teacher for half of the day and it is not a positive working environment in some cases. Some of the gen ed teachers do not want to be bothered with the ELL's and do not understand what's like to be in their shoes and have to learn Algebra II in their second language. I just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences or could give me pointers on gaining more empathy for my students.
I luckily work in a school district that is supportive of ELL's but I have experienced (and this at the high school level also) an environment where some teachers have not wanted to take responsibility nor do they seem to care about the ELL's - it is a very discouraging situation for these students. I know we are to be advocates for these students but at what point does administration step in and try to "resolve" the issue? Someone had brought up in class that teachers are afraid to speak up (esp. if they are not tenured) in fear of losing their jobs.....I would love to hear an alternative solution - if one actually exists. You bring up a great point!
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sunflower03
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:29 am
Teachers don't know what to do
I agree with the concerns above. I know that many teachers simply do not know what to do with the ELL students, especially when they come with limited english. The teachers often turn to me and ask me for help. They are often frustrated and overwhelmed as they simply do not know what to do for these students. I think all teachers, not just ESL teachers should have some type of training on how to accomodate ELL students. I will be attending a SIOP training in November and will be taking what I learned from the training back to the teachers at my school. Hopefully, they will find the information useful and use the techniques with their ELL students in class.