The problem may be somewhat more challenging because we have so many Spanish speakers, but it's hard to say. At some point, though, there definitely has to be motivation in the home or in the student to learn the language well enough to succeed in the job market. Do any teachers here know how well the average immigrant student learns English after 6 or 12 years?
I like the idea of emphasizing the idea of citizenship in schools. It's important for every student to understand how the government works and the responsibilities of each citizen.
I wish we did more citizenship too--it alarms me to think that we are raising generations who may feel completely disconnected from the political process--it's hard to have a "we the people" based government if most people don't understand that that means "the people" have a role to play in their government!
Outcomes for English language learners are pretty diverse, as are the approaches/programs. When English proficiency is measured in students, schools are looking at two different types of language development--social/conversational language development, which typically emerges first; and academic language proficiency, which typically develops more slowly. A student with a high level of proficiency in social English may appear to be more proficient than they are, which depresses academic performance. Social proficiency can lead others to overestimate the amount of classroom language that is independently understandable. One chart I saw stated that advanced fluency (social and academic language) takes 5-7 years in a U.S. school, but it wasn't clear to me whether that was an average length of time generally, or if it represented the length of time under "best practice" conditions. Advanced fluency does not necessarily represent comparable fluency to native english speakers either. Among fifth graders who have been in school since K, I see quite a range of english literacy skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing).
Lately I�m hearing that some of the most promising outcomes are in well implemented two-way immersion programs (aka dual immersion programs); in which an equal number of spanish speakers and english speakers are grouped together. There are 50/50 models and 90/10 models (90% of instruction in spanish in K, gradually shifting balance until it is 50/50 in upper elementary). These programs appear to have stronger outcomes and to achieve a higher level of bilingualism when compared to transitional bilingual education models). In transitional bilingual programs there appears to be more loss of native language literacy.
This bothered me a little because it reminded me of how I used to be. I kept up with all the current events and I was reading so many books on the Middle East, China, globalization, etc. I always read the news every day. Then, I started to realize I was feeling cynical, depressed, and stressed out. I'd call it existential depression. I don't know if other people get like this just from watching the news. I seem to be really affected by this stuff.
(This makes me sound loony, but DH and I watched a whole bunch of CSI one time and I cried that night a lot because I couldn't handle that people really did those kinds of things to other people.
I feel guilty that I've stuck my head in the sand in some ways, but I feel so much happier now. I choose what things I want to work on (like keeping chemicals out of my home, buying organic, not using pesticides on our lawn, etc.) Those are the things I feel like I can actually have some control over.
Maybe other people feel overwhelmed by it all, too? I haven't seen evidence that this is actually the case, but I guess it might be possible. We certainly are bombarded with more negative news stories, pictures and videos than we ever have been in all of human history. It makes you feel like the human race might be hopeless, yet for every one negative story, there are 100 positive ones that go untold.
I'm right there with you, particularly since becoming a parent. The reality of what people do to other people became horrifying and real to me in a completely new way once I had a child. I've found that I cannot read the details of violence in Sudan at all. I still have a really visceral reaction to an article I read at least 6 years ago. I don't recall being overwhelmed by CSI (usually), but I get what you're saying, because SVU was impossible for me to watch for quite some time. I suspect that as my children age, the types of issues that I can't fully engage with will change as well. Right now it's the issues which involve violence towards children, teens and young adults that overwhelm me.
I think that there is a difference between being an ostrich and being aware of your own limitations. We don't do anything positive for the world when we become paralyzed by fear or hopelessness. I've settled on headline skimming for paralyzing issues that I can't in good conscience ignore. It keeps me from drifting into apathy, respects the limits of what I can handle and preserves the energy I need in order to have a positive impact on the things within my control.
Not that I'm unwilling to spout off about the things I cannot control
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Apologies for topic drift....
