Two-Way Language Immersion

My niece is entering kindergarten next year, and her parents have decided to enroll her in a two-way language immersion program, where she will be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade in both English and Spanish. In kindergarten children are taught in 90% Spanish and only 10% English. Each year the amount of English language instruction increases until instruction is 50% Spanish and 50% English.

I thought that this model of learning was very interesting and something that could be very beneficial for students, especially in ethnically diverse places such as Southern California.

The following video provides an example of a Spanish- English immersion program.



Explore the California Department of Education's web page regarding Language Immersion Program standards.

What do you think of this program? Do you know anyone who has experience in a program similar to the one in the video?

In what ways can it be beneficial? Harmful?

Do you think more schools should offer programs like the one above?

Eliminate Kindergarten?

An article published in the Orange County Register on Feburary 17 states that the Capistrano Unified School District has proposed eliminating kindergarten entirely from all of the districts schools. The proposed cut would eliminate 119 teachers, saving the district nearly 9 million dollars a year. Parents in the districts are obviously concerned and question the legality of the proposed cut.

The problem is that the legal lines in this case are blurry. According to the article, "State laws do not explicitly say whether school districts are required to offer kindergarten, according to the California Department of Education." However, other sections of the legal code contradict the prior statement causing parents and educators alike to question the validity of the possible cut.

I could not imagine what hardships both students and teachers would face if Kindergarten programs were removed from schooling. Children who do not attend preschool are usually well behind their peers upon the entrance of Kindergarten and have a difficult time catching up. Could you imagine how far behind our students would be if Kindergarten was not mandatory as well?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

What are your feelings about this possible elimination of kindergarten?

What are the consequences for students and parents short term? Long term?

Do you see the offering of Kindergarten as a legal obligation of the districts? The state?

How Much Freedom?

Not far from here, in Long Beach, one high school teacher, Erin Gruwell, encouraged her students to tell their stories through journals and anonymous story sharing. Her teaching practices led to the book Freedom Writers, which was later made into a film.



Here, Erin describes the guidelines she set up to help her students feel safe about taking the risks involved in disclosing how they felt and what they were going through.



Erin's work also raised issues of ethical behavior in the classroom. Here she explains what she discovered in working with these issues.



One question that emerges from this film is this: How far should teachers go in encouraging students to write about what they know, in approaching authenticity in their writing? Some school boards and parents objected to too much freedom in the writing students did in their journals and in their published work. So how much freedom is appropriate and how much is too much?

Writers On Writing

This video shows a series of quotes from writers about writing. Many students' fear of writing is due to the fact that it's never discussed in class. Those who struggle with any aspect of writing hold it inside because they may feel alone, but what they may not know is that writing is a hard process that takes time. Their own teachers may struggle from time to time and students need to know and even see that.  Why is it important to lead an open discussion about writing with students early on?

Top Ten Reasons to Use a Blog in the Classroom

Here it is, right from the students themselves! These short clips feature students explaining why they like using blogs in the classroom. Check it out and see if you agree.

Young poets and "The Private Eye"

At Provo Primary School, Miss Bonnie has been inspiring her students with The Private Eye, a program encouraging students to look closely at everyday objects and answer questions to develop their creativity and thinking skills, as well as how to transfer that to paper. At Miss Bonnie's Blog we can see the process as well as examples of her students work. In what ways can this approach be effective in getting students to dig deeper when writing their thoughts?  How can learning to theorize and think by analogy be useful in other subjects?

Inkheart! Can You Make Writing Come to Life?

What if you had the ability to bring a book to life? In Cornelia Funke's book Inkheart, both father and daughter have the ability to do just that. Based on the premise that a gifted storyteller, otherwise known as a “silvertongue,” has the power to bring a tale to life, Funke populates her stories with the stuff of myth and the magical realism of fantasy grounded in everyday life.



Here Funke talks about the creative process she used in coming up with her tale.


What kind of potential do you see in a book like this for teachers who want to encourage writing and reading? How would you use it in your classroom?

If you could bring a story to life, what would it be?

Blogging in the Classroom

- Sarah Guth is a Professor at the University of Padua.  She uses blogs as tool in the classroom to help her college students learn and reflect.  Dr. Guth talks about how blogs can serve as a "personal space" for the student to feel comfortable in.  She also mentions that it is a good way to keep track of her students.  Do you think blogging at the lower levels of education would aid or hinder student learning?  What age is it appropriate?  What type of class?  How could it be used? 

Barack Obama comments on writing and education

- Barack talks about how reading and writing are interrelated.  In what ways does reading help writing? 

- What do you think about Barack's postition on the education system and the NCLB act?

Praise Song for the Day!

Poetry got a front and center seat at the inauguration with the wonderful reading of Praise Song for the Day. Here it is, as she read it aloud that day. What did you think of it? How appropriate did you find it for the day?