• Children with low SES backgrounds often attend underfunded schools with high turnover rates which affect their academic performance and limit opportunities. The children are more likely to be affected by illness and disease and lack medical care. Sometimes affected by hunger, poor diets, lead poisoning, child abuse, neglect, enter schools with fewer skills than others, and are often placed in special education programs or drop out.
• Full-service schools are school family community partnerships that offer integrated comprehensive services that address a variety of needs for children and their families.
• The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act guarantees the right to education to homeless students, but many still do not attend school because of transportation needs, inappropriate class placement, lack of clothes or school supplies, poor health, hunger, and residency and immunization requirements.
• Children of Migrant workers face difficulties due to changing schools often, having to make new friends, differing curriculums, cultural expectations, and discrimination. There are several portable high school equivalency programs to help migrant students earn degrees.
• Wealthy students face challenges in school because they often feel a sense of entitlement and lack personal accountability.
• Immigrant students go through phases of adjustment, curiosity, shock, anxiety, and assimilation sometimes giving up their cultural values to become part of mainstream culture. Incorporate aspects of the student’s native language and culture in to the classroom to make them feel valued and educate other students.
• Plyler vs. Doe states that undocumented students have rights to public education. School personnel have no legal obligation to implement immigration laws and cannot prevent students from attending school because they lack documentation.
• Bilingual education employs the native and new language in the classroom. As students acquire more English more content is taught in the new language. Students are given access to the curriculum and maintain knowledge and pride in their native language. Two-way bilingual education programs mixes students who speak other languages with English speaking students. All students learn to speak both languages and understand different cultures.
• Cultural differences affect the way individuals process, organize, and learn material. Students must be observed and the teacher must adjust behaviors to match diverse learning styles. Cross-cultural differences in movement and behavior may affect students’ academic and behavioral performance in school.
• Language assessment must compare the student’s performance in both languages. Language proficiency is the degree in skill in speaking and includes receptive and expressive skills. Language dominance refers to the language in which the student is most fluent. Language preference is the language the student chooses to communicate in and can change in different settings. Code switching refers to the habit of using words or phrases from one language while speaking another.
• Basic interpersonal communication skills – social language skills that guide students in developing relationships in engaging in casual conversation. Cognitive/academic language proficiency – language related to literacy, cognitive development, and academic performance. Involves more complex grammar and vocabulary ad takes years to master.
• Help English language learners by providing a safe space, a risk free environment, and focus on communication rather than correct grammar. Acknowledge and respond to attempts to communicate.
• Racial discrimination is often subtly displayed in schools. Schools are becoming more segregated with inequalities in funding, class sizes, physical facilities, resources, remedial services, instructional materials, licensed teachers, technology, and expectations of student performance. Students internalize perceptions of themselves based on interactions with educators and other people. Often curriculum, teacher behavior, assessment instruments, and family involvement procedures cater to white middle class students only. This causes underachievement and loss of cultural identity.
• There is a self-esteem gap in the way society and schools respond to girls and boys. Often women and men of non-dominant cultural backgrounds are most susceptible to gender bias because of traditional views of gender roles. African American males are more likely to be placed in special education programs or to be suspended or expelled from school than African American females.
• When dealing with suspected abuse, in some cases confronting families will cause difficulties to increase for the student. Carefully consider what the best outcome will be for the child. Give the student choices to allow them to experience a sense of control and provide a safe and supportive learning environment.
• Multicultural education helps teachers acknowledge and understand diversity in society and to see that students’ diverse backgrounds are an asset to student learning. Focuses on human relations and harmony, justice and empowerment for all students. Helps students understand their backgrounds as well as the perspectives of others.
Resources
Gender Bias in the Classroom
Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs in Practice
Understanding Prejudice
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