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English as a Second Language Chatboard

The Hazards of ESL Push In

by alison

Feb 7, 2010

"There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education".........The United States Supreme Court, Lau v. Nichols.

This case reaffirms that all students in the United States, regardless of native language, have the right to receive a quality education. It also clarifies that equality of opportunity does not necessarily mean the same education for every student, but rather the same opportunity to receive an education. An equal education is only possible if students can understand the language of instruction. Within weeks of this Supreme Court ruling, Congress passed the Equal Educational Opportunity Act mandating that no state shall deny equal education opportunity to any individual, "by the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participatio...See More"There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education".........The United States Supreme Court, Lau v. Nichols.

This case reaffirms that all students in the United States, regardless of native language, have the right to receive a quality education. It also clarifies that equality of opportunity does not necessarily mean the same education for every student, but rather the same opportunity to receive an education. An equal education is only possible if students can understand the language of instruction. Within weeks of this Supreme Court ruling, Congress passed the Equal Educational Opportunity Act mandating that no state shall deny equal education opportunity to any individual, "by the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by students in an instructional program." This is an important piece of legislation because it defines what constitutes denial of education opportunities.

In a memorandum written by the Office for Civil Rights, it states: "Where the inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students."

Under the No Child Left Behind in New Jersey, the Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook clearly states: "LEP students enrolled in the bilingual, ESL, or English language services program shall be placed in a monolingual English program when they have demonstrated readiness to function successfully in an English-only program." If you look at what has been happening in some schools across the country today, the opportunity for ESL students to adjust to American culture and to learn English, is rapidly diminishing when it is ESL teachers who are being forced to "push in" and teach portions of a "balanced literacy" reading program which teaches to guess at words instead of actually reading them. NCLB wants ESL students to learn English while learning this curriculum, then, after one year, pass the test. Many states are crying "Foul!" recognizing that it can take as long as seven years to achieve academic proficiency in a new language.

I have been a teacher of English as a Second Language for twenty-nine years. I have literally been a voice and advocate for my students throughout the years. Working mostly in sub-standard rooms and conditions with my ESL students, I have still managed to beat the odds and succeed in teaching students of many languages, to speak, read, and write in English. Many of my former students have gone on to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and teachers. I am proud of the achievements of each and every one of them, and I keep in contact with many of my former students until this day. Their success is my success.

For the past twenty-nine years, I have been pulling my students from their classrooms and teaching them English in my ESL classroom. This year, the ESL Department in the school I work in, was told to "push in". To my understanding, "push in" means to go into the rooms my students are in,support the classroom teacher in whatever subject matter he or she is teaching, and to look over the shoulders of all the students in the room, not just ESL students. Naturally, I questioned this method along with my colleagues, but to no avail. I asked, along with the other ESL teachers, how this could possibly help our students acquire English any faster, and no administrator seemed to have an answer for us. They just wanted what they wanted.

Being a person of curiousity, I began researching the subject of "push in" vs. "pull out". I've discovered that no substantial research has ever been done on this subject. The interesting part of this that I did find out for myself, is that schools which have been utilizing this method, have significantly scored lower on standardized tests.

So where is this all coming from? Who invented this "push in"/"pull out" for ESL learners? Why do school administrators follow blindly without knowing or understanding the end result? Why is this being implemented at all? And lastly, why do administrators and educators go along with it?

Interestingly enough, as my research continued, a variety of culprits became clear to me. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, there has been a giant step backwards for the children it purports to help. Buzz words such as "accountability" have arisen and administrators are running scared. Unrealistic achievement targets and punitive sanctions are pushing all the "left behind" groups even further behind. Today, schools with an ELL "subgroup" are being labeled and punished for failure. "Balanced Literacy" reading programs have only succeeded in pushing test scores further down, and ESL teachers in my district are being forced to become "guided reading" teachers instead of teaching their students English first. Through my research, I have learned that this isn't about ESL at all. This is about pushing "balanced literacy" programs which are failing students around the world. ESL teachers are currently being used as extra bodies in classrooms in order to implement this "balanced literacy" agenda whose theories have fallen short. It used to be that ESL programs were being promoted to be part of the solution. Today, instead, we are being forced to be part of the problem. The demoralization of students and teachers is rampant throughout the country. This is educational malpractice in every sense of the word. What is happening in America?

How is it explained that in some suburban school districts today, they are still teaching spelling, phonics, and all the rudiments of English grammar? How is it explained that these same suburban school districts are passing the test and ESL students are achieving as well? How is it explained that reading programs in these suburban school districts have actual workbooks and REAL books (instead of dittos) for their students to read and absorb? Naturally, there is better teaching and abundant learning happening in these schools because they are using proven methods of instruction.

Back in the day, ESL students test scores on English achievement tests weren't counted into the mainstream. ESL teachers were told to administer the test for practice, but it was clearly understood by all that there was no way the majority of these students could pass a standardized English test, as long as they were students in an ESL class. Today, these same students are being fed a steady diet of test- prep, worksheets, and other "skill building" exercises from a menu mostly reduced to reading and math. Their language- learning needs are increasingly being neglected by the marginalization of bilingual and ESL instruction, while the more advantaged students are studying art, music, and foreign languages. All the "frills" have systematically and routinely been denied to children whose test scores have become life-or-death matters for educators' careers. Ironically, No Child Left Behind, along with sub-standard "whole language" reading programs, are increasing the achievement gap, and with it, an equal chance to succeed in life.

After twenty-nine years of teaching, I know from experience that looking over a students' shoulder, or "guided reading", can in no way help my students successfully acquire English. We are the "highly qualified professionals" in the methods of teaching a second language, and these methods have been proven time and time again, to work. I do not in any way accept the rhetoric that I have not done my job. I am, frankly, tired of the finger-pointing and accusations that ESL teachers, along with others, have been forced to listen to. We have a job to do. We are the experts at language acquisition. We, as ESL teachers, must be the advocates for our students who cannot express themselves. We must take affirmative steps to rectify this "push in/ pull out" debate. THIS is the American way!

Comment

(4)

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ELL teacher too On 2/07/10, alison wrote: > For the past twenty-nine years, I have been pulling my > students from their classrooms and teaching them English in > my ESL classroom. This year, the ESL Department in the > school I work in, was told to "push in". To my > understanding, "push in" means to go into the rooms my > students are in,suppor...See More

Oct 28, 2014

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ebit123 Truly I think ELLs could use both types ofservices. Push-in/inclusion is fine, but can be done by an aide. However, they still need English Language Development instruction from an ELL teacher - sure it's ok to teach through content, but we are not supposed to be teaching the actual content - rather the vocabulary and syntax/language structures tha...See MoreTruly I think ELLs could use both types ofservices. Push-in/inclusion is fine, but can be done by an aide. However, they still need English Language Development instruction from an ELL teacher - sure it's ok to teach through content, but we are not supposed to be teaching the actual content - rather the vocabulary and syntax/language structures that will help them achieve in the classroom. I'm fortunate to teach ESL in Massachusetts, where districts are required to develop a WIDA-based ELL curriculum, and are required to give ELLs "English Language Development" instruction based on that ELL Curriculum. Therefore, I'm mainly doing pull-out. However, I do have some extra spots in my schedule - and that's where I do some inclusion.

On 2/07/10, alison wrote: > "There is no equality of treatment merely by providing > students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and > curriculum; for students who do not understand English are > effectively foreclosed from any meaningful > education".........The United States Supreme Court, Lau v. > Nichols. > > This case reaffirms that all students in the United States, > regardless of native language, have the right to receive a > quality education. It also clarifies that equality of > opportunity does not necessarily mean the same education > for every student, but rather the same opportunity to > receive an education. An equal education is only possible > if students can understand the language of instruction. > Within weeks of this Supreme Court ruling, Congress passed > the Equal Educational Opportunity Act mandating that no > state shall deny equal education opportunity to any > individual, "by the failure by an educational agency to > take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that > impede equal participation by students in an instructional > program." This is an important piece of legislation because > it defines what constitutes denial of education > opportunities. > > In a memorandum written by the Office for Civil Rights, it > states: "Where the inability to speak and understand the > English language excludes national origin minority group > children from effective participation in the educational > program offered by a school district, the district must > take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency > in order to open its instructional program to these > students." > > Under the No Child Left Behind in New Jersey, the > Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook > clearly states: "LEP students enrolled in the bilingual, > ESL, or English language services program shall be placed > in a monolingual English program when they have > demonstrated readiness to function successfully in an > English-only program." If you look at what has been > happening in some schools across the country today, the > opportunity for ESL students to adjust to American culture > and to learn English, is rapidly diminishing when it is ESL > teachers who are being forced to "push in" and teach > portions of a "balanced literacy" reading program which > teaches to guess at words instead of actually reading them. > NCLB wants ESL students to learn English while learning > this curriculum, then, after one year, pass the test. Many > states are crying "Foul!" recognizing that it can take as > long as seven years to achieve academic proficiency in a > new language. > > I have been a teacher of English as a Second Language for > twenty-nine years. I have literally been a voice and > advocate for my students throughout the years. Working > mostly in sub-standard rooms and conditions with my ESL > students, I have still managed to beat the odds and succeed > in teaching students of many languages, to speak, read, and > write in English. Many of my former students have gone on > to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and teachers. I am > proud of the achievements of each and every one of them, > and I keep in contact with many of my former students until > this day. Their success is my success. > > For the past twenty-nine years, I have been pulling my > students from their classrooms and teaching them English in > my ESL classroom. This year, the ESL Department in the > school I work in, was told to "push in". To my > understanding, "push in" means to go into the rooms my > students are in,support the classroom teacher in whatever > subject matter he or she is teaching, and to look over the > shoulders of all the students in the room, not just ESL > students. Naturally, I questioned this method along with my > colleagues, but to no avail. I asked, along with the other > ESL teachers, how this could possibly help our students > acquire English any faster, and no administrator seemed to > have an answer for us. They just wanted what they wanted. > > Being a person of curiousity, I began researching the > subject of "push in" vs. "pull out". I've discovered that > no substantial research has ever been done on this subject. > The interesting part of this that I did find out for > myself, is that schools which have been utilizing this > method, have significantly scored lower on standardized > tests. > > So where is this all coming from? Who invented this "push > in"/"pull out" for ESL learners? Why do school > administrators follow blindly without knowing or > understanding the end result? Why is this being implemented > at all? And lastly, why do administrators and educators go > along with it? > > Interestingly enough, as my research continued, a variety > of culprits became clear to me. Under the No Child Left > Behind Act, there has been a giant step backwards for the > children it purports to help. Buzz words such as > "accountability" have arisen and administrators are running > scared. Unrealistic achievement targets and punitive > sanctions are pushing all the "left behind" groups even > further behind. Today, schools with an ELL "subgroup" are > being labeled and punished for failure. "Balanced Literacy" > reading programs have only succeeded in pushing test scores > further down, and ESL teachers in my district are being > forced to become "guided reading" teachers instead of > teaching their students English first. Through my research, > I have learned that this isn't about ESL at all. This is > about pushing "balanced literacy" programs which are > failing students around the world. ESL teachers are > currently being used as extra bodies in classrooms in order > to implement this "balanced literacy" agenda whose theories > have fallen short. It used to be that ESL programs were > being promoted to be part of the solution. Today, instead, > we are being forced to be part of the problem. The > demoralization of students and teachers is rampant > throughout the country. This is educational malpractice in > every sense of the word. What is happening in America? > > How is it explained that in some suburban school districts > today, they are still teaching spelling, phonics, and all > the rudiments of English grammar? How is it explained that > these same suburban school districts are passing the test > and ESL students are achieving as well? How is it explained > that reading programs in these suburban school districts > have actual workbooks and REAL books (instead of dittos) > for their students to read and absorb? Naturally, there is > better teaching and abundant learning happening in these > schools because they are using proven methods of > instruction. > > Back in the day, ESL students test scores on English > achievement tests weren't counted into the mainstream. ESL > teachers were told to administer the test for practice, but > it was clearly understood by all that there was no way the > majority of these students could pass a standardized > English test, as long as they were students in an ESL > class. Today, these same students are being fed a steady > diet of test- prep, worksheets, and other "skill building" > exercises from a menu mostly reduced to reading and math. > Their language- learning needs are increasingly being > neglected by the marginalization of bilingual and ESL > instruction, while the more advantaged students are > studying art, music, and foreign languages. All the > "frills" have systematically and routinely been denied to > children whose test scores have become life-or-death > matters for educators' careers. Ironically, No Child Left > Behind, along with sub-standard "whole language" reading > programs, are increasing the achievement gap, and with it, > an equal chance to succeed in life. > > After twenty-nine years of teaching, I know from experience > that looking over a students' shoulder, or "guided > reading", can in no way help my students successfully > acquire English. We are the "highly qualified > professionals" in the methods of teaching a second > language, and these methods have been proven time and time > again, to work. I do not in any way accept the rhetoric > that I have not done my job. I am, frankly, tired of the > finger-pointing and accusations that ESL teachers, along > with others, have been forced to listen to. We have a job > to do. We are the experts at language acquisition. We, as > ESL teachers, must be the advocates for our students who > cannot express themselves. We must take affirmative steps > to rectify this "push in/ pull out" debate. THIS is the > American way!

Nov 7, 2014

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Suihua Zhao On 10/28/14, ELL teacher too wrote: > On 2/07/10, alison wrote: >> For the past twenty-nine years, I have been pulling my >> students from their classrooms and teaching them English in >> my ESL classroom. This year, the ESL Department in the >> school I work in, was told to "push in". To my >> understandi...See More

May 4, 2017

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