Hello, my name is Fatima Babar (watch my vlog if you'd like to know how to correctly pronounce my name!)
I am currently in my final semester at the University of Houston where I
am in early childhood education major and will be graduating this December.
VLOG #1: Self-Introduction
I am an American-Pakistani and have grown up in a dual language household. I also spent majority of my childhood education in another country. Although I was proficient in the English language growing up, I was not proficient in the language that was predominantly spoken in the country that I grew up in. I feel that this experience gives me a good sense of what an ELL student may feel like in a school where English is the dominant language.
I am looking forward to this class and learning about how I can better reach students who may not speak English as their first language. As Wright states in his text, researchers used to place the blame of underachievement on ELLs (immigrant students) and their families with claims of lower IQs and cognitive inferiority. (Wright, pg. 14) It was later discovered that many poor and minority students tend to be segregated in the most overcrowded and underfunded schools. Many schools serving poor, minority, and ELLs usually have the least experiences teachers and the fewest resources.
I believe that in modern day, and especially in the city of Houston, diversity in student populations around the entire city is now a commonality. To me this means that, as educators in Texas, it is important for us to know how to best meet the needs of ELLs and understand how we can educate inclusively for all levels of English language proficiency. We must also be aware of the linguistic diversity in our schools and surrounding communities. (Wright, pg. 16)
I agree with the text in our classroom textbook that to better educate our students, we must begin to understand their cultural backgrounds and should be careful to avoid stereotypes and generalizations. (Wright, pg. 16) I remember being stereotyped as an "Indian" student many times in high school because some of my peers and even my teachers assumed that was my ethnic background because of the color of my skin. I was constantly asked if I celebrated Indian holidays and traditions such as Holi and Deewali, and was even asked by people what it meant for Indian women to wear a red dot on their foreheads. At the time as a young teenager, I found that offensive and rude to be stereotyped based off of the color of my skin.
I believe that if my teachers had taken the time to understand my cultural background and history, they would have understood me better as a student and helped me when it came to things that I struggled with or did not understand. Therefore, I know that if I am to have ELLs or students of different cultures in my classroom, I should not make generalizations or jump to conclusions about their learning abilities.
References:
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Calson, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
