The Importance of Educational Improvements in California Schools

The Importance of Educational Improvements in California Schools

“The competitiveness of Americans in this global market is coming to depend

…on the functions that Americans perform—the value they add—within the global economy.”

United States citizens devote a significant portion of their incomes to educate future generations through the taxes they pay, and the resultant expenditures of federal, state, and local governments on education. As the epigraph of this essay suggests active participation in a competitive global economy will be required of future tax payers, if we (the people of California) desire to create an environment in our state in which individuals can continue to pursue personal, public, and economic growth. The California Educational Master Plan puts it this way. “If unity, equity, quality, and efficiency are to be achieved, the Governor, legislature, and people of California must provide the required financial resources.” Moreover, as those responsible for implementing this plan work toward educating the diverse student population of California for a variety of ends—citizenship and economic participation among them—it behooves teachers, administrators, and policy makers to consider carefully the practical implications of the linguistic diversity of California’s students. This seems especially urgent when we consider the importance of meeting students at their actual level of knowledge and ability, while looking toward developing them into full participants in the American experiment. Specifically, stakeholders must consider the variety of developmental categories and other characteristics of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds if we are to improve teaching and learning in California’s ...

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...engagement and research into best practices for teaching LEP students a top priority instead of leaving new teachers struggling to “reinvent the wheel” in California’s multi-cultural classroom. Such a commitment can only benefit students, the profession of English, and the body politic as a whole. If we fail to teach LEP students comprehensively and explicitly to succeed as English speakers and writers we are undercutting our own political and economic futures. Moreover, a lack of ESL teacher preparation represents a failure to realize the uniqueness of ESL speakers and writers within California’s complex (56 distinct languages) teaching environment. And while many teachers will not be called upon to teach an entire course in ESL writing, the fact that 1 out of every 4 students is an English Language Learner is something no serious English teacher can ignore.