Blog 3 For my final blog video I interviewed a fellow teacher at my school. She works in a third grade classroom teaching math. Our school is very diverse so she has many bilingual students in her classroom. She has seen how being bilingual has affected and benefited her students. One thing she has noticed about the students who are bilingual is that the majority of them are intrinsically motivated with their school work. Ortega (2013) discusses how intrinsic motivation is the most ideal kind of motivation for students. Ortega (2013) says that when students are intrinsically motivated they are taking captive their own learning (pg. 176). It is also has been shown that students who are intrinsically motivated show higher achievement rates. I believe students could be motivated by their families as well. Many of my ELL students especially from the middle east and Asia have told me how their families only accept A’s. I believe this would be a big reason why these kids would be motivated...
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Entry 2: ELL Interview
I interviewed with Mrs. Chennathara (Faz), she is a third grade math teacher at Glen York Elementary. She grew up in Virginia in a small community where she was one of the few minority students. In her school she was one of three students who were not caucasian. This posed a great obstacle for her because the school did not have the resources to help her in the way that she needed. Because of this she did not learn how to read until she was in the third grade. Being one of the only minority students in her class meant that she was often times bullied and she told me how she did not have a good experience in elementary school. This made me aware to look out for the ELL students in my class to make sure that no students are singling them out for anything. I have seen at times kids laughing when my ELL students stumble in their reading and have learned to quickly talk to them and stop it so that it does not turn into bullying. She discusses how she was pulled out for extra help...
Entry 1 - Course Introduction
Hello, I am Vanessa Birdsong and I am a senior at the University of Houston. I graduate May of 2019 with a Bachelors in Science as and EC-6 generalist. I am very excited that this is my last semester of college. I can not wait to go out and use all that I have been taught. Please find my video below to find out more about my experience with other languages. This topic is something that is very dear to my heart. Although I was not able to master Spanish, I have always had a deep fascination with other languages. With Houston being one of the most diverse cities in America, it is important for me to understand how to best help these students. As a teacher I want to best help my students who will be coming from homes that are very different from mine. I love the quote from my second language methodology class last semester when Rosaria (2018) she said “We cannot fit our children into one box fits all, every child has a very unique journey.” I want this statement to ring true i...