It’s easy to get cynical about educational trends because it seems they change as quickly as headlines. Who hasn’t heard the terms: college and career ready, makerspaces, STEAM, 21st-century skills, diversity, equity, digital literacy, etc.? I don’t think any who focus on… Read More ›
English Language Learners
Shopping for Ideas!
The Idea Lab held on Thursday, November 9, from 1:00-3:00 pm, was a true mall of ideas where AASL National Conference attendees shopped for innovative ideas and best practices. This shopping venue has history. Beginning as the Exploratorium in 2005, the… Read More ›
Helping English Language Learners Succeed
Many schools in the U.S. today are a mini-United Nations of ethnicities and languages. According to statistics from the Migration Policy Institute, in 2013-2014 K-12 English language learners (ELLs) made up approximately 10 percent of public school students, or about… Read More ›
Reaching English Language Learners and July Professional Development
Here is a little known fact about me. I grew up in a school district with a diverse population. Because the population was so diverse, the school district invested in its students by teaching us to speak Spanish and… Read More ›
Diversity, Religious Liberty, and December
by Mary Keeling Educators face perplexing issues of religious diversity all year, but especially in December. English Language Learners refused water during a heat wave. They were fasting for Ramadan. Second graders said Emma couldn’t borrow The Night before Christmas because… Read More ›
Let’s Get Together Thursday – Working with English Language Learners
In Texas, as in so many parts of the world, bilingual education is prevalent. A few years ago, a librarian in our district wrote her dissertation on the difficult situation of working with second language learners when you yourself are… Read More ›