ASCD Inservice: Taking a Stand for English Language Learners

ASCD Inservice: Taking a Stand for English Language Learners:

Taking a Stand for English Language Learners

Last week, former Los Angeles elementary school teacher and ASCD Emerging Leader Patricia Dickenson did a guest blogger stint at Rick Hess's Straight Up blog.

In her first post, she highlights some of the policies that set English Language Learners up for failure in U.S. schools. "Too often tests, tracking, and a diluted curriculum impose an oppressive learning environment that fails to connect with students, give a sense of purpose, and foster a love of learning," she writes. As the ELL population grows faster than any other, there must be more widescale adoption of what successful ELL programs do: "take into consideration school and community culture, teacher professional development, quality of teaching, intensity of instruction, and most importantly

Metaphors Open College Doors

by ASCD Bloggers

Using dichos, the Spanish term for figurative sayings, teacher Ben Johnson gets his students thinking abstractly -- a skill he says is essential for some types of mathematics, and college-level learning. Though students struggled with discovering the meanings behind many...