Lesson 1: Debating the issue
Objective: Students will take a stand for or against funding bilingual programs
Time required: varies
Procedure: (See Guide for Debating)
Read and discuss the information found in the unit. After some initial classroom activities ( see Strategies) outline the resolution and have students prepare to take a stand on the issue
Select the teams based on their positions (teacher will make decisions about teams and presentation schedule)
Outline order of speakers with information as to each speaker's purpose.
Each team will need some help in researching their position and in organizing the information. Each will also need some practice time.
Now it is time to hold the debate. Depending on the number of students, you may have more than one debate scheduled, or more than one idea being debated ( based on your discretion)
Resolved: Bilingual education should be funded in the public schools.
Bilingual programs only benefit a small minority of students.
America should require all of its legal citizens to speak English.
Discussion Questions
1.0)
Should the public schools pay for limited English speaking children to learn English? Why or Why not?
What are some of the ways that students can be taught English other than in public school classes?
What do you know about living conditions in some of America's poor neighborhoods?
If you were not able to learn how to read and write in English, what are your chances of going to college? What are your chances of getting a skilled job? What are your chances for providing for a family, in America?
1.1)
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Are there any disturbing trends in the timeline? What are they and why do they disturb you?
How did the Naturalization Act affect people of color who wanted to enter the U.S.?
Would you say that the Alien and Sedition Acts were likely applied fairly or were undesirables likely falsely accused?
Are you, in any way affected by the point in America's history wherein non-whites were unable to testify against whites? What was the purpose of that action? Can you see a connection between that action and the idea that non-white immigrants were not welcome to America?
Chinese immigrants were not the only group whose entry had been suspended, other Asian groups were not welcome as well, what do you think has caused a shift in the policy, so that now they are welcome?
How do you see the heightened debate over legal and illegal immigrants? Can you relate that to the increase of Hispanic immigrants to the country?
1.2)
Is California doing its best to educate its Latino population?
If California's school districts are mostly Latinos, should the schools provide bilingual programs for them?
In America, is it fair to concern ourselves with the cost of education or is it more important to concern ourselves with the quality of education?
When will teachers be allowed to teach reading to the children? Will students lag behind if they are not allowed to read until they are fluent English speakers?
2.0)
Are all groups educated in the same way in America?
Is there any difference in funding for inner city schools and suburban schools.
Do the opportunities differ from one school to another?
What factors might account for how ethnic groups are educated versus how non-ethnic groups are educated?
Look it up, Dear! (Vocabulary)
Add more words to this list as the study progresses.
*Immigration, immigrant, migrant, emigrate, refugee, asylum, naturalization, alien, assimilation, visa
Ideas for Independent Thinking Activities;
The ideas that follow lend themselves to number of different skills and interests:
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· Do some research to find how many different languages are spoken in the U.S. You might begin by checking your local Chamber of Commerce to find the countries in which those languages are spoken
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· Design and create a board game in which immigrants are able to move into mainstream America. Award points for language usage, educational achievement, job qualifications etc..
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* Write an essay, story or one-act play or draw an editorial cartoon depicting immigrants who have chosen to make America their new home. Think of them as newborn babies who have to learn the English language in order to communicate, travel and work in this country. What would be their experiences?
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* It was then in the early American colonies as it is now a natural fear that those who don't speak the language of the dominant society are somehow illiterate. The fear is that these illiterate people will be of little value to an upwardly mobile society . Can you construct an argument for or against the idea that illiteracy hinders a society?
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* Control of language brings about other kinds of control, namely economic, political and social controls. Once the language of a cultural group has been removed, that group is vulnerable to dominance by the group who controls the words. Write a futuristic scenario in which earth people have been invaded by beings from another world. You are forbidden to speak your language. You are offered no way of learning theirs and language is a guarded secret, because it is their most precious commodity. If you've read some myths in which the secret of fire was guarded by the gods of that particular culture, then you have a good understanding of what kinds of things are done to keep the power or to get it. In this case, your power is that of language.
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* Think of what it must be like to be in a place where you don't speak the language of the native culture. Perhaps you have been a similar situation. Let's use for example, African slaves who were brought to America from various parts of the African continent and sold into slavery in various parts of the world other than the U.S.. Not only was there a loss of family members, religion and cultural practices but a loss of language, as well. Because they were placed with other African slaves and slaveholders who spoke some "foreign" language, verbal communication was virtually impossible. What would you have done if you were a member of the dominant culture? Would you offer some formal kind of language training or would you prefer that they remained illiterate?