ELL Schools and Families Essay Example for Free

ELL Schools and Families Essay The population of English Language Learners (ELL) are increasing in educational institutions primarily influenced by globalization and immigration. It has been projected that within the coming years, the percentage of children attending educational institutions in the country shall be non-English speakers. The term ELL is brought about by the shift in the English language-learning paradigm that represents the trend in language acquisition. (Bank Street) The increasing population of ELL’s are putting pressures on the educational atmosphere as educational institutions are forced to alter their curriculum to accommodate the needs and concerns of the learners. (Abedi, 2002) Integrating a program for ELL’s in the school setting is a great challenge for the educational institution, the teacher, the learner, and one’s family. Teaching non-English speakers who are not able to both understand and speak the language is more difficult than teaching English speakers the rules of the language are, for instance. Challenges include the need for educational institutions to implement a curriculum that fits the requirements of the ELL’s. Teachers, on the other hand need to be aware of the appropriate techniques and strategies that would be efficient in the success of language accommodation and acculturation. For learners, engaging in an unfamiliar environment is not motivating them to eagerly learn. (Mercuri, 2003) To address the problems and concerns that ELL’s face in the learning environment, society looks to the involvement of the family in order to strengthen the school as an institution that fully supports English language learners. (Collier Thomas, 1999) Family involvement play a significant role during the learning process of ELL’s. According to a research conducted in order to determine guidelines that the No Child Left Behind Act shall implement, the involvement of family members to school activities such as programs that aims to promote development of academic standing and preparation for the next level of English language learning increases the chance of successes that a learner shall be able to accomplish. This is because families understand the needs and the difficulties of their children, and are also able to see their progress with regards to academics, pushing them to encourage, support, and value learning as an integral part of their children’s success. (Epstein, 2004) Moreover, it is the responsibility of the school to build a relationship with the family of the learner in order to inform them of the developmental stages and the changes that the children are going to experience, as they grow older. This particular knowledge gives families the idea of how to build a supportive home environment that boosts learning. This particular interaction between the school and the family allows the educational institution to understand the cultural background of families and determine their goals and objectives for their children when it comes to English language learning. (Epstein, 2004) Providing a supportive sociocultural environment is at the heart of tapping into the potential of ELL’s to benefit largely from the English language learning program. Interaction between the educational institution and the families contributes to this objective. Looking at their parents interact with the members of the educational institution motivates learners to build relationships with the institution as well, without any apprehensions as brought about by fear of cultural rejection. (Collier Thomas, 1999) An article written by Rhona Barton for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory discovers cases wherein active involvement of parents leads to academic success of the learners, especially in socially interacting within the school environment. (Barton, 2006) Educational institutions with English language learning programs do not necessarily implement the use of the English language at home, as decisions regarding the matter are based on cultural considerations. Schools should consider the importance of native language to ELL’s and their families. However, the continued use of English at home and the support of the family when it comes to home language speeds up the learning process, schools still acknowledge that the ELL’s are aware of language learning based on their knowledge of their native language. (Ortiz, 2001) Schools should also provide alternatives for families in order for them to adjust or cope with the changes that ELL affects within their family life. Schools should inform them of educational options such as tutorial services that are made available at home or in schools, support groups within the community that assists families in their needs and concerns regarding the issue of English language learning. Family counseling is also an option as it allows medical professionals to help in determining problems or obstacles that the family shall be facing, and strengthening family relationships in order to withstand the challenges of immersing into a community and cultural environment that they are not familiar with. For specific problems such as financial aspect of English language learning, the federal government entitles families to funding as authorized by the federal Title I funding program. (Ortiz, 2001) Partnership of educational institutions with families are best established through communication and social interaction. Schools should be able to develop and maintain a stable relationship with the families that is primarily grounded on the objective of affecting learning and making ELL’s experience success within the unfamiliar learning environment. Moreover, through this, schools are enriched and enlightened with the knowledge of different cultural backgrounds within the school environment and be able to modify the learning atmosphere to fit the culture, beliefs, and traditions of non-English speakers. Teachers should be able to communicate the needs and concerns of ELL’s to their families, in order for them to understand how they are going accommodate the needs of their children who are involved in English language learning. Schools should establish regular meetings with the teachers, and ask them to get involved with programs and school activities that harness English language learning and support the need of their children to learn the English language. If possible, home visitations are one of the best ways to establish a strong foundation of relationship between the school and the families. (Barton, 2006) References Abedia, J. (2002). â€Å"Assessment and Accommodation of English Language: Issues, Concerns, and Recommendations. † Retrieved May 1, 2008, from NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Website: http://www. ncacasi. org/jsi/2002v3i1/assessment Bank Street. (2008). â€Å"English Language Learners: Working with Children Whom English is a New Language. † Retrieved May 1, 2008, from Bank Street. Website: http://www. bnkst. edu/literacyguide/ell. html Barton, R. (2006). â€Å"Forging Family Ties. † Retrieved May 2, 2008, from Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Website: http://www. nwrel. org/nwedu/11-03/forge/ Collier, V. P. Thomas, W. P. (1999). â€Å"Making U. S. Schools Effective for English Language Learners, Part 3. † TESOL Matters, Vol. 9, No. 6. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from TESOL. Website: http://www. tesol. org/s_tesol/sec_document. asp? CID=196DID=826 Epstein, J. (2004). â€Å"Meeting NCLB Requirements for Family Involvement. † Middle Ground, Vol. 4, No. 3. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from National Middle School Association. Website: http://www. nmsa. org/portals/0/pdf/publications/On_Target/family_involvement/family_9. pdf Mercuri, S. (2003). â€Å"Helping Middle and High School Age English Language Learners Achieve Academic Success. † NABE Journal of Research and Practice. Retrieved May 1, 2008. Website: http://www. uc. edu/njrp/pdfs/freeman. pdf Ortiz, A. (2001). â€Å"English Language Learners With Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies. † Retrieved May 2, 2008, from CAL. Website:

Economy Of Russia :: essays research papers

The phase in the business cycle that Russia is in is Prosperity. Prosperity is the high point of the business cycle. The Gross Domestic Product is 796 billion dollars. Russia is partners with Germany in exporting and importing. The number of imports is 33 billion and the number of exports are 66 billion. The National Budget is 56.6 billion dollars. They have 1 radio per 2.9 people. They also have 1 Telephone per 5.9 people. Russia’s education is free and compulsory through ages 7 to 17. The unemployment rate is 8 percent. The inflation rate is 85 percent and possibly more if monetary policy is relaxed. Russia was mostly an agricultural country until the late 19th century, when industrialization began, in European Russia. Economic development was then interrupted by World War 1 and the Civil War that followed. Modern development was initiated by Stalin, whose frantic industrialization drive in the 1930’s made the Soviet Union an industrial giant. Under Stalin and his successors, the less settled frontier regions of Central Asia and Siberia were developed. Several of the world’s largest dams were built on in the former Soviet Union, and the world’s first atomic station was opened in 1954. By the 1980’s about 40 nuclear reactors were operating in the Soviet Union. In the late 1970’s the economic backwardness of the Soviet Union had become so self evident that no amount of political propaganda could obscure it. Western developed countries began to enter the Information Age, introducing new communication technologies and electronic links among institutions and individuals. The Soviet Union still relied on the rigid planning and pervasive controls, leaving no room for initiative and inventiveness. When Mikhail Gorbachev became head of the party in 1985, the huge country began to move. Gorbachev surrounded himself with a number of reform-minded economists and soon formulated the main pillars of economic restructuring called perestroika. The major goals of perestrioka were to make Soviet enterprises more self-governing and to give them more freedom, while at the same time, more responsibility for their performance. In the planned economy before perestroika, all enterprises were totally dependent on central planners, who determined where to buy materials, what to produce, and where to sell it. This system encouraged inefficiency, because the companies did not have to compete with any other companies.

Dealing With Physical Abuse

The Struggle Physical Abuse Brings People all around the world have suffered from being abused verbally and physically, causing a struggle because they don’t know how to handle these types of situations. In the short story Runaways by Karen Brennan, the main character Lou is physically abused by her husband, which leads Lou to run away, causing problems between friends and family. What are you without loved ones? When you really care about someone you will give an arm and a leg for him or her but once they cross a line they shouldn’t, it feels like the world is supposed to end.In Lou’s situation this is exactly what happened to her. She gave her entire life to her husband and her children. Unfortunately her husband didn’t care about her feelings and cared more about what he wanted than what would keep her happy. Physical abuse in a relationship is a key factor of failing marriages. Lack of communication can lead to physical abuse. Throughout the time that Lou and her husband have been married, they have been through a lot. One thing that might have started all their arguing besides his drinking problem may be that they â€Å"have difficulty talking to each other†(Brennan,501).Lou states, â€Å"My husband didn’t always beat me. In the beginning he was just irresponsible. I could live with that. He drank too much and in the worst times he drove too fast with the babies in the car†(Brennan,501). Lou’s husband beats her so often, she is afraid to go to sleep. When her husband was drunk he became a whole different person, â€Å"he was a maniac when he was drunk†(Brennan,501). â€Å"Its unfair the advantage that men have†(Brennan,501) because woman should be able to stand up for themselves without worrying about what the guys reaction will be.Lou is a woman who will put others before herself. She is a mother of four children and wants everyone happy. For instance, a lot of mothers’ first rea ction to their children crying is to beat them and tell them to â€Å"stop whining†. Lou has been beaten by someone she truly loves so why would she want to beat four people she loves unconditionally, her children. Lou states, â€Å"I am not one of those mothers who turns around in the car and swats the kids on the legs and tells them to shut up. I have never believed in that. When they whined, I told stories.I told them about a family who sailed away in an orange balloon†(Brennan,501). Lou had hit her breaking point and had to runaway from her problems. But is running away the answer? Often people who are physically abused turn around and abuse others. For Lou, it was a different story. She was not a young adult who abused her children because her husband abused her. Many people take their anger out on others because it is a way to make themselves feel better. Lou possibly could have felt pressure to raise her four children with her husband being involved.Lou was stro ng enough and didn’t stay in an abusive relationship just for the children because she knew leaving was the best decision for her at the time. Through all the ups and downs Lou went through with her husband in the end she felt like she was left with nothing. â€Å"a woman without a husband is like an ocean without a sea†(Brennan,500). Its hard being happy if you don’t have the people you cherish most in your life around you. A person can struggle with a bunch of emotions and if you don’t have the support of people that care about you, the situation gets a lot harder.When you are surrounded with people that want the best for you, then you will get though your struggles with someone by your side, not alone. I personally know someone who went through something very similar from what Lou went through. My cousin who is now 25 years old has been dealing with family problems ever since she was about 10 years old. I have heard all these stories about my cousin an d her family from my parents. I was always curious and wanted to know what was happening but it was not my place to ask questions because it might be a sensitive topic for her.Her father was a heavy drinker which caused him to be very angry not only friend friends but especially with his family. My cousin Kelley was the youngest of the two kids. She has an older sister who was 4 years older than she is. Night after night her father kept drinking excessively. The family knew what was coming along with his drinking, his anger. One night it got really bad, he yelled at Kelley for the littlest things, things that were not even a big deal. One time, she didn’t wash her plate after dinner because she was too tired and wanted to go to bed.He became highly upset and rushed into her bedroom, slapped her, and told her to get up and clean her plate. Each day he got worse and worse. After a couple years went by Kelley, her mom, and he sister could no longer handle him and his drinking pr oblem. They moved out when he was at work so he could not say anything about it. The girls moved far away and did not tell anyone where they were going because they did not want their father to find out. They knew he would make a big deal about it. Three girls living on their own trying to survive must have been hard.Having a main man in their life was their leading factor to surviving. Without her dad paying for everything and supplying for the family, it’s difficult for the girls. Somehow her father found out where they were and made them come back. They decided to give their father one more chance, thinking that things would be different but they only got worse. He thought they would leave him again so he tried to be more protective which only caused his anger to be worse than it already was. As Kelley matured throughout the years she realized she no longer wanted to have her dad in her life at all so she lost all contact with him.She got her own apartment and did almost a ll her daily actives on her own. After everything that happened with her dad, she didn’t want to depend on anyone else but herself. This made it difficult for Kelley to keep close friendships with her girlfriends because after her father, she thought that everyone she truly cared about would let her down like he did. Kelley’s fear of having to abandon ones she love caused her to have little friends. She was afraid to trust anyone at all because she believed that friendships and relationships don’t last forever.Later when Kelley became a young adult she realized that she could not go on any longer not having her father in her life and having little friends that she can count on. Being on your own is tough. So Kelley allowed her father to re enter her life but not fully be involved 100%. She realized although she had been through a lot over the years, having her dad around again was exactly what she needed to be happy again. As the years go on, you find out who yo u need in your life and who you would be okay without. I thought that Lou and my cousin Kelley’s story were similar due to running away from their problems.Although Lou was physically abused and Kelley was verbally abused their problems with the men in their lives bring their two stories together. Not having a close relationship with someone who means the world to you has to be really hard. Especially for Kelley, being so young and thinking you dad would be someone you would look up to as the years went on. Her father ended up being someone she never thought he would be, which had to of been beyond upsetting. As for Lou, the man who has been the love of her life for years now and has children who look up to him is not the type of father they though he was going to be.Its hard putting all your effort into someone and believing they are going to give their best to you and then be let down. Being let down is very hurtful and can cause someone a lot of pain, for instance Lou and Kelley. Although Lou and Kelley did not end with the same feelings at the end of both of their stories they still dealt with the same process. Work Cited Alvarado, Beth, Barbara Cully, and Michael Robinson. â€Å"Runaways. † Writing as Revision. Boston, MA. : Pearson Custom Pub. , 2003. 499-509. Print.

An Interpretation Of Religion By David Nah - 865 Words

â€Å"I want to say that the noumenal Real is experienced and thought by different human mentalities, forming and formed by different religious traditions.† - John Hick In â€Å"An Interpretation of Religion† Hick argues how all religions are ambiguously and culturally designed to answer all of life’s questions. A renowned theologian, philosopher and religious pluralist, Hick firmly agrees world religions are diverse paths to meet the â€Å"Real† or â€Å"Truth†. David Nah’s Christian Theology and Religious Pluralism: A Critical Evaluation of John Hick criticizes Hick’s hypothesis discusses how the Christian theology uniquely differs from world religions. The New Age generation has made religious pluralism a pivotal acknowledgement for society as it continues to omit the fundamental factors of the Christian doctrine, an evident study that already answers life’s toughest questions. The world’s most commonly followed religions its path to truth consists: †¢ Hinduism: Universally viewed as a polytheistic religion and one of the oldest. Its 900 million followers’ spiritual goal is to merge as one with Brahma, its supreme God. This achievement is through reincarnation determined on karma, depending ones past deeds coinciding to one’s future. †¢ Buddhism: One of the most leading beliefs in the Sinic world. Its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, discovered the reach of Enlightenment by the Four Noble Truths: to live means to suffer, the affliction causes passion, the ability to end affliction