El corazon de Mexico en Chicago

An Equitable Approach for Culturally-Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Gifted Students

Supporting Latino Students to Maximize their Potential

In "The Potential and Promise of Latino Students" (American Educator, Spring 2017) , Patricia Gándara describes the changing cultural and linguistic portrait of Latino students in the USA while reflecting on their potential and areas of struggle. In the section, "Why Latinos Fall Behind," Gándara reflects on a common trend in schools to identify second-language acquisition as the primary factor impacting Latino student's academic performance and growth. I wanted to deconstruct several of her quotations and analyze the potential impact our Latino students. Quotation: "The simplistic and misguided explanation that language is the primary impediment to academic achievement overlooks the much more powerful role of poverty. Nearly two-third (62 percent) of Latino children live in or near poverty, and less than 20 percent of low-income Latinos live in households where anyone completed postsecondary education," (p.6). Analysis: Although many ...

We Day: Our students will be the change that we want to see in the world

On Wednesday, April 25th, 8th grade Spanish Biliteracy students attended We Day to celebrate their local/global service learning projects and be inspired to make a positive impact in our local and global communities. On the We Day website, We Day is described as a, " WE Day is a powerful, life-changing experience with world-renowned speakers and performers, mixed with real inspirational stories of change." The day was inspiring and filled with back-to-back celebrity performances (like Jordan Fisher and Ally Brooke from Fifth Harmony ) and inspirational speeches by world leaders like the former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, and Margaret Trudeau. ( Complete list of Presenters in WE Day Illinois ). In order to qualify for our local service learning project, 8th grade students researched local food challenges and support organizations before organizing and implementing a canned food drive that collected more than 200 non-perishable food items. Students refle...

Teaching and Learning: Language and Culture

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