Advocating for English Learners

How to teach these children has been among the most contentious –indeed, most politicized – issues in American education over the past three decades. External forces such as the English-only movement, misguided approaches to school reform, state and federal mandates for high-stakes testing, uninformed media coverage, resistance to civil-rights laws, and legislators’ refusal to provide adequate funding continue to exert a powerful influence on what happens in ELL classrooms. Languageminority communities, by contrast, have limited power and resources to fight back; hence the limited responsiveness of policymakers. In this situation, it becomes imperative for educators to enter the public arena and do battle on behalf of their students.



Approved by Englishcology