Article Summaries

Two Article Summaries

The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies

A Research Review

Christine E. Sleeter

In this article, Sleeter brings to light that many K-12 curricula overwhelmingly center around white figures and experiences. When people of color are brought up in curricula, they are often seen as victims or viewed through a narrow lens. Many students become aware of this bias in education as early as elementary school, and as a result, they become disengaged with school because it doesn't reflect their history or experiences. However, when offered ethnic studies, these students often re-engage, develop critical thinking, and feel more validated and motivated. 

For our district, this is encouraging because I see so many students disengaged with school, and as a teacher, it's painful to watch our students who we want to see succeed write off education and learning as something that is “not for them”. Hopefully, by integrating ethical studies into our classrooms, we can engage more students to become learners and invest in their education.

Teaching Multilingual Children

Virginia Collier 

This article really made me think about how we prepare students for the world without killing their love of learning. One key takeaway was the importance of valuing the different languages and cultures our students bring into the classroom. It laid out seven practical guidelines that center on this idea, like remembering that students use their first language strategies when learning a second, and that our job isn’t to “fix” them but to build on what they already know. We shouldn't teach English in a way that pushes out a student’s home language. Instead, we should teach standard English while encouraging respect for dialect differences, creating a space of language recognition. The article also stressed not punishing kids for code-switching but rather understanding why they do it. Finally, it made a strong case for using literacy programs specifically designed for English learners and taking a balanced approach that includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing.