Escuche Nuestra Historia (Listen to Our Story): The Voices of Generation 1.5
High School Students and their Ongoing Journey to Academic Success
by
Sylvia Herrera
A thesis submitted to
Sonoma State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
In
Education
Focus in Reading and Language
_____________________________
Dr. Charles Elster, Chair
______________________________
Dr. Karen Grady
______________________________
Dr. Paul Crowley
______________________________
Date
i
Copyright 2012
By Sylvia Herrera
ii
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iii
Escuche Nuestra Historia (Listen to Our Story) : The Voices of Generation 1.5
High School Students and their ongoing Journey to Academic Success
Thesis by
Sylvia Herrera
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to identify and understand a fast-growing population of
students, referred to as Generation 1.5 students, and to provide information that will lead
to them being better served in school. These students have gone through most of their
academic careers in U.S. schools, but struggle with achieving academic success in the
classroom and on state mandated tests, including the California High School Exit Exam
(CAHSEE), due to low reading and writing scores. Through library research, the thesis
addresses the question: How can we help Generation 1.5 high school students achieve
academic success? The characteristics of Generation 1.5 students are presented through
research review and student portraits. Challenges they face in and out of school are also
investigated. Examples of effective methods for increasing academic achievement and
test performance are described, including establishing high track classes, incorporating
flexible pacing and approaches, doing authentic writing, providing balanced and holistic
assessments, using engaging student literature and technology, and doing test preparation
all year long and across the subject areas. Issues related to parent engagement,
administrative support and staff development are also addressed. While the research in
this thesis will help educators better identify and serve Generation 1.5 students, the
economic challenges that many schools face now will pose challenges. Many literacy
programs are being blended, dismantled, or restructured. Educators must continue to
fight for these students’ rights, and become more vocal and let districts know that when
they cut programs, the possibilities of success for our students are also being cut.
Chair:
__________________________
Signature
Date: _____________________
M.A. Program: Education
Sonoma State University
iv
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to all the professors
on my committee: Dr. Charles Elster, Dr. Karen Grady, and Dr. Paul Crowley. You
have each impacted me in a very profound way and I am grateful to have had your
expertise, knowledge, and experience, in helping me shape and mold this thesis into its
final product. To my husband, Sucre, and my children, Ana Christina and Sucre
Antonio, Jr., I am eternally thankful for your support and words of encouragement even
in my most trying times; to my parents, Amilcar Armando Ruiz, I miss you and think of
you every day , I will see you again; to my mother, Christina Ruiz, where would I be if
not for your belief in me and what I could accomplish; to my sister, Sonia, a fantastic and
ever-present support system, thank you for listening and providing me with thoughtful
and practical feedback, busy as you are. You paved the way for me to continue my
studies. And lastly, to all my students, who motivate me every day. Never give up and
make your dreams a reality.
v
Table of Contents
Chapter
Page
1. Introduction to Generation 1.5 students and their teacher, Mrs. Herrera ………… 1
Issues Affecting Generation 1.5 Students ……………………………………….....4
CAHSEE and Academic Language ………………………………………………. 6
Research Question ……………………………………………………………..... .12
Methodology……………………………………………………………………... .12
Overview of Thesis Chapters ……………………………………………………. 14
2.
What is a Generation 1.5 Student?.......................................................................... .16
Student Portrait and Research Data…………………………………………… .. .16
Varying Linguistic Profiles of Latinas/os (BICS and CALP)…….…………….....21
Poverty Issues and How it Relates to Student Achievement……………………...24
Summary…………………………………………………………………………. 25
3.
Issues facing Generation 1.5 Students………………………………………… ... 27
Challenges Outside of School……………………………………………………. 27
Challenges In Schools and Classrooms.............…………………………………. 34
The CAHSEE and Its Challenges……………………………………………….. 39
Student Identity………………………………………………………………… 42
Summary………………………………………………………………............... 45
4.
Strategies and Methods that Work……………………………………………… 47
What Works for School Achievement and Test Preparation…………………..... 47
What Works for Community Involvement and Parent Engagement……………..61
What Works for Student Identity and Motivation……………………………….73
vi
Summary………………………………………………………………………….80
5.
El Fin, Reflections……………………………………………………………….. 81
Generation 1.5 Students and the Educational System……………………………81
Are the Cards stacked against them? …………………………………………….82
The Relationship between School Success and Life Outside of School…………85
Fight the Power …Y la lucha sigue (and the battle continues)…………………..88
Conclusions and Next Steps…...…………………………………………………89
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...91
vii
List of Figures
Page
Figure 1
California’s Child Poverty Rate between 2007/2008………………… 30
List of Tables
Table 1
California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Results……………….. 5
Mathematics and English-Language Arts (ELA) by Program
(February 2011) for (All Grades) State Report
viii
ix
1
Chapter One
Introduction to Generation 1.5 Students and Their Teacher, Mrs. Herrera
The class that inspired this thesis is my third and fourth period Reading/Writing
Workshop. There are eighteen freshman and sophomore students in this class, ranging in
age from fourteen to sixteen. There are fifteen boys and three girls of MexicanAmerican, Mexican, Salvadoran, and Filipino descent: all are bilingual, and have been
born and raised here or came here at a very young age. While these students have been
identified as having language acquisition issues, many times these are not the only issues
affecting their academic success. The labels that have been given to these particular
students by the State of California and the local school district are Generation 1.5 or
Long-term English Language Learners. The term Generation 1.5 comes from Professor
Ruben Rumbaut of UC Irvine, (Rumbaut & Ima, 1988). In my experience, these
students are vocal, bilingual, transcultural, bidialectal, and technologically-savvy
individuals who are the face of California’s future.
I have been teaching ELD (English Language Development), and mainstream
English high school classes since 1996. While I also teach mainstream English (I have
taught grade 9, 10 and 11), my true calling is in ELD. I can relate to this population in
that I myself came from a home where English was not always spoken at home, and my
parents were not from the United States. Though I managed to excel in school, during
my years as an educator, I have seen many students struggle and give up with regards to
their studies. Many of these students have been Generation 1.5 students. I feel that if I
can give them the necessary tools that are required in school, such as developing their
academic register, further developing their reading abilities, helping them refine and
2
improve their writing skills, and being able to perform well on state-mandated tests, they
can experience more academic success. Then there will be even more opportunities for
them to achieve once they are out of school.
I give all of my classes 100% of my passion, knowledge and effort. I do feel
though, that the ELD / Generation 1.5 students can benefit more from my academic
experience and knowledge in the area of English Language Development. I do not know
what kind of support these students are receiving throughout the school day, but in my
class they receive instruction that is scaffolded, meaning instruction is broken down into
smaller sections so that students can better understand material. Assignments are
modeled, so students see what a completed piece of work will look like and what I am
expecting them to do. Lastly, students work collaboratively so they can understand,
master, and apply the concepts / lesson being taught.
Sadly, I have seen many Generation 1.5 students drop out of school or end up in
Adult Education, juvenile hall, or jail, pregnant, without gainful employment, working
minimum wage jobs, or dead. I was alarmed, concerned, disheartened, and then just as
quickly, angered, as to why this was occurring. The group this was happening to,
Hispanic students, is the most rapidly growing population in most California schools. I
wanted to uncover research about this dilemma and to find solutions that can be
implemented so that these students can experience success in school
My Story
I was raised in a middle-class family, and I never felt deprived of anything. Though
my parents emigrated from El Salvador and were English Language Learners, they both
3
acquired enough English to get by and land good jobs. My father arrived here in his midtwenties. Although he was a teacher in El Salvador, he became a custodian here and later
made his career as a dental technician. My mother arrived at age fifteen, and first worked
as a theater usher. Over the years she worked in retail, banking, then retired with an
administrative position with the county. My parents worked hard and made sure I had
everything I needed. I excelled in school and had lots of parental support. But I wonder
how I would have fared if I came to the U.S. as a nine-year-old from El Salvador, not
knowing the language, and being economically disadvantaged, getting my reduced-lunch
and being in ELD classes. I wonder how I would have turned out.
In this thesis, I will uncover the realities Generation 1.5 students are facing at
school and at home, what academic issues they are experiencing, and share what I have
found works with this particular population. With the right support system, and the right
curriculum, these students can achieve success. I say this because I have seen it with my
own eyes. I want other educators to see that although this population of students has
been seen by some as a challenge and sometimes even a detriment at schools, I have seen
success with my class due to implementing specific teaching methods, using a specialized
curriculum, and having the support of my department and the parents. The question is
how students’ strengths and areas of needed improvement are being perceived by the
power structures (schools) currently in place. Having read the literature and research
regarding Generation 1.5 students, I have come away with a deeper understanding of
them and the issues they face. The input of my colleagues and my committee has been an
integral part of how I came to further analyze and question what the research uncovered.
The information I have collected is for myself but also I want to share my findings with
4
fellow educators, so it can shed some light on this frequently ignored and misunderstood
population of students.
Issues Affecting Generation 1.5 Students
The core school issues Generation 1.5 students are struggling with are schoolrelated reading comprehension, mastery of basic school language, and effective high
school writing. Generation 1.5 students have compensated for these school skills
throughout elementary, middle, and high school with oral language proficiency. School
personnel may not notice their weak school skills because they sound like Native-born
English speakers. Many Generation 1.5 students have been promoted to the next grade
although their abilities on school reading tasks have not improved. Pull-out programs,
limited tutoring, after school programs and more help with reading at home, have had
little success for my students. Lastly, these students are having difficulty passing statemandated tests, namely the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam), which all
students must pass in order to graduate.
Generation 1.5 students have many strengths, but they need to be more proficient
in their use of the language of high school classrooms, being able to produce effective
high school writing, and having the necessary skills to graduate high school, all while
maintaining their bilingual, transcultural, and multi-modal abilities.
Table 1 shows the disparity between the scores of the English Language Learners
and the mainstream population of students on CAHSEE (Source: CA Department of
Education, 2011).
5
Table 1
California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Results for Mathematics and
English- Language Arts (ELA)by Program (February 2011) for (All Grades) State
Report
Loca
tion
State
wide
State
wide
Tested
or
Passing
#
Special
Ed.
(EL)
Students
Students
Students
155,49
1
16,607
28,104
21,164
80,117
62,232
105,53
0
(68%)
4,516
(27%)
10,885
(39%)
17,864
(84%)
45,636
(57%)
51,838
(83%)
ELA
154,88
6
18,506
33,301
19,759
80,890
61,225
ELA
103,79
9
(67%)
4,693
(25%)
9,134
(27%)
17,472
(88%)
43,874
(54%)
51,942
(85%)
Subj
Math
Tested
Passing
Math
:
State
wide:
State
wide:
#
Tested
Passing
All
Reclassified
Fluent-English
Proficient
(RFEP) Students
Econ. Dis.
Not
Econ.
Dis.
Note. From CAHSEE Results for Mathematics and English Language Arts by Program,
State Report 2011, Copyright 2012, CA Department of Education.
The English language learners, which includes Generation 1.5 students, scored
better on math than on English and scored well below the reclassified students in both
Math and English. In English, they scored just two percent higher than those of the
Special Education students. They also scored lower than the economically disadvantaged
category of students. This is in contrast to the Reclassified Fluent-English Proficient
students, whose scores surpass those of All Students in both Math and English. The
Generation 1.5 students are being left behind.
According to the California Department of Education, as of 2011, 23.2 percent of
the total enrollment in California public schools was made of up English Language
Learners: that is 1,441,643 students. A total of 2,326,040 students speak a language other
6
than English in their homes. This number represents about 37.4% of the state’s public
school enrollment. The majority of English Language Learners (71%) are enrolled in the
elementary grades, kindergarten through grade six. The rest (29 %) are enrolled in the
secondary grades, seven through twelve; and less than 1 % are in the ungraded category.
Although English Learner data are collected for 59 language groups, 94 % speak one of
the top ten languages in the state: Spanish (82.7 %), Vietnamese (2.7 %), Cantonese (1.7
%), Filipino (Filipino or Tagolog) (1.6 ), Hmong (1.2 %), Mandarin (1.2 %), Korean (1.0
%), Arabic (0.9 %), Punjabi (0.7 %), or Russian (0.6 %).
I have looked at the demographics and numbers of English Language Learners
(Generation 1.5 students fall under this umbrella although oral proficiency is strong)
attending California schools. This is a growing and diverse population that is doing
several things at once: acquiring a new language and academic register, trying to pass all
of their classes, and having to meet all the academic requirements to successfully pass
state-mandated tests such as the California High School Exit Exam.
The CAHSEE and Academic Language
The concept of a high school exit exam is not new to California (Hart &
Brownell, 2002). In 1978, legislation was passed to establish minimum competency tests
that would be locally developed and administered at elementary, middle, and high school
to assess progress toward graduation requirements and to keep parents appraised of
students’ progress. However in 1999, state policy makers wanted a more rigorous exam
linked to the state’s new academic standards. As a result, they passed legislation initiated
by Governor Gray Davis that led to the creation of the California High School Exit Exam
7
(CAHSEE).
California Education Code (EC) Section 60850(a), enacted in 1999, authorized
the development of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). The
CAHSEE has two parts: English-Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. By law, each
part is aligned with California’s academic content standards adopted by the State Board
of Education (SBE). All students in California public schools must satisfy the CAHSEE
requirement, as well as all other state and local graduation requirements, to receive a high
school diploma. The stated purpose of the CAHSEE is to: (1) significantly improve
student achievement in public high schools and (2) to ensure that students who graduate
from public high schools can demonstrate grade level competency in reading, writing,
and mathematics.
When CAHSEE was still in its infant stages, practice tests were being
administered to the students. The tests did not “count” yet, but students were being
gauged on their scores, and there was already a public outcry about the test. I played a
role in assessing the writing of students who had taken the test. In 1998-1999, I was a
participant along with a group of other English and English Language Development
teachers at a Northern California high school. We would be responsible for reading
student essays, grading it as a one, two, or three, three being the highest score you could
give. It was a long and draining process, but even back then I remember reading essays
written by English Language Learners and seeing how their writing could not compete
with that of the native-born students. The criteria for the writing rubrics were sentence
development, use of writing conventions, writing having a sense of chronological order,
use of voice (first person, third person), answering the writing prompt, and so on. Once
8
in a while an English Language Learner would receive a score of a two or a two and a
half (out of three), good enough to pass the English Language Arts portion, but they were
few and far between.
The CAHSEE examination is given over a two-day period. The first part of the
CAHSEE focuses on English Language Arts, which is broken up into six strands: word
analysis, reading comprehension, literature response, writing strategies, writing
conventions, and writing applications. Everything except the written essay is multiple
choice. For instance, a student reads a three page selection on the pros and cons of
vitamin supplements; the article divided into a pro and a con section. Students who do
not know what pro and con means, or who are unfamiliar with other key school test
vocabulary would encounter problems answering test questions on this topic. For
example, in questions seventy-two and seventy-three, the words compare, nutritional,
insurance, and longevity, are mentioned. Not all students are familiar with this type of
academic vocabulary, so these test these questions would pose a challenge to them.
Here are some sample questions from that article, taken from CAHSEE testreleased questions for the English Language Arts portion of the test, October 2005.
(http:www.cde.ca.gov, 2005 test release questions, English Language Arts)
72. Read this sentence from the first article.:
A supplement is like nutritional insurance.
What does the author mean by comparing the use of supplements to insurance?
A) Like nutritional supplements, insurance is necessary to maintain good health.
B) Having insurance and using supplements will keep bad health away.
C) Both insurance and vitamins are important in curing health problems.
D) Like insurance, the nutritional value of supplements will be available when you
need it.
73. Read this sentence from the first article:
Help yourself to a daily vitamin mineral supplement, and help yourself to improved
9
health and longevity.
What does the sentence mean?
A) Helping others means encouraging them to take vitamins and minerals.
B) A large helping of vitamins and minerals is necessary for good health.
C) Taking vitamins and minerals is one way that people may help themselves.
D) Taking vitamins and minerals regularly will have a positive effect on a person’s
health.
The correct answer for both questions is D. Finding the correct answer among the
distracter answers, requires differentiating shades of meaning that is challenging for these
students. Tests do need to challenge students, but work with this type of academic task
has not been a consistent part of their educational experiences.
On the second day of CAHSEE testing, students are administered an examination
in Math, which includes multiple choice questions on basic Algebra skills, also broken
down into distinct strands. Each part of the test is three and a half to four hours in length.
Special accommodations are given to Special Education students, who are tested in
smaller classrooms with fellow special education students, directions are explained in
more detail, and students are given more time to complete test. For English Language
Learners, the accommodations are similar, they too are tested with only English
Language Learners, in separate classrooms from the mainstream students. They can use
a glossary of academic terms translated from English to Spanish only if it has been used
consistently in their classrooms during the year. Glossaries provide translations only, not
definitions. Students can have directions translated into Spanish, and they do receive
more time to complete the test. Students who have just arrived to the country, besides
taking the CAHSEE in their spring semester if they are in grades nine, ten, or eleven,
must also take the California State Test, known as the CST / STAR test.
Many of the Generation 1.5 students in my class fail the English Language Arts
10
portion of examination and have to re-take it several times. However, I am happy to
announce that one of my Generation 1.5 students did pass both sections of the CAHSEE
and practically jumped up and down when he received his results. This student, whose
name is Fernando (all names are pseudonyms), has become a beacon of hope for the class
because he achieved what so many of the other students are struggling with. The entire
class is very proud of his academic achievement, and Fernando, true to his
technologically savvy ways, posted his CAHSEE results on Facebook for all the world to
see. When asked by fellow students how he did it, Fernando responded that his teacher
this year and last year (me) introduced, defined, and reviewed much of the terminology
and sample release-questions with his class. When the real test came along, he
recognized many of the types of reading selections, the academic language, and the
reading strategies taught previously to him. He also tapped into his prior knowledge. It
worked.
What I see in Generation 1.5 students is a very multi-ethnic student population
where there exists a difference, not a deficit, in how they learn. By this I mean the
Generation 1.5 students in my class display a longer processing time when it comes to
school material, and their background knowledge is different from what the school is
expecting of them. For example, a student might struggle with understanding a reading
selection that seemingly irrelevant to him/her, such as George Washington’s Farewell
Address, but can understand and relate to a more contemporary reading selection that
deals with crime, such as a story we read from our EDGE books titled, “Fear.” This story
dealt with a teenage Hispanic boy’s experience of having his house almost broken into,
and having to verbally defend himself from the intruders. Many students in my class
11
have had a similar experience, so the subject matter was relevant to them. This reading
selection triggered very articulate and expressive journals from my students. My job as a
teacher is to make the students understand and make connections to the text, be it
historical or fictional, and to make the school material relevant. Many of my students
came into my classroom voicing their disinterest towards school, they did not see the
value in it. My role was to have them look at school from another perspective, and to
find the value in it. I succeeded in changing several of the students’ negative views on
school, and to look at in a more receptive way.
The language used in school has been labeled by Cummins (1979) as Cognitive
Academic Language, and it is characterized by two components: complex syntax,
academic vocabulary, and a complex discourse style. It has been assumed that academic
language can be analyzed and taught directly, but this is an empirical question, open to
investigation. For example, high school language would include knowing how to use
standard reading and writing conventions. (for example, I am going to the store versus
I’ma go to da store) Krashen (2007) gives his definition of high school language as the
special language used in school and the professions. In school, it is the language of story
problems in math, social studies, and science texts. Outside of school, it is the language
of business and finance, science, and politics. Studies show that there are similarities and
differences in the specific academic languages used in different areas.
Generation 1.5 students need the appropriate support so they can learn the
necessary academic skills, such as understanding and using literary terms, answering
muiltiple choice questions, separating main ideas from details and presenting a
convincing argument in written form. They are expected to accomplish this in four years.
12
Are the cards stacked against them? Yes, I believe they are. Generation 1.5 students are
lagging behind when it comes to developing their school reading, writing, and oral
language abilities as compared to other students in school, as the Figure 1 pointed out.
But I also believe these students can achieve academic success despite the odds that have
them failing and dropping out of school if they have a strong, academic support system at
school and at home.
Research Question
I have briefly discussed what characteristics are generally found in the Generation
1.5 high school students. I have provided background on their academic skills and issues
that are affecting them in the classroom. A historical background of the CAHSEE was
given, with a graphic to give you statistics as to how many English Language Learners
are actually passing. Sample questions were also provided to give you a sense of how
some of the questions are worded and how school registers are still a challenging subject
for Generation 1.5 students, due to their ongoing development in this area. (For example,
the vocabulary used in questions seventy-two and seventy three of CAHSEE test released
questions: insurance, supplement, comparing). Lastly, academic language definitions
were given to give clarity as to what this language truly encompasses in the high school
setting and outside of school. All this information leads me to my research question:
How can we help Generation 1.5 high school students achieve success in school?
Methodology
I first read articles from experts in the field of reading and language acquisition
such as Cummins (2000), Kinsella (2009), and Roberge (2002). These articles dealt with
13
the power of language, bilingual children, Long Term Learners, and the type of capital
these students bring into the classroom. Freeman and Freeman (2002) discussed ways of
reaching Long Term Learners and how they can achieve success at school, which I am
also doing at my site. Garcia (2009), defines how education, multilingualism and
translanguaging looks like in the 21st century, and explains the importance of being able
to actively engage in dual languages, as does Yi (2009). Harklau (2000), provided me
with insight as to how English Language Learners are represented across education
settings and many Yi (201) discussed the hybridity of Generation 1.5 students, which I
believe they are. I chose articles that dealt with how Generation 1.5 students maneuver
and navigate language, and how it shapes their identity. I was interested in alternative
views on literacy, and exploring multilingual writing and its power, which is illustrated in
Jimenez (2001) and Rojas-Collins (2009).
I also was interested in how poverty played a role in student achievement so I
looked at Berliner (2009) and Krashen (2011), who argue that schools are not necessarily
the problem, but that outside of school factors may also be affecting student achievement.
I wanted to get a wide view of what the scholars were saying regarding Generation 1.5
students. I looked at research, theory, case studies, interviews with students, and so on. I
wanted to hear both perspectives, what the scholars had to say and what students had to
say. I searched for articles that showed Generation 1.5 students’ strengths and capital,
instead of pointing out all the things they do not know. From this review I worked to get
a clear idea of who Generation 1.5 students are, what issues face them at home and at
school, and what approaches can lead to greater success in school and later in life.
14
Overview of Thesis Chapters
Chapter One gives a general look into Generation 1.5 students, their strengths,
obstacles in school, statistics of who is passing the CASHEE, and the student population
here in California. I also give sample questions from the test and discuss definitions of
academic language and examples of what academic language instruction look like in
schools.
Chapter Two looks at Generation 1.5 students, their linguistic profiles, and what
strengths they bring into the classroom versus what the state-mandated tests expect. I
illustrate how students use English for a variety purposes and in different contexts.
Student portraits are shared and we look at the research done on the characteristics that
make up a Generation 1.5 student.
In Chapter Three, I look at challenges Generation 1.5 students are facing in
school, challenges outside of school, and how they see themselves. I will look at the
CAHSEE and give examples of areas where students have difficulty. A vital element of
student success is parent involvement. I discuss parent involvement and perceived lack
of parent involvement and how it can affect student achievement.
Chapter Four examines Forrest’s (2006) Three Foci of an Effective High School
Literacy Program, and describe the curriculum-centered, learner-centered and educatorcentered foci I have used with my own class. I discuss strategies that can help students
succeed in the classroom, especially on the CAHSEE (California High School Exit
Exam), which is an exam that really does have high-stakes, and is top priority in school
districts. I also show ways to promote positive student identity in the classroom. I show
what positive parent involvement looks like and how parents, including those who do not
15
speak English, can play a pivotal role in how their child performs in school. Finally, I
examine student motivation and student efficacy.
Chapter Five includes my reflections on the information I collected about the
academic issues Generation 1.5 are faced with, the current school system, and what that
means to my students in terms of how they become successful. I want to look at our
school system and how it is organized, which students succeed, which students fail, and
why. I will speak about the ongoing economic challenges all school districts are
grappling with, and how students are trying to succeed. I want to look at students’ life
outside of school and show how it plays an important role in how they perform in school.
I will end my thesis with the teachers and their efforts to help all students, especially
Generation 1.5 students, achieve success.
16
Chapter Two
Who Are Generation 1.5 Students?
Student Portrait and Research Defining Generation 1.5 Student Characteristics
Meet Yadira, age 14, a ninth-grader, who was born in the United States and is of
Mexican descent. She has long, brown, straight, hair, and a thick bang that covers her
left eye most of the time. Though quiet, Yadira has a temper. She gets teased by the boys
in the class because of her coffee complexion. She has a quick remark (or a quick punch
in the arm) for anyone who wants to take a verbal jab at her. She is a strong young lady
and has plans of working in a field where she can help people. She mentions nursing
quite a bit, and I think Yadira would be great at that. Yadira’s obsession is horses, and
she wrote a poem about a horse for our poetry unit. She also contemplates being a farrier
when she grows up. A farrier is a specialist in hoof care, including the trimming and
balancing of a horse’s hooves to putting on horseshoes. A farrier combines blacksmith
skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjusting metal shoes) with some veterinary skills
(knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb) to care for horses' feet.
Yadira has had experience with this type of work already, due to working on horse
ranches much of her life; she has relatives who work at Golden Gate Fields.
When reading in class, Yadira can pronounce most words, which on the surface
looks and sounds like reading, but when asked to recall key points of a reading selection
or answer specific questions about a story, she can only answer with general snippets of a
story. For example, when we read “Pale Horse”, which is a short story, I asked Yadira to
tell me who were the main characters in the story. She replied, “The girl and her
parents.” Next, I asked her to tell me how the story started, what important facts could
17
she tell me about how the story started. Her response was, “Well…. The story is about a
girl, right…. and umm…. it’s about a girl and the horses, right……..uhm. So okay,
that’s what the story is about.” She is able to give the general plot of the story, but when
it comes to explaining specific details of the plot, the conflict of the story, comparing and
contrasting characters, and so on, Yadira displayed difficulty in responding to these types
of questions. If we read together, slowly, and stop to clarify and discuss the text, then she
responded with more detail when asked about the text. A common request from Yadira
is, “Mrs. Herrera, can you read with me? I get it better when you read with me.” This
informs me that Yadira understands the text better when she is discussing and
deconstructing the text with another person.
Yadira also tends to read out loud at a fast pace, so her reading can sound rushed.
(Students read out loud and silently in the class). When she reads in small groups, and I
am with the group, scaffolding, slowing down the reading pace, talking about the text,
clarifying meanings of new words, and so on, her comprehension increases as does her
interest. Yadira will smile or tell me a story about her life that connects with the reading,
showing a clearer understanding of the text and even relating it to a life experiences.
“Pale Horse” was about a young girl who wants to attend a high school science field trip,
but her parents want her to help sells items out of their taco truck at the local charreadas
(rodeos) instead.
Throughout the story Yadira would comment, “Yeah, charreadas are fun, I’ve
been to some.” “ Yeah, that’s messed up how they rope the mares and make ‘em fall like
that.” “ If I go to school I wanna be a nurse, or maybe even work with horses.” She was
able to use her background knowledge about horses, but only with the help of someone
18
else during reading. Yadira’s story exemplifies the experience of several of the
Generation 1.5 students I have in my classroom, and possibly other Generation 1.5
students as well.
Yadira’s student portrait gives us a glimpse into the literacy abilities some
Generation 1.5 students bring with them into the classroom. It is also important to see
how scholars define what a Generation 1.5 student looks like. I trace the history of the
term Generation 1.5, see how the term has evolved, and present research that has
produced seven characteristics that identify a student as Generation 1.5.
Rumbaut and Ima (1988), state that these students are referred to as “Generation
1.5” students because they have characteristics of both first- and second generation and
because they do not fit into any of the traditional categories of nonnative English
speakers enrolled in college writing courses. The difference between Generation 1.5
learners and true EL learners is that many of the EL learners have a basic school language
foundation in their primary language and an uninterrupted history of schooling, whereas
Generation 1.5 students has a less secure first language foundation as well as gaps in their
schooling due to movement between different living locations. While the Generation 1.5
students have oral English proficiency like that of Native-born English speakers, they are
being outperformed academically by the ELLs.
Roberge (2003) states that the traditional definition of Generation 1.5 students
needs to be expanded to include “in-migrants” such as those groups who migrate from
U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, “parachute kids,” who come to the U.S. to live with
extended family members and attend K-12 schools, “native-born non-native speakers”
who are U.S. born students from language enclave communities, and “transitionals” who
19
have complex patterns of back and forth migration.
According to Thonus (2003), many of the Generation 1.5 students are losing their
home languages without having learned their writing systems or academic registers,
unlike international students who have fully developed first language skills. Some may
never be able to communicate fully with their family members. Many of these students
may become “dual nonnative speakers” because they are not fully proficient in either
their L1 or their L2-English.
Based on this research, Singhal (2004) identified seven characteristics of
Generation 1.5students:
1 Nontraditional English Language learners. Generation 1.5 students who were
born here or came to the United States when they were very young. They are culturally
very much like the average American teenager but to some extent follow traditional
customs, traditions, and expectations at home. Some of these students may be in-migrants
(groups who migrate from U.S. territories like Puerto Rico), parachute kids (students
who come to the U.S. to live with extended family), or transitionals (groups who have
complex patterns of back and forth migration). In addition, some Generation 1.5 students
exhibit dialect features rather than ESL features because they may identify with a
particular racial/ethnic group such as Latinos or African Americans.
2. Ear learners. For the most part they have learned English by listening, and not
through extensive reading and writing. Many may also be living in home or community
environment where English is not the dominant language. Their language may exhibit
community dialect features and English Learner features.
3. Limited knowledge of home language/ receptive oral language. Generation 1.5
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students are often academically illiterate in their home language. Some do not know how
to read or write in their home language, even at the very basic level, but they do
understand receptive oral language. Some older Generation 1.5 students may serve as
“language brokers” or “translators” to facilitate communication between their parents and
younger siblings, parents an outside agencies such as banks, cable/internet companies,
schools, hospitals, and even the court system.
4. Growing knowledge of English. While their knowledge of English continues to
improve with time, Generation 1.5 students tend to lag behind native speakers in reading
and writing skills.
5. Good oral/aural skills. Generation 1.5 students may sound like native speakers
because they have learned English from speaking and listening to it. They have also been
immersed in school life and the culture in the United States and are comfortable with that.
They can explain ideas clearly through oral communication.
6. Inexperienced readers and writers. For the most part, Generation 1.5 students
have read novels and fiction in high school are not familiar with a variety of academic
texts. Some have been misdiagnosed and prematurely mainstreamed or placed into ESL
classes, and some have been placed in remedial or low track classes and therefore can be
described as basic writers. Others may have taken honors classes in high school but still
display limited academic vocabulary. They have received almost no grammar instruction
and are not familiar with parts of speech or the language of grammar.
7. Schooling gaps. Additionally, Generation 1.5 learners often had gaps in their
schooling, be it due to traveling to and from their native country, to and from different
parts of California, or just moving a lot within their immediate community. The true
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immigrant language learner stays in the United States for longer durations, and travels to
their native country with less frequency, therefore not experiencing gaps in their
academic careers as much.
Freeman and Freeman (2002) argue that an increasing number of English
Learners in our schools are U.S. born and have been educated in U.S. schools since early
childhood but that they struggle with a different set of issues than newcomers who were
educated in their first language. This group is often unable to meet academic
achievement goals because of a disruption in education. Disruption of education could
entail many things: chronic absenteeism, traveling in and out of the country, truancy,
socio-economic issues (taking care of younger siblings while parents at work), or medical
issues. One of the issues surrounding Generation 1.5 students is that they are not EL
learners in the sense that the majority of them did not immigrate from another country.
They have more advanced skills, such as technological literacy and oral proficiency, than
a true ELL student, yet lack many of the basic fundamentals of reading and writing in
English; herein lies the paradox: Generation 1.5 students are orally proficient yet they are
being surpassed academically by the true immigrant EL student.
Varying Linguistic Profiles of U.S. Latinas/os (BICS and CALP)
With so many Generation 1.5 students and language learners in the high schools
you would think the predominant language is Spanish, but it is not. The language I hear
the most happens to be English. Spanish is usually when a student needs to tell me
something exactly and very precisely, but cannot find the words for it in English. This
section will discuss what language the students are actually using in and out of the
22
classroom.
Garcia and Torres-Guevara (2010) look at how many Latinos are actually
speaking Spanish and English at home. The 2005 U.S. Census shows 75 percent of
Latinos speak English proficiently. Garcia and Torres-Guevara stress that the learning of
English for students is a necessity, so there should be a high motivation to learn it well,
despite the high academic failure. Sixty-nine per cent of Latino/as over 5 years of age
spoke English very well or well. What the chart did not show was students’ Spanish
proficiency level. Learning English is an important factor in EL and Generation 1.5
students’ households, and is a necessary communication tool required both inside and
outside of the school setting.
However, the real issue for many of our Generation 1.5 students is the balancing
of BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic
language Proficiency). Cummins (1979) uses this distinction to draw attention to the
very different time periods typically required by immigrant children to acquire
conversational fluency in their second language as compared to grade-appropriate
academic proficiency in that language. Conversational fluency is often acquired to a
functional level within about two years of initial exposure to the second language
whereas at least five years is usually required to catch up to native speakers in academic
aspects of the second language. Failure to take account of the BICS/CALP
(conversational/academic) distinction has resulted in discriminatory psychological
assessment of bilingual students and premature exit from language support programs (for
example, bilingual education in the United States) into mainstream classes (Cummins,
1984).
23
Generation 1.5 students’ language reflects BICS more than CALP, which is the
area teachers often try to strengthen. Conversations among students in my class sound
like this: “I’ma have everything planned just right for my quince, it’s gon’ be
crackin’….Shut up, ain’t no one talkin to you! Like I was sayin’ before you
interrupted...” The vernacular is mostly urban, non-standard dialect, which again, most
everyone in the class understands. This student can communicate to anyone on campus
and be understood. The problem is when academic language is being introduced and
discussed. It is like teaching a second language, still English, but just in a register
different from the one students use every day. Through my own observations, I have
noticed that students struggle with registers that are valued by school, and often report
that they find it “nerdy” or “not cool.” Generation 1.5 students often lean on their oral
English fluency while struggling to make sense of school language and how it fits into
their worlds. In order to succeed, they must find a way to balance skills in both registers.
Generation 1.5 students have many linguistic skills that they use throughout the
day such as translating English phrases/ idioms for other students, helping younger
siblings with homework, guiding or helping parents that come to the school unaware of
where offices are, being language brokers for their parents, and even helping me with
words I do not know in Spanish. They also provide guidance when other students, or
myself, do not know something about using technology. Generation 1.5 students speak to
each other about current events. Hot topics lately were the nuclear missile that was
launched in North Korea, and the LGBT Day of Silence. By contrast, the main areas
state-mandated tests focus on are students being able to demonstrate understanding of a
variety of reading selections and genres, being able to identify main characters in a story,
24
plot, setting, conflict in a story, climax in a story, resolution, being able to define
vocabulary used in a story, and being able to effectively write an essay using high school
language in response to a writing prompt, on command.
Standardized test results do not tell teachers who participates in class on a daily basis,
who can read and understand classroom reading passages effectively, and who has raised
their grades or become more motivated in class. The state-mandated tests make heavy
use of Eurocentric literature, such as Jack London and William Shakespeare, which is
often less familiar and less accessible to Generation 1.5 students who possess different
background knowledge that is less valued in school. The state assessments have remained
rigid, the material does not reflect the changing face of the students being tested, and
many students have challenges connecting with the material they read. My Generation
1.5 students have skill in using communication technology, social networking, and multimodal forms of communication, such as multi-media presentations. If the test were
revised to incorporate more contemporary writings, more visuals and interactive texts,
and if it allowed students to take the test online, using interactive outlines for planning
essays, I believe my students would receive higher scores. The current structure of statemandated tests does not give an accurate reflection on the whole student.
Poverty Issues and How They Relate to Student Achievement
According to the California Legislative Analyst’s office (2007), roughly 85 per
cent of EL students are economically disadvantaged (as measured by participation in the
State’s Free and Reduced Meal Program). This compares to 41 per cent of the non-ELL
population. This data suggests most EL students face multiple challenges. Not only do
25
they confront the difficulties of learning a new language or register, often without
English-speaking support at home, they also must also cope with the academic challenges
typically associated with poverty. According to the CLA analysis, students identified as
both ELL and economically disadvantaged perform more poorly on state assessments
than students with just one of those risk factors. In my classes, some students ask me if I
have anything to eat on a regular basis. I know that my students are struggling with many
issues besides succeeding in school, such as financial problems, domestic and family
issues, being latchkey kids, gang affiliations, drugs, criminal activity, being in the court
system, and more. All of these factors influence school success.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter we looked at the information about the characteristics of
Generation 1.5 students. I provided a student portrait from my class that gave insight
into what strengths, interests, and challenges students bring to the classroom. I reviewed
the concepts of BICS and CALPS and the relationships and gaps between informal and
formal language registers. I also discussed how poverty is a part of the background that
may prevent Generation 1.5 students from achieving in school. Generation 1.5 students
have had unique circumstances in how they acquired English and they have often had
gaps in their education. Despite these challenges, they have many strengths: they have
bilingual oral language proficiencies, using English and other languages in a variety of
contexts. They are often computer-literate, multi-modal learners, transcultural in identity,
and able to write authentically on topics of personal interest. These students have such
rich life experiences that their stories are worth listening to and sharing with others. The
26
struggle for them and their teachers is to connect their rich informal language with the
requirements of school language tasks.
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Chapter Three
Issues Facing Generation 1.5 Students
While there are teaching strategies and commercially produced programs, such as
the EDGE program (National Geographic/Hampton Brown), have been created to meet
the needs of Generation 1.5 students, there are many factors involved that are affecting
the school success of these students. I will explore the following areas which are
challenges for Generation 1.5 students, beginning with outside-school factors: poverty,
immigrant parents' engagement with schools, and student motivation and identity. Others
relate more directly to school experiences and expectations, including their encounter
with high-stakes standardized tests.
Challenges Outside of School
Poverty. Over the fourteen years that I have been teaching, I have seen an
increase in poverty among both native speaking and ELL students entering my
classroom. When looking up information on students, I sometimes discover that they are
in foster-care, living in a shelter, or constantly moving due to parents being laid off. I see
students sometimes wearing the same clothes, looking exhausted and falling asleep in
class. Some continue to ask me for food or if I have a few dollars to spare so they can buy
their lunch. With the recent economic recession, many of my students and their families
have been hit hard: having a place to stay, paying bills, and anxiety over parents losing
jobs or having medical issues is first and foremost on some students’ minds. Even with
the best lessons and enthusiasm, sometimes it can be a challenge trying to reach these
students with multiple life challenges.
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A compelling article titled “Living and Learning in Poverty” (Posnick-Goodwin,
2011), begins with a dismal picture of a working family and their struggles:
Thanksgiving is coming, and Maria Cortez worries that there will be no feast for
her family. Her husband lost his job, and her day care business has dried up
because so many in her neighborhood are unemployed….”I don’t know what we
will have to eat for Thanksgiving this year,” Cortez tells Jennifer Kottke, the
center’s grant program coordinator, who is visiting to make sure the family is
doing OK. Kottke, a member of the Association of Rowland Educators, says it is
difficult for the center to meet the rising needs of students and their families.
“Some days are very hard. We are seeing more and more families living in
poverty.” (pp. 11-12)
California Teachers Association members throughout the state say there are more
poor, hungry and homeless families in their schools. Yet despite increasing poverty,
schools are expected to close the achievement gap. Poverty impacts academic
achievement, but most schools have decreased services and programs helping poor
students who are impacted by budget cuts in all areas of their lives.
Krashen (2011) also voices his concerns about poverty and how it affects students
as well as schools. He states:
Studies show that middles class American students attending well-funded schools
outscore students in nearly all other countries on these test (international text
scores). Overall scores are unspectacular because over 20% of our students live
in poverty, the highest percentage among all industrialized countries. Highscoring Finland, for example, first on the PISA science test in 2006, has less that
4% child poverty. The fact that American students who are not living in poverty
do very well shows that there is no crisis in teacher quality. The problem is
poverty. The US Department of Education insists that improving teaching comes
first: With better teaching, we will have more learning, higher test scores,
(according to the feds), and this will improve the economy. We are always
interested in improving teaching, but the best teaching in the world will have
little effect when the students are hungry, are in poor health because of inadequate
diet and inadequate health care, and have low literacy development because of a
lack of access to books. Also, studies have failed to find a correlation between
improved test scores and subsequent economic progress. (p. 231)
Krashen goes on to say that what teachers can do in the meantime is to continue to
29
support and expand free and reduced lunch programs, to make sure schools have an
adequate number of nurses (even though there are fewer school nurses per student in high
poverty schools than in low poverty schools), and to create an environment where all
children have access to books. There is clear evidence that children from high-poverty
families have very little access to books at home, at school, and in their communities. He
also discusses the power of libraries, and that a number of studies show that school
library quality and the presence of credentialed librarians are related to reading ability.
According to Krashen, some recent studies have suggested that the positive impact of
access to books on reading achievement is about as large as the negative impact of
poverty.
Berliner (2009) also places blame for low school achievement on out-of school
factors such as low-income neighborhoods, lack of medical insurance, food insecurity,
residential mobility, family violence, and chronic absenteeism. According to Berliner,
affluent students had more access to language-building, resulting in a larger, more
school-related vocabulary than the vocabulary of less affluent students when entering
school. Generation 1.5 students acquire extensive social vocabulary, which many times
resembles African-American dialect, and they can translate conversations from Spanish
to English and vice versa, but the vocabulary they acquire may not be easily applied once
they enter school. Berliner does say that a few schools have implemented methods that
have raised students’ scores and the achievement gap has been closed slightly, but these
schools are few and far between and need to be studied and evaluated more closely.
Figure 1 illustrates how the poverty rate in California compares with that of the
United States. Though not as high as the national average, it shows that the poverty rate
30
did increase in California from 2007 to 2008. These statistics confirm my observations in
my classroom.
Figure 1: California’s Child Poverty Rate Increase between 2007 and 2008
From “More Californian’s Living in Poverty”, 2009, Page 3, CA Budget Project.
Family Values and Parental Engagement with Schools. The Generation 1.5
students in my class get mixed messages about what is important and valuable in their
lives from two different sources, their family and their school. While many of these
students’ parents work two jobs, I see them with I-phones and the expensive sneakers, a
kind of “keeping up with the Joneses." This suggests that the values being instilled into
the students may differ from the school’s values of conforming to one method of learning
school-related material and that everyone must pass the mandatory assessments given by
the state. With limited money, families struggle with deciding what is more important,
31
saving money for a child’s education, or splurging on an expensive Quinceañera
celebration. However, there are also examples of positive family values that I have
observed such as students’ parents, usually the mothers, talking to their children daily
about the importance of school and how it will help their children’s future. In countless
parent conferences, I have heard mothers telling their children to stay in school and to do
better than they did, to have a good career. Mothers are revered in my students’ cultures,
and every student says they want to do well in school so they can make their mother
proud.
We need to meet somewhere in the middle, again balance, so that the student is
aware of what is important, at least on the academic front, so that they can achieve in
school. There are many issues going on in these students’ homes from financial, to
domestic violence, to drugs and incarceration. I am not certain school is always the top
priority.
High school parent involvement is a challenge in many schools, and with parents
of English Language learners and Generation 1.5 students, it can be even more so. What
we know about immigrant parents is that many of them have a limited knowledge of
school cultures, a limited understanding of the curriculum and organization of U.S.
schools, and a lack of awareness of their rights as parents, all of which constrain the
questions they pose and the critiques they might make of schooling practices (Perez
Carreon et al, 2008).
Furthermore, many of these parents experience immigration as a process of
isolation that makes it difficult for them to create social support networks that can sustain
their efforts to engage in their children’s schooling (Perez Carreon et al, 2008). In many
32
cases, immigrant parents work long hours at job sites away from their communities or
hold jobs in the service sector that allow little schedule flexibility to meet with other
parents or school actors. Other parents perceive that they are not respected or are
marginalized by school actors, and thus they have little motivation to participate in
school-parent activities (Ramirez, 2003).
I have seen many cases at my school site of flyers being sent home for upcoming
English Language Advisory Committee meetings, phone calls being made to parents by
an instructional aide in Spanish, students being reminded about meetings, only to have a
handful of parents attend. Many parents do not attend due to work schedules, not
because they do not care about their children’s academic progress. One high school in
Southern California was experiencing this same problem (J. Reese, personal
communication, Parental Involvement at the High school workshop, CABE, March 10,
2012). They even rented out a bus to pick up parents, since parent attendance was so
low, but no one attended. Then the teachers took matters into their own hands and went
to the parents, holding school ELAC meetings at the local library, which was in close
proximity to the neighborhoods in which the students’ families resided. The result was
that more parents began attending the meetings and becoming involved in their children’s
education. The teachers were able to convince the parents to become more involved and
aware of what was happening at school.
At our site, some Generation 1.5 parents are involved with their children’s
academic experience, but many do not speak English. Administrators rely on translators
(bilingual teachers and counselors) during parent conferences, Student Study Teams, or
Individual Education Plan meetings. Language line, a third party phone line where an
33
operator acts as a translator, is used when there is a need to contact a parent. The school
counselor, my program coordinator, and I, make it a point to keep an ongoing dialogue
with the parents, so they are kept abreast of what is going on with their child. Some of
these parents are active members of ELAC and attend several meetings throughout the
year in an attempt to get their voices and concerns heard. But sometimes there are
outside factors that prevent parents from being more involved: other children, long work
hours, student not living with parents, parents not receiving letters or calls home, or
miscommunication with monolingual staff when parents do come to the school. These
circumstances can often be misinterpreted by school personnel as parents who do not care
about their children’s education.
While all parents want their children to do well academically and to attend school
functions when they can, the economic recession has made a monumental impact in
Generation 1.5 students’ families, shifting many parents’ priorities. Sometimes finding
work takes precedence over being involved with a child’s school career. A student
wanting to go to college is fine, but many families seemed to be more focused on the
present: bills, house payments, car payments, food, and clothing. Students want to go to
college, and parents are thinking about how they are going to pay for college. In turn,
students see their parents' dilemma and wonder which path to take: to graduate high
school and get a degree which will improve their economic situation in the long-run or to
find a job now and help their parents financially.
Culture and Student Identity. All of my Generation 1.5 students are bicultural,
bilingual students who code-switch and they have dual identities. They have learned to
34
maneuver in two different worlds, school and home. Since many of them were born and
raised here, they are in tune with our ever-changing American culture: from music to
fashion, sports, popular television shows, to politics and the war in Afghanistan. They
engage in social networking, posting important events onto their Facebook page, and text
and email their friends on a daily basis. Their lives contrast sharply with the traditional
upbringing of their parents, many of whom still struggle to make sense of this country
and its language and culture. My students find themselves combining both worlds:
trying to help out financially at home and trying to graduate from high school, attending a
friend’s Quinceañera and planning what to wear to the prom, cheering for the Chivas (a
popular Mexican soccer team) and keeping up with who is leading in the American NBA
playoffs. They see things differently than their parents. For example, getting married at
an early age and having children may have been the reality for their parents, but it is not
the dream for many of my students. They want to explore, to go to college if they can,
and to have the freedom to make choices. Many of my students would like to pursue
going to college; hopefully their parents will see the importance of this and support their
children’s endeavors.
Challenges in the Schools and Classrooms
The challenge for Generation 1.5 students in school is to build on their strong oral
language skills (BICS) in order to improve their grasp of the language registers of school
(CALP). Generation 1.5 students experience numerous challenges in the classroom.
They need to understand and learn how to complete traditional school writing tasks, such
as writing essays and responding to literature. They must also learn the skills needed to
35
read short stories, excerpts of novels, and textbook selections independently and be able
to answer questions regarding literary elements (i.e. setting, character analysis, conflict,
resolution). Generation 1.5 students have experienced failure throughout their schooling
and have acquired negative habits that affects their learning. These habits must be
changed and new ones introduced so that students can have a more positive outlook
towards school. They must experience success in the classroom. Schools also have to
change and modify their views and expectations for these students. There need to be
changes on both ends: the school and the student.
School Writing Tasks. One of their greatest challenges is school writing tasks
that stems from a lack of prior instruction in the kinds of writing needed for academic
domains (Harklau, 2003). Educators need to be aware of students’ prior academic
literacy experiences. While in high school, many Generation 1.5 students are put in lowtrack writing courses where they have little experience in revising their writing or writing
from sources. Promoting academic literacy is also key. Reid (1992) believes Generation
1.5 students must be exposed to authentic writing tasks in the content areas so they
become aware of the schemata, purposes, and rhetorical conventions needed for academic
writing. This should be happening before a student reaches college. Ferris (1999) states
that educators may need to teach a Generation 1.5 student how to make use of feedback
and how to revise and edit their work. Some students may not be able to identify parts of
speech, although this is assumed to be prior knowledge in most grammar and editing
texts. So educators may need to revisit or supplement the texts with focus on basic
grammatical features and editing strategies.
36
Many Generation 1.5 students are master storytellers; this is an area in which they
excel. Their stories have relevance and are a rich piece of the American fabric. Their
narratives are powerful, relevant, and strike a chord with anyone who takes the time to
read them. These students also tell their stories globally, namely on Facebook.
Unfortunately, many school writing tasks do not tap into their expressive language
abilities and personal experiences. Right now we are embarking on a unit that deals with
teen responsibility, jobs, how to write cover letters and resumes, and how much money a
student can make with an education versus without one. Students listed and discussed
each other’s positive qualities which proved to be a very informative dialogue. Everyone
viewed getting a high school diploma as very important. They also talked about being
responsible, honest, hard-working, and having bilingual skills as marketable qualities in
today’s job market. When typing up their resumes, all students were intent on creating a
document that would be useful to them in the real world.
School Reading Tasks. The experience that my students have in my classroom is
that of working towards academic success. I see students being challenged when
attempting to read a selection independently. What works is when students are able to
read small chunks of text together and discuss the text. Generation 1.5 students do well
when assignment is short and they are given enough time to complete it. For example, if
we are starting a warm-up activity, we will go over directions of assignment together,
both visually (on a Smartboard with an example of a journal or a sentence frame to help
get them started), and in small groups (students work in groups of two or three). If
something from the assignment is still not clear, I am always walking around monitoring
37
and helping any student who is struggling.
What students seem to enjoy is reading with a partner or if I praise their efforts
when they read. Sometimes the students struggle through a passage but if I am there
encouraging them and really listening to how they are reading and expressing themselves,
it motivates them to continue. One time, two students of mine, Edgar and Fernando, took
turns reading a short story that had to do with a bully. They were both intimidated when
they saw that the story was a bit lengthy. I encouraged them and told them of course they
would get through the reading. We would just go slowly and take breaks to discuss what
was going on. If anyone had questions during the reading, I told them to ask me, no
problem. As we discussed the reading, we analyzed the characters in the story, the
students talked to me about bullies here at the school, and they could answer questions
about the story. Afterwards, I told them they did a fantastic job reading the story and that
they should be very proud of their efforts. They smiled at me showing they were proud
of their work. This is an example of successful reading, but this success is not replicated
in independent reading tasks such as tests.
School Vocabulary. A large vocabulary is always an advantage in school and out
of school. My students are aware that I am a voracious reader and love words, so they
know that vocabulary is an important element in all of my lessons. Whenever I begin a
unit, I frontload it with academic vocabulary (i.e. theme, compare and contrast, logic,
conflicts and themes of readings), and vocabulary from the story. I incorporate students’
prior knowledge of words into all of my lessons, where students can display their
knowledge and expertise about a certain word or topic. I incorporate technology when
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we come across new vocabulary as well, such as the Visual Thesaurus which is online,
and also show an image of the word if it applies. Students create Word Walls in my class
constantly, and this makes vocabulary and words more visual and easier to remember.
Attitudes Towards School. In my classroom, I observed that Generation 1.5
students may need to unlearn previous practices such as learned helplessness and
negative attitudes about school. What I have observed in my classroom is a resistance to
leaving their comfort zones. Some students would rather get kicked out of the class than
do the assignment. I tell the students they miss out on so much instruction when they are
not in the classroom. They need to make better choices and adopt more positive behavior
such as attending class regularly, doing their assignments, and asking for help if
something is not clear. Students must learn to take responsibility for their school success.
School Policies and Tracking. If a student is constantly having difficulties
understanding the class material, the policy at my site is to have a parent conference to
discuss student’s strengths and areas of concern with parents, and come up with
modifications and accommodations for the student that will help him be more successful
in class. Sometimes this is an IEP, Individual Education Plan; many times it is not. If a
student qualifies for Special Education, we are required to make acccomodations for that
student in the classroom, such as longer testing time, shorter assignments, a notebook for
keeping track of assignments, preferential seating, and further academic support from the
school. I have seen positive results once students have been identified as Special
Education and accommodations have been implemented. These students often become
39
more organized, and are better able to complete assignments. These accommodations
would probably benefit many students.
Tracking is something that is still going on at some schools, placing lowperforming students together for remediation instead of teaching. Tracking sets learning
expectations very low for some students and this contributes to low motivation to learn in
these classes. Schools need to have higher expectations for all students, and find
innovative ways to promote difference, not deficit, when it comes educating students.
Specialized curriculum helps, but it is not a substitute for high expectations coupled with
a support system in school and at home.
The CAHSEE and Its Challenges
The area of the CAHSEE that gives students problems is the strand on reading
comprehension. Here is a sample of a reading selection taken from test-released questions
from the 2008 CAHSEE (www.cde.ca.gov.ta.tg.hs/documents/ela09.rtq.pdf):
READING
Read the following passage and answer questions 1 through 9.
A Day Away
By Maya Angelou
Most people today know Maya Angelou as one of America’s most important poets. One
of her stories, “Georgia, Georgia,” was the first story by an African-American woman to
be made into a television movie. Angelou wrote the screenplay for the movie All Day
Long and even directed it. The variety, quality and passion of her work continue to
inspire people today. (test includes a visual of a telephone similar to the one below)
40
We often think that our affairs, great or small, must be tended continuously and in detail,
or our world will disintegrate, and we will lose our places in the universe. That is not
true, or if it is true, then our situations were so temporary that they would have collapsed
anyway.
Once a year or so I give myself a day away. On the eve of my day of absence, I begin to
unwrap the bonds of which hold me in harness. I inform housemates, my family and
close friends that I will not be reachable for twenty-four hours; then I disengage the
telephone. I turn the radio dial to an all-music station, preferably one which plays the
soothing golden oldies. I sit for at least an hour in a very hot tub; then I lay out my
clothes preparation for my morning escape, and knowing that nothing will disturb me, I
sleep the sleep of the just.
On the morning I wake naturally, for I will have set no clock, nor informed by body
timepiece when it should alarm. I dress in comfortable shoes and casual clothes and
leave my house going no place. If I am living in a city, I wander streets, window-shop, or
gaze at buildings. I enter and leave public parks, libraries, the lobbies of skyscrapers, and
movie houses. I stay in no place for very long.
The reading selection goes on for another half page. These are some of the
questions for the selection:
1.
What is the narrator’s main purpose in this passage?
A) To entertain readers with a story of an unusual day
B) To inform readers how to organize a day away from home
C) To persuade readers to take some time for themselves
D) To describe to readers what it is like to rediscover a city.
2.
Which sentence below is an example of a simile?
A) I will have to set no clock…
B) I do not want to know my name…
C) We need house of aimless wandering..
D) A day away acts as a spring tonic.
3.
The words casual, wander, and gaze, in paragraph 3 suggest a feeling of—
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A)
B)
C)
D)
Determination.
Solitude.
Bewilderment
Relaxation.
This reading selection poses many challenges for a Generation 1.5 student. The
three questions ask for different types of responses. One asks for a general purpose, one
asks for a specific literary term, and one asks for complex vocabulary task. These are
complex and challenging questions for any student who has not had access to this type of
school register or does not use this type of register as part of their cultural/home
background. I do not want to lower expectations for any students. Generation 1.5
students need to have the necessary knowledge and familiarity regarding this register.
Without it, school success will continue to evade Generation 1.5 students. The correct
answers for Questions 1- 3 were C, D, and D.
Here is a writing prompt that was used in the 2008 CAHSEE:
Writing Test prompt #3:
By the time students enter high school, they have learned about many moments in
history that have influenced our world today. Think about a moment in history
you studied and consider its importance. Write a composition in which you
discuss a moment in history. Share its importance in today’s world. Be sure to
support the moment with details and examples.
These types of writing prompts are difficult for students because it requires the student to
recall and think about at least one moment in history based on past studies. They must
also understand what a moment in history is and how to support it with specific details
and examples. This task is abstract for many students and has little relevance to their
personal lives.
When dealing with the state-mandated tests such as the CAHSEE, some
Generation 1.5 students have told me the sheer length of the readings are intimidating to
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them. Long reading passages are the norm on the CAHSEE, and sometimes there will
only be two or three questions afterwards. Reading strategies such as looking at the
questions first and then backtracking to find answers work only if a student has adequate
background knowledge and knows how to use these strategies. This includes skimming
over text before you begin reading, looking at subheadings, identifying new vocabulary,
using visuals to gain further understanding of reading selection, and examining graphics
such as charts and tables and using this information to make a connection to the text.
Student Identity: Research and a Student Portrait
Student identity is at the core of everything Generation 1.5 students deal with on a
day-to-day basis in school and out of school. It involves how they view themselves and
how they fit into the world. These students are transnational, yet little is known about
how their experiences affect their literacy learning and identity construction. The article
I will be referencing (Yi, 2009) deals with the experiences of Korean-American
Generation 1.5 students, but their strategies and challenges extend to other Generation 1.5
students. Yi (2009) shows that participants engaged multiple literacy practices and
forged identities through online activities with a transnational and transcultural
community. This study focused on two Korean immigrant students, Mike, an eleventh
grader, and Joan, a ninth grader, who attended different high schools, but the same
Korean Catholic church in a Midwestern city in the United States. The article does not
mention texting; however, this is what Instant Messaging, which is mentioned in the
article, has evolved into in recent years. Yi, Garcia, and Menken (2006) also describe
students having a dual identity, translanguaging, using multiple literacies, and being a
43
part of transcultural communities. Yi and others refer to Generation 1.5 students as living
“dual lives: speaking two languages and having homes in two countries” (Portes,
Guranizo, & Landolt, 1999, p. 217).
Transnational students do not make a sharp break with the country of origin of their
parents. Instead, they tended to cultivate continuous transnational ties to their home
country (i.e. Korea) while employing a “dual frame of reference” to explore or evaluate
their life experiences and outcomes within their host country, with the Internet playing an
important role in their various border crossings. Generation 1.5 students thrive in
computer-based communication genres such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Technology plays an important role in their self-identity and how they can reach out
globally and share in a new literacy with other individuals.
It is important to note how categorizations such as “immigrant” students or
“English Language Learners” (ELLs) are not quite adequate descriptors for Generation
1.5 students. They are distinctive from immigrant students whose journey tends to be
unidirectional, involving a permanent change of residence from a home country to a host
country. Transnational migrants, by contrast, tend to make two-way, back-and-forth
movements in terms of the flow of information, resources, capital, locations, and
commodities they experience. Given these unique characteristics and the recent
emergences of transnational students, as well as the complex and sometimes conflicting
pathways they traverse, particularly during adolescence, this population merits its own
attention among educators. As Lam (2006) observes, “transcultural flows have
significant effects on how young people develop their identities and affiliations, learn and
work, and develop visions of the world in their everyday lives” (p. 218). There needs to
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be further exploration of the nature of the multiple literacy practices that transnational
adolescents are likely to experience in their formation of multiple, dynamic identities as
their make their way across borders. The students in my class have many of the
experiences described Yi’s study.
While Generation 1.5 students are strong in their oral proficiency and with
computer-related media, in my experience, many struggle with low-self-esteem, not
planning for the long-term and demonstrating learned helplessness: they have been
failing all of their classes for several years and have decided to give up. This trend can be
further illustrated by their high suspension rates, high truancy rates, low academic grades,
low attendance, juvenile hall incarcerations, and high dropout rates. I find many red flags
in students’ Cumulative Files that indicate long term issues: detailed notes from previous
teachers regarding difficulty with grasping basic concepts such as letter recognition, not
turning in homework, or not being able to concentrate for too long, as well as discipline
and suspension notices, truancy letters, and notices to attend reading programs. Many
times these red flags were never addressed. The students know they are behind their
classmates and they may mask their lack of school success by being the troublemaker, the
truant, or the class clown. Some students spiral out of control, fail in school, and leave
teachers with the task of trying to motivate students who feel dejected, hopeless, and
without a sense of personal efficacy in school matters.
I will introduce you to another student of mine named Alberto, who has yet to
experience success in school. He is fifteen years old and can read fluidly, effortlessly.
He could explain the unfolding plot of a story, and could tell you the main theme of a
story. I told him at the beginning of the year that his reading was great and other students
45
overheard this. He became very upset with me for letting this be known to the rest of the
class and he shut down. This entire year I have spent trying to encourage Alberto to
participate and complete his assignments. He rarely does work, and is currently failing
my class. Instead, Alberto makes wrong choices in school and out of school, and is very
close to getting expelled. His parents, whom I have met, do not know how to deal with
him and are not home to supervise him since both have to work. Alberto’s world
includes socializing, joking, and talking about his next court date or appointment with his
probation officer. He can be respectful and well-mannered, does sporadic work, but
chooses the “bad boy” persona at school. The identity Alberto has chosen at school is that
of a student who does not attend class, has continuous discipline issues, and who would
rather be with his friends, who also engage in similar behavior. His self-esteem is high
when he is surrounded by them, but shifts when it comes to doing school-related tasks.
That is when his confidence level changes and he would rather joke around and act
immature than attempt the work.
Chapter Summary
In Chapter Three I discussed the issues facing Generation 1.5 students. I dicussed
the effects of poverty and how it is affecting student achievement. I looked at the
importance of culture and student identity and how Generation 1.5 students maneuver
and embrace their dual identities, forming new views about how they want to live their
lives. I looked at challenges students face in the classrooms and the types of reading
and writing skills that are expected of them at school. Other areas that affect student
success is their attitude towards school, and the types of tasks they are expected to master
46
by the time they graduate. I look at the CAHSEE test and explain why many parts of the
test pose challenges to Generation 1.5 students. Lastly, I delve into student identity and
the current research on this topic, as well as student portraits.
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Chapter Four
Strategies and Methods That Work
What Works for School Achievement and Test Preparation
What educators need to do now is to identify and construct learning experiences
that can facilitate students’ language development. Voluntary literacy activities, for
example, where young people initiate roles in which they participate and construct
identities through such literacy activities can produce positive results (Yi, 2009).
Educators can also consider how to build effective and engaging classroom environments
in which students take ownership of ways of doing and learning in order to develop
multiple (complementary and competing) understanding of identities. An example
would be from Yi’s case study (2007, 2008b), where a Korean student used multiple
literacies via the computer, from chatting online, to conducting research, to staying
connected to home country, to language and literacy learning across contexts. Students
can ultimately engage in cultural self-exploration and self-expression in meaningful ways
when educators provide opportunities for students to use multiple languages, literacies,
cultures, and technologies and develop a flexible and adaptive sense of identity (SuarezOrozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001).
Strategies and methods encapsulate these recommendations and promote student
literacy by concentrating on Generation 1.5 students’ strengths and finding ways to
weave that into the curriculum. Students are more engaged, and want to participate in the
learning process when they feel they are knowledgeable and good at something, for
example, the use of digital technologies (Yi, 2009). The students in my class become
teachers in this area and are great at explaining how to manipulate the screen, add
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images, replace images, even incorporate video streams to their writing assignments.
Three Foci of an Effective Generation 1.5 High School Literacy Program.
In revisiting Harklau’s (1999) recommendations to use the Generation 1.5 students’ prior
knowledge and tapping into their heritage and culture, Forrest (2006) looks at three things
educators can do in their classrooms to promote an effective literacy program:
curriculum-centered focus, learner-centered focus, and educator-centered focus which I
have implemented through the new curriculum that was piloted this year at my school,
and in my classroom, called the EDGE (Moore, Short, Smith, & Tatum, 2009). The three
foci are further explained here and expanded into eight recommendations:
1. Establish higher-track classes as opposed to lower track classes. Harklau’s
(2003) view is that these students to not need drills, dictation, and short answer activities,
but rather they need experiences in writing argumentative, analytical, and research papers
as a way to use their high cognitive skills, which might have been previously overlooked.
High level tracking will help the Generation 1.5 student in developing and accelerating
through scaffolding and structured reading activities. I am presently implementing this
approach now, with the EDGE. The expectations of the teacher need to be high and the
motivation of the students need to be high, and there is the challenge that I had to face
every day with my class. But with materials that are of interest to students, are
accessible, and yet do not condescend to students, they are more likely to participate. At
the beginning of this year, many students in my classroom would say they are in the
“dumb class for Mexicans”, already connecting a negative connotation based on their
previous experiences in literacy development. I found that using more scaffolds with the
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curriculum helped immensely with student understanding, but I had to be cognizant of
maintaining a learner-centered focus to providing choices and literacy options that were
meaningful to students.
2. Provide a balanced approach to develop skills of academic literacy across
content areas. Harklau (1999) recommends that authentic writing tasks across the
content areas be given to students as a means of promoting academic literacy such as
writing cover letters and creating resumes, letters to the editor on a controversial topic
effecting the community, writing about a person who has impacted their lives, to creating
informational brochures about a country they would like to visit, setting up a budget for
living expenses when they are on their own, to expository writings on colleges and
careers they would like to pursue. Generation 1.5 students should also have an exposure
to a wider range of writing in high school in order to promote their academic literacy
skills.
What does a balanced approach look like in my classroom? I use different
grouping strategies, using both heterogeneous grouping and more homogeneous
groupings. In each group there is a leader who can facilitate what the assignment is
asking for and can help model what a correct response would look like. I am constantly
walking around, making sure the assignment is understood and being worked on.
Because everyone is at different reading levels and read at different rates, some will
finish sooner than others. I have those who get done early help out the other groups. If
some students want to continue reading the next story, I let them do so. This is one of the
many different ways that students have some control and choice in what they do in the
class. I applaud students who want to keep reading instead of feeling that this needs to be
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“controlled” with all students doing the exact same thing in class, which is often what
they have experienced in other classes.
3. Develop critical literacy. A Generation 1.5 program must help students
develop critical literacy. Cadiero-Kaplan (2002) described critical literacy in relation to
the world: “Students involved in a critical literacy curriculum read the world and the
word, by using dialogue to engage texts and discourses inside and outside of the
classroom” (p. 37). Instead of teaching individual strategies, teachers should present
reading as a problem-solving task and guide students to thinks strategically. We look at
each story in the book critically, and discuss the themes that author is trying to get across
and what the story means to them and how it connects to their lives outside of school. In
one of the first stories we read, “The Golden Bay,” two teenaged African-American
students were trying to collect cans for a fundraiser for their school. But some characters
in the story thought the boys were stealing or trying to break into houses, when in fact the
two students were trying to help raise money for the school. Our class had a discussion
about appearances, and how other people see students and how people automatically
assume something about you because of how you are dressed.
In another story, the main character, a young Hispanic teen, was left home alone,
when some bullies from his school tried to break into his house. He stood up to the
bullies and dared them to break in, threatening to call the police and also tell everyone at
school what type of cowards they were. This story opened up a difficult dialogue with
my class, and many students wrote journals about a time (or times) when they
experienced a break-in, a robbery, or an attempted robbery of their home. We are not
just reading stories in my class, we are connecting them to real life. That is what my
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entire curriculum revolves around, how to connect what we do in class to life outside of
the classroom.
4. Meet the diverse needs of the learners. What works with critical literacy and
learning to embrace reading more is for students to have a choice, to be able to select
what they want to read. In my class, we have made it a point to go to the school library
so the students can look around and find books they are interested in. Many of my
students like books with visuals, or that deal with teen issues, and written in authentic,
teen language: drugs, gangs, pregnancy, conflicts with parents, and sports to name a few
of the most popular topics. Many of my students enjoy Ellen Hopkins’ books, such as
Crank (2004), which deal with realistic portraits of youth in the grips of drug addiction,
namely methamphetamines. I have read this series myself, and what pulls in readers is
the format of the text: the author writes in a type of poetry format, and everyone I know
who has read Hopkins is surprised by this, confused even, only to become riveted by
how easily you can zoom through the text.
Another example of the power of choice in reading was evident a few years ago
when Stephanie Meyer came out with the Twilight series (2005). I saw many female
students, mainstream, Generation 1.5, and EL students, toting their books like badges of
honor and reading them with a vengeance. They chose books that they could relate to.
For the baseball fans in my class, some have read Mexican whiteboy ( 2008) by
Matt De la Peña, which deals with a biracial teen who is trying to fit in with his
sometimes family in the sunny, yet gritty neighborhoods of San Diego. Baseball is the
protagonist’s escape and secret weapon all in one. It is a vibrant, brooding, coming of
age story, with an unique perspective of not quite belonging to your family’s ethnic
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background. The protagonist of the book, Danny, does not speak one word of Spanish,
which proves to be challenging when he goes to San Diego to visit his Spanglishspeaking cousins one summer. Other popular books with my students are Sharon
Draper’s Tears of a tiger (1994), Angela Johnson’s The Last part first (2003), Sharon
Flake’s The Skin I’m in (1998), and Luis Rodriguez’ Always running: La Vida loca, gang
days in L. A. (1994).
What also works is incorporating technology with reading and writing: reading
and writing from the computer (websites, blogs, newspaper articles, short stories, books,
interactive outlines, interactive visuals, video, audio, composing writing drafts, revising
and editing drafts), reading from a Kindle, which my students enjoy immensely and is a
new reading format for them, or reading from their I-phones. It is even better if the
reading has to do with the local community. I would love to try audio books with these
students, but I did not get the opportunity to do that this year. It is literacy in different,
modern format.
I also implemented reader’s choice every Friday, SSR (Silent Sustained Reading)
in my classroom. All of my classes, English Language Learners, Generation 1.5 students,
and mainstream students, loved this activity, and one student even wrote in their final that
they would look forward to this day all week. On this day, I would have only natural
light coming in through the windows, I allowed the students to listen to music softly on
their ear buds if they wanted to, bring in some snacks, and read quietly. Students were
required to do a write-up of the pages they read, and give me a brief synopsis of what
they read. They also had to tell me why they chose the book they were reading. I would
pull out my Kindle and read also, or let a student who did not bring a book for SSR
53
borrow it during class. A large majority of the students were engaged, motivated, and
would read quietly. If someone got tired of reading after twenty minutes of so, they
could take a break and resume again. Several students told me they enjoyed this day at
school because their schedules were so busy or it was so noisy at home, they had no other
time to read.
Finally, the use of a student’s primary language has proved important when
acquiring reading skills. At times, if an explanation of a portion of texts needs to be done
in Spanish, I will do so. This is a strategy that I use on an as-needed basis. If I can
connect a word to a Spanish cognate (prediccion, prediction), this taps into a student’s
prior knowledge and understanding of a word, thereby making the English word instantly
recognizable and easier to understand because they have had exposure to the word in
Spanish.
5. Authentic writing. When students can relate to the lesson or the writing
prompt, they produce more powerful writing. We have done several writing pieces on
people that have made impacts on the students’ lives, from coaches to parents. Many
students of mine give their mothers eternal thanks and credit for getting them to where
they are at. I am very moved by the writing that the students produce. While there are
errors in spelling and grammar many times, the content is forceful and riveting. Here is a
writing piece from Nelda, who speaks about her mother:
"My mom was very young, pretty & crazy fun who loves to party Her boyfriend
was R.A. They were in love I really don’t Know much about them but they can’t blame a
girl who’s mom didn’t tell her anything well whatever. Anyways whatever happened
happened and my mom found out she was pregnant, my mom was always talking about
54
how she wanted a girl….” Nelda’s writing goes on for another two pages, and gets more
personal as she goes. The real person comes out in the assignments where authentic
writing is called for, especially when the writing deals with life experiences.
6. Balanced and holistic assessments. Harklau (1999) recommends assessments
that are balanced and combined to get a holistic measurement: periodic assessments for
development of oral English, literacy in their primary language and English, and success
with mainstream curriculum, which, at my school, is the EDGE curriculum (Moore,
Short, Smith, & Tatum, 2009). These periodic assessments can assist educators in
differentiating instruction between EL learners, native English learners, and the
Generation 1.5 students.
I have found success implementing many, if not all, of these recommendations in
my classroom, but the essential component is that students have to connect to what is
being taught; they need to see the value in the lesson, and the information presented must
have relevance to their lives and their future. The EDGE curriculum is specifically
designed for teenagers, so the text is not dumbed-down; it teaches key vocabulary along
with academic vocabulary, reading selections are high interest and deal with topics
relevant to the students. There are a variety of reading and writing activities for the
students to participate in so they can further develop their skills as readers and writers,
and as I like to call my students, authors with a voice.
I use several types of assessments in my class in line with Harklau’s
recommendations. Sometimes students do have a short quiz. Other times, the assessment
is more holistic and covers a small cluster of stories that connect to each other. The story
the students read about a small, Hispanic teenage boy getting his house broken into, titled
55
“Fear”, connected to the next story about a young, African-American teenager who was
trying to survive and finish high school amidst death and violence in an Oakland
neighborhood, which is about forty-five minutes away from Fairfield. I have students
who come to Armijo from Oakland, so they understand the content of the story very well,
or have lived it.
When administering a cluster assessment, part of the test is closed book, and part
of it is open book. At times I have resorted to working on the entire test together as a
class, to go over what the test is asking together. Some students as I mentioned before,
can decode the text just fine, but cannot retell what they just read. Students do better on
the vocabulary part of the test, but exhibit difficulty with the second part of the test, the
reading comprehension part, even though it is open book. This is whre I teach test taking
skills. We break down each question into small pieces. I ask questions to see if students
can make sense of the question being asked on the assessment. (“So they are asking about
the protaganist of the story. Do you remember that word, protagonist? We have studied
that word in here before. Can you tell me what you think the word means?” Think about
the prefix, pro). Most will remember what protagonist means after we look and discuss
the word again.
We have done assessments in poster form, where students create visual
representations of a story and must summarize main parts of a story, as well as oral
presentations about reading selections. If I can use their strengths as a way to measure
their reading comprehension, I will.
7. Test preparation within the curriculum. I make it a point to keep the academic
language flowing at all times in the classroom, not only when a state-mandated test is
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coming. This way the students are familiar with the words when they see it again, as my
student Fernando, attested to. Demystifying the words used in the test is what I try to do
with the class. I do not want them to be intimidated by the test.
8. Staff development. As an educator, I try to keep up with the latest literature on
the topic of Generation 1.5 students ELD students. EDGE training will continue this
year to include mainstream teachers, due to the curriculum being implemented with all
struggling readers/ writers at the school, not just Generation 1.5 students. I have used
the curriculum for one year, and find that teacher resources available online to be very
helpful. I will also be participating in the school-wide training of EDGE. For me,
Generation 1.5 students differ from native-born monolingual students in that there is a
ambiguity in which language is their dominant language, and that may affect their
learning. Combining the two groups together may work, as long as the class size is kept
under twenty students.
Staff development also includes more than district level workshops. Enrolling in
a master of arts program in education is another form of staff development. All of the
coursework throughout my graduate program has been immensely valuable to me and I
have used many of the strategies in my classroom. This includes student choice, miscue
analysis, incorporating a wide variety of genres, and ongoing development of academic
language, reading, and writing skills. I have taught the students how to tackle different
types of writing and also made them acutely aware of what type of writing styles are used
in the state-mandated tests. These strategies and methods have only made my teaching
more effective and has motivated students to try, at least give it a try for Mrs. Herrera.
The CABE (California Bilingual Educators) conference I attended in March 2012,
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had wonderful speakers and great workshops on topics that resonated with me: LongTerm Learners, how to build strong ELAC communities, Academic Language and at-risk
youth, to even preparing students all year round for the state-mandated tests and the
specialized jargon they will see on it. CABE and CATESOL (CA Teachers of English to
Students of Other Languages) are the conferences I try to attend every other year. These
conferences are forums that allow you to network and talk to teachers that deal with the
same issues you do, you can discuss and share victories, and also struggles. It would be
beneficial for administrators to go to these conferences; they would come away with
valuable information about this growing population of students.
I have had ongoing collaborations with my supervisor, about what is going on in
my classroom, and we have had many sessions where we discuss how we (it is a team
effort) can better serve these students. We have done some team teaching, split the class
in half so we can teach smaller groups of students (half the students with me, half with
her), have had much success with students using the computer lab, and have had
numerous conferences with parents and administrators about how to better serve these
students. As is always the case, the EDGE text alone is not the answer. I also shared my
victories and challenges with my supervisor. Without my supervisor and the full support
I get from the ELD department, guiding and offering suggestions to me along the way, I
do not know if I would have found the same success with my students.
My Own Techniques. In addition to the elements Forrest discusses that make for
an effective high school literacy program, what I have found that works in my classroom
is having instruction where the students have to interact with each other, a community of
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learners, and when I am pushing them academically, and have high expectations of them.
Many Generation 1.5 students began my class with a very low grade, but have managed
to pull their grade up. I have not given up on these students. So along with structure,
rigor, and high expectations, I let them know they are responsible for their learning as
well. We are doing this together and I expect you, the student, to do your share, not just
be a passive learner, getting all the academic material spoon-fed to you. I want you to
take an active role in your learning. At times there is pressure from the CAHSEE, but
Generation 1.5 students must be willing to put in the work so you can gain the skills
needed to do well, on stated-mandated test and in the classroom. This will take time, but
it can be done.
I have used many approaches over the years with struggling readers and writers. I
kept a journal over this past year, jotting down everything from strategies and methods,
lessons that worked, lessons that flopped, and all the battles and victories I experienced
with my Generation 1.5 students and their parents. The techniques that worked with this
class were: structure, scaffolding, high expectations, small groups, and incorporating
technology into the lessons.
The Generation 1.5 students I had this year entered the classroom apathetic,
resistant to learning, and unmotivated. I had to re-teach them how to want to learn again,
how to be curious about things, and how to equip themselves with academic tools. New
territory to say the least for this group, but I forged ahead and went for it. After the initial
resistance, the students slowly started making progress. They took big risks, because
with a class size of eighteen there is really nowhere to hide. Everyone will know if you
can read or not. When students refused to read, everyone noticed that, too. When
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students read slowly but were trying, the class was acutely aware of that. It was like
peeling an onion, all the layers and reading issues and problems the students were
experiencing became very evident to everyone in the class. I was there, the motivator,
the one saying, “We can do this, class. Baby steps, everyone, we will start off with baby
steps, but it’s going to get better. I believe you can do this!” The majority of the class
made the effort and those that did not, stopped coming to school or were expelled.
Structure and routine helped the class immensely. They knew what task Mrs. Herrera was
going to give them first, second, and so on.
Scaffolding the assignments into digestible chunks worked well with the students.
Graphic organizers were used constantly as well as visuals to supplement the lessons. I
used a form of reciprocal teaching so students could teach / work with other students,
they enjoyed this. They were the experts and were now taking on the role of teacher.
Short, mini-lessons maintained engagement. If the lessons dragged on too long, students
became bored and had to be re-directed back to the lesson.
High expectations was a new concept for many of my students, but they were
happily challenged by my incessant academic instruction. “Of course you are going to
learn academic vocabulary! It’s too hard you say? It’s not hard, it’s just a challenge that
you are going to overcome. Herrera is going to help you. So let’s look at this word…
Jesus, stop talking and listen to me, continue that conversation at the break. Some of you
may have heard this word before, theme…..” I started the class with high expectations
and I did not falter from that. Did the students defy me, and resist? Yes. Did they try to
drive me crazy? Yes. Did they dismiss academics as a waste of time? Yes. Did I give up
on them? Never. So it was an ongoing mantra of, “You can do this,” and while the
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students were not confident of their abilities, I was, and I pushed them as much as
possible to try their best and learn as much as they could in my class.
Small groupings (high, medium, and emergent) of students seem to give me the
best results. I tried whole class instruction, but with so many students at different reading
levels, it worked only up to a certain point. Explaining and going over the lessons and
objectives together worked well. I would then model what I wanted done, work on one
together with the class, address any questions, and them break them up into small groups.
I used small assignments, at first with me assessing for understanding, then adding to the
assignment. Something that I implement include in all of my instruction is attention to
students’ prior knowledge.
Lastly, technology played an integral role in this class. While there were always
struggles when dealing with student writing, their content and message was always
strong. Their writing gave a new meaning to student voice. The students worked on
interactive outlines on the computer, and conveyed their writing eloquently, albeit with
some spelling and grammar errors. Revisions were done on computer as well. Coupled
with the computer, I found that allowing students to listen to music (earphones that
connected to the hard-drive of computer) made them more focused on their assignment.
Students did not socialize, they got their work done, and the writing was powerful and
vivid. Luckily, a small computer lab was always available for my students in my
supervisor’s classroom right across from mine, and her prep time was when I had my
Reading/Writing Workshop. My supervisor and I collaborated constantly so that we
could provide the students with an environment where we could tap into their strengths,
while developing their academic skills.
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My students' role-models are their parents for the most part. Their parents tell
them to excel in school; however, I found that many other issues were going on in
student’s homes. Academics was seen as important, but sometimes got put on the back
burner, so other issues could be dealt with, namely issues dealing with employment,
paying bills, and medical concerns.
What Works for Community Involvement and Parent Engagement
The School Community. The student needs to know there are people in his/her
corner besides the teacher. I encourage other teachers and school personnel to
congratulate students if they have done well in my class, especially when we share
students. I also let the counselors, school psychologist, administrators, hall-monitors,
and resource officer, know when my students are doing well academically or when they
need more support or words or encouragement. Our resource officer knows many of my
students all too well, due to bad choices they have made in the past. But I know they are
capable of greatness. Case in point, when Fernando passed his CAHSEE, I let people
know about it: I made a personal phone call to his mom, emailed all of his teachers, his
counselor, and the vice principal, talked to the hall monitors, even our resource officer.
People came out of the woodwork to give Fernando a high-five, congratulate him, hug
him, and just tell him they were proud of him! Students should get this type of support
all the time.
Parent Engagement with School: Three Roles for Parents. Perez Carreon et al.
(2008) address the importance of immigrant parents “being present” in a new school
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system that their U.S. born children attend, and yet is often unfamiliar to them. The
authors discuss how parent involvement has long been considered a central factor related
to better outcomes in children’s education. The authors describe the journey of three
parents trying to maneuver their way into positive dialogue with monolingual educators
in a school system that almost always sees these particular parents as “outsiders.” Perez
Carreo et. al. describe the journeys and insights discovered while speaking with the
parents about their experiences and what type of capital they bring to the educational
table. At our ELAC meetings, parents feel comfortable enough to voice their concerns
and what they would like to see happen at the school. We have seen signs at the school
changed so that they are in English and Spanish, and parents have asked that recorded
messages that are sent by telephone to also be done in Spanish. Positive changes have
been made due to parent voice. We are continually trying to foster a more collaborative
and open dialogue between parents and the school.
These immigrants face the daunting task of structuring new lives for themselves
and their families in a culture that is unknown to them. To be successful parents, they
must develop new understandings of the world, establish new social networks, acquire
new forms of cultural capital (learning to speak English), as well as determining how to
access medical and educational services for their children. Adaptation to life in the
United States is particularly challenging for poor and undocumented parents who have
difficulty finding work that pays a decent wage and who must cope with the physical and
emotional stress of living in a culture that welcomes their labor but rejects them as
people, openly or covertly, viewing them as outsiders (Perez Carreon, et al, 2008).
As parents orchestrate actions to improve the quality of their children’s schooling,
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they often realize the space for engagement is not equitable. Immigrant parents find that
their beliefs and actions have less power than those of other school actors. Boundaries
that position them in the lower slots of the power hierarchy manifest themselves in
dimensions of language, cultural capital, and social networks. First, because of their
limited familiarity with English, parents find it difficult to understand and express their
views and concerns regarding the schooling of their children. Language is also an
instrument of identity and power, and thus immigrant parents lose some of the authority
they had in their home countries because they lack knowledge of the nuances of language
called for in particular situations, such as talking to a teacher or requesting a schedule
change. Immigrant parents often must rely on their children as translators with other
school actors, altering the natural power structure within both the family and the school
(Perez Carreon et al., 2008).
Second, the cultural capital that immigrant parents activate to orient their actions
often differs from the forms of capital recognized and valued in the school’s cultural
world. Immigrant parents draw upon their unique life experiences and expectations of
the future to structure what they do and how they do it. Some parents place emphasis on
strict discipline, or completion of homework, while other parents emphasize the
importance of respect over attributes such as leadership and self-initiative (Reese, 2002).
In spite of many structural barriers, many immigrant parents position themselves
with power – even if this power is limited – within the school space. Their optimism,
determination, strong sense of self, and goal oriented practices serve as powerful counterforces in less-than-optimal circumstances. The three main areas or types of presence
discussed in Perez Carreon’s article were the Strategic Helper (parent being in the
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classroom), the Questioner (a parent changing the school experience for their child from
the outside), and the Listener (using nontraditional formal spaces to learn how to engage
with schools differently).
The authors introduce us to Celia, one of the immigrant parents who took on the
role of Strategic Helper, felt she had a “voice in the classroom” and participated in
parent-related school events, though due to language issues still felt like an outsider and
at times disrespected in official school spaces (talking with the principal about problems
daughter was having in a class). Her overall experience was that while she did become
more involved with her son’s education and formed a trusting relationship with some of
his teachers, she ultimately felt that her presence was not valued by the school as in
institution.
Pablo, a hardworking mechanic who was raising three sons, who became the
Questioner, believed in bridging home and school. While he did participate in parentrelated events, he used his cultural capital to “teach by example”; showing his sons how
to plant vegetables in the garden, showing them about mechanics. He tended to be wary
of school due to his legal status, and preferred keeping a low profile. Therein is the
paradox: an undocumented father trying his best to see that his U.S. born children
receive a good education. This is not to say he was not present for their academic
development. This immigrant parent was always there with his children while they were
doing their homework, and helping as best he could. He made it known to the
researchers that he wanted to “be there” for his students, he did not want all the
responsibility to fall on his wife. In fact, through his non-English speaking neighbors as
well as one of his son’s teachers, Pablo found a way to transfer his son to a better school
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ten miles away, due to the discipline problems that were arising at the school his son was
attending. Pablo and his wife also looked into placing their children into a magnet school
in a nearby community. These immigrant parents found resources outside of school that
would help promote their children’s education.
Lastly, there was Isabel, who took on the role of the Listener. This was a
immigrant mother who had a wonderful childhood, had traveled extensively, and had a
good career in Mexico as an accountant’s assistant. But once she and her family
relocated to Texas, she felt isolated, alienated, and desperate. Isabel felt she had no
power at the school, but was determined to learn how schools work and establish a
support network so as to gain a voice in her daughter’s education. Isabel wanted to have
a voice in a variety of contexts: how to talk to her landlord, how to get medical services,
how to get an emergency loan. These were also areas of vital importance for her.
While each of these immigrant parents felt uncertainty in the school space, they
each found resources they could implement so as to have more capital, more of a voice in
the school setting. These parents’ life stories have been uniquely challenging on many
fronts (displacement, discrimination, poverty, uncertainty), and they continuously draw
from the cultural capital they have developed through the hardships of immigration to
support the schooling of their children. They have constructed a view of their new world
as a place of both opportunity and oppression, they have developed critical ways to
interpret the structures in this new society, and they continue to author new identities in
their efforts to support their children’s education. The richness of their experiences
should not be ignored.
What has worked with parents at our school site is when they attend and participate
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in ELAC meetings, communicating and networking with other parents, and maintaining
an open dialogue with the teachers and one of our counselors in order to create change
regarding concerns they may have. My observation has been that parents who are
bilingual have more voice in school than parents who does not speak English, that has
been my observation. We would like to see more parent volunteers, we would like to see
more parents volunteers and participants in school activities who do not feel they will
ignored or disrespected. Getting more parents to become involved and not feeling like
outsiders has been an ongoing challenge for the staff at my school. We must continue to
find ways for our parents to develop their cultural capital so they can better engage with
the school.
The Importance of Family and Community. The student’s family structure and
the community/environment does reflect how they may do academically. With
Generation 1.5 students there is a mismatch with the language they are using at home and
in their community and the language and types of registers expected and required from
the schools. Student achievement, particularly for at-risk students, is affected by the
values and beliefs of the family and community (Shields, 1991). Some families and
communities, particularly in poverty-stricken areas, do not understand formal schooling.
In my experience, they often value education, but do not know all of the in’s and out’s of
how the education system works. This leads to students who are unprepared for the
school environment. In addition, this leads to misunderstandings regarding student
actions and speech by teachers due to variations in norms and values.
Effective instruction will allow students to use their own life experiences as a
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starting point while adapting instruction to the culture of the students. Rather than
expecting families to change, teachers should encourage active participation in learning
by all students in the classroom in order to encourage at-risk students. It is the job of the
school to assist students in becoming academically successful. Parents cannot do this
who have not had much schooling themselves. It does not make sense for schools to
think that parents are responsible for academics. Stronger partnerships between schools,
families, and communities are needed, along with better programs for students struggling
with exceptional outside barriers (Bergeson, 2006) One technique for creating a positive
relationship with parents is through the sharing of positive comments about the student
with the parents, particularly for at-risk students (Redman, 2003). The positive
comments about their children helped the parents to feel accepted in the school
environment, which is typically a large barrier for families living in poverty (Redman,
2003). In turn, the parents were more willing to help with school-related activities both
in the school and at home, thus creating a partnership between parents and schools.
I agree wholeheartedly that there is a need to create effective partnerships with the
parents. I form an on-going dialogue with many of my Generation 1.5 parents, and call
them on a regular basis. While some of my calls have to do with a student’s grades and
areas of concern, I have also called with positive news a student’s grades getting better,
or of a student’s attitude and effort improving. Parents always welcome that type of
phone call. It is definitely a motivator for the student.
The ELD Department at my
school also holds regular ELAC meetings for providing information to parents regarding
student issues, attendance and discipline, grades, resources for applying for colleges,
gang awareness/prevention and more. Parents’ voices are welcomed and listened to at
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these meetings. They feel a sense of empowerment and know that the meetings are a
place where their questions and concerns will be addressed. It is not a place where they
will be made to feel inept or helpless.
The Role of Administrators. Allington (1991) mentions how school
environment affects student achievement. You need an effective and supportive
administration to set a positive tone for the school, the faculty, and the students.
Leadership that actively supports the EL and Generation 1.5 student population and
reaches out to the parents and community would greatly improve parent involvement.
Our EL and Generation 1.5 student population keeps growing, and we, as educators,
welcome and need administrators who are sensitive and understanding of these students’
academic and socio-economic needs. The educational community must implement more
ways to foster positive, inclusive relationships with our students’ parents. State
mandated test scores are important, but there is more we must do to truly educate our
students and prepare them for the future.
Some parents of EL and Generation 1.5 students at my school site have had
negative experiences with school administrators / staff where there has been
miscommunication or a misinterpretation of respect, shown towards them. In addition,
not all parents are familiar with the school culture, language, policies, and academic
requirements, so they depend on their sons or daughters to fill them in on what is
happening at school. Many parents are wary of getting involved with the school because
of their legal status or because of their work schedules conflicting with meetings. Some
parents have no childcare. To some monolingual administrators, these actions translate to
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parents who “don’t care” or “don’t want to get involved.” Administrators can begin
alleviating this issue by constructing a meaningful, honest dialogue with parents,
students, counselors, and teachers, to re-examine why parents of ELLs and Generation
1.5 students are not becoming more involved as defined from a school perspective, and
then together, establish new ways to bridge that gap. The school needs to be seen as a
place of knowledge and information that welcomes all the parents from the community.
It does take a village to raise a child, and to educate one. That will work if the village is
communicating with each other in an honest, inclusive, respectful manner, with the
student’s best interest first and foremost in the conversation.
The AVID Program. Students who recognized what it took to be successful in
school and in society generally sought the necessary avenues to attain social mobility.
One such avenue mentioned was AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a
program which provided social scaffolding or institutional support systems for lowachieving students (AVID, 2012). The supports are defined as “the practice of
combining heterogeneous grouping with a uniform, academically rigorous curriculum
enhanced with strong supports. AVID is a college readiness system for elementary
through postsecondary students that is designed to increase school-wide learning and
performance. The AVID College Readiness System (ACRS) accelerates student
learning, uses research based methods of effective instructions, provides meaningful and
motivational professional development, and acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and
change. (2012, retrieved from htt://www/avid/org./abo_whatisavid.html).
AVID began taking shape in 1980, and was founded by Mary Catherine Swanson,
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then-head of the English Department at San Diego’s Clairemont High School. The
federal courts issued an order to desegregate the city’s schools, bringing large numbers of
inner city students to suburban schools. While applauding the decision, Swanson
wondered how these underserved students would survive at academically acclaimed
Clairemont High. Her answer was AVID, an academic elective. But the program evolved
into more than that – it became a philosophy: Hold students accountable to the highest
standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge.
When I attended the CABE conference in March of this year, I spoke to one of
the guidance counselors, Consuela Sifuentes, (C.Sifuentes, personal communication,
CABE, March 9, 2012) from Santiago High School. This Southern California school
had the exemplary ELD program, staff, and supportive administration. Out of curiosity I
asked her, “With all this talk of parent involvement, just curious, did your parents push
you to attend college? How did you become a counselor?” She smiled at me and said,
“You know what saved me? What actually helped me find out what I needed to get into
college? When I was in high school, I was put into AVID. Without AVID, I would not
be here. Sure, my parents would say, ‘Sigue con la escuela m’ija, estudia!’, (Continue
with your schooling, daughter, study!), but they had no clue about the educational system
here. I had to find out everything on my own.”
AVID provides organizational arrangements that demonstrate how social
scaffolding can contribute to positive academic motivation and engagement. It is through
social scaffolding that low-achieving youth can attain the socialization required for
academic success. AVID explicitly teaches aspects of the implicit culture of the
classroom and the hidden curriculum of the school. It also provides Mexican-American
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and African-American youth with the foundations essential for navigating the opportunity
structure and achieving social mobility.
Conchas (2001) studied a group of Hispanic and African American students and
three “schools within a school” at Baldwin High School, a comprehensive high school in
a large, predominantly racial-minority city in the Western United States. The school
population consisted of 1,817 students, 65% African American, 20% Asian American,
10% Latino, 4% White, and 1% Filipino, Native American, and Pacific Islander: The
“schools within the school” were: a Medical Academy, a Graphics Academy, and an
Advanced Placement program. During the study, Latino students discussed their racial
perceptions: some connected a large Asian student population in a classroom as being the
“good” classroom, where students were on task and determined to do well. One
Salvadoran student said that a classroom full of Mexican and African-American students
would be considered the “bad” class because everyone was “lazy and dumb.” This
statement uncovered that student’s stereotypes of himself and of other students. A
revealing discovery was that students who perceived stronger and healthier racial and
ethnic relations were more motivated and more engaged in school, whereas those who
felt more intimidated by the racial and ethnic climate suffered. Latino students’ academic
success was also associated with close relationships with other higher-achieving peers
outside of their own race and ethnic group. Those Latino students who forged
relationship with non-Latino students built a stronger high-achieving peer network. This
peer network in turn helped mediate immigrant and native-born differences as Latino
students helped each other engage and succeed in school.
Latino students also tended to feel pressure and anxiety with having to compete
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with other students, especially in the AP classes. A few students even said they had
resorted to cheating in order to stay above water in the class. Many of the Latino students
felt stressed out and intimidated being in this class. But on the other hand, quite a few
felt extremely proud they were in this elite academic group and were succeeding.
At the school, the Latino student population fell into distinct niches. The U.S.
born Mexican American students were in the General Education program and this niche
corresponded to the lowest academic status on campus. Students in this group were
pessimistic, and low achievers. The Latino students in the Medical Academy, the
Graphics Academy, and Advanced Placement classes, where the students who were
provided rigorous, academic training, had higher anxiety and a sense of alienation from
the general student body, but managed to succeed and were eager to conform to the
school processes. Some of the higher-achieving Latinos even made the decision to
separate themselves from their lower-achieving Latino counterparts.
The Medical Academy had the most success with providing students the feeling
of community and family. There was diversity in this academy and many of the students
learned to work with a variety of students of different ethnicities, which they found to be
something that would be useful in the future. Students felt they all had a common goal
and worked collaboratively on many projects. Participating in these academies provided
opportunities for students to use multiple languages, literacies, cultures and technology
and develop a flexible and adaptive sense of identity (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco,
2000). We are not telling the students to lose their identity, just the opposite: we want
them to take advantage of the academic, social, and cultural resources available at the
schools, so as to build on and further enhance their identity.
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What worked at this school as far as student engagement was special academic
programs that provided opportunities for Latino students to attach themselves to school
and develop academically oriented forms of agency. This was possible for the Latino
students in the Medical Academy, Graphics Academy and the AP Program, whereas the
General Education students did not interact with academy structures at all. But it was
not just the structure that determined student experiences. The culture of each program
was also important in determining how students interacted with each other and how they
viewed academic success. Structure and culture played a part with student agency,
especially in a learning environment that linked academic rigor with strong collaborative
relationships among students and teachers.
What Works with Student Identity and Motivation
Dual Identity. Yi (2009) conducted research on Generation 1.5 students who
demonstrated a wide constellation of bilingual and biliterate skills. Many students used
different languages for different purposes across different contexts: being more
comfortable writing in English, being able to read and comprehend easy texts in their
home language, and not understanding difficult words in either language. One student in
the study named Mike, jumped back and from from Korean to English in order to make
sense of vocabulary he encountered while studying for the SAT. Clearly, the heritage
language turned out to be a resource (Peyton, Ranard, & McGinnis, 2001) in this
situation. More importantly, when he realized that his American peers at school saw it as
‘cool’ for him to read and write in Korean, he seemed to (re)learn the value of his
heritage language and construct a positive self-image of a Korean-American who can
read and write both languages. He did discuss having a “double life,” in school where
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his social group consisted of non-Korean speaking friends, while outside of school he
was closely connected to Korean friends, culture and the local Korean community. The
students at my school are immersed in two languages, and maybe even a third hybrid
language, throughout their school day: English, Spanish, and a hybrid which is
combination of both languages, which some call Spanglish.
Mike seemed to be well aware of his “dual identity” (Suarez-Orozco & QinHillard, 2004) or “hyphenated identity” (Rumbaut, 1994). This student lived multifocal
lives in two co-existing, complementary, and competing words in which he acted out
different roles or performances with different languages, cultures, and peers. By taking
advantages of multiple languages across different contexts, he negotiated multiple senses
of self and the world that linked him simultaneously with more than one nation and
culture.
Digital and Transnational Identity. Among various transnational and transcultural
opportunities and options available in Mike’s world, online activity was the most salient
and critical literacy practice in term of what enabled him to cross borders and to enrich
has transnational life and experiences. Examples of this would be: checking emails,
reading Internet comics, reading articles on upcoming soccer/volleyball matches,
reviewing new CDs, creating screen names with song titles, reading song lyrics, and
playing video games. These activities occurred in both English and the home language.
There were also Generation 1.5 students who were critical of other Generation 1.5
students who devalued their home language, and pretended not to know Korean (or
Spanish). There was a question of why not admit you can speak two languages, that one
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student brought up. Other students asked why someone would conceal knowing two
languages?
Generation 1.5 students are complex, they are not simply Long Term ELLs or
immigrant students. They are strategic and analytic users of multiple languages and
literacies who are “re-makers” of the textual, technological, linguistic, and cultural
resources available to them. The access and knowledge acquired on social networks has
developed abilities and orientations suited to the use of multiple, multimodal literacies.
This shows that the participants in this study had been actually “developing very
marketable skills, which may in themselves become capital in a new technologized social
order (Merchant, 2001). This is the “mark of an educated student” in the 21st century
(Yancey, 2004).
Equally important, today’s immigrant students or children of immigrants who
have physical or virtual transnational experiences do not need to adopt a straight-line
assimilation paradigm, but can take an “alternative (transnational) adaptation path”
(Portes, Guarnizo, & Landolt, 1999): cultivating transnational social networks across
space and maintaining transnational ties. For them “success does not so much depend on
abandoning their culture and language to embrace those of another society as on
preserving their original cultural endowment, while adapting instrumentally to a second”
(Portes et al., 1999). In addition, their transnational and transcultural identities (sense of
self, social relations, and the world) that they have had negotiated across time and space
are “most adaptive in this era of globalism and multiculturalism” (Suarez-Orozco &
Suarez-Orozco, 2001). By acquiring tactical competencies that enable them to
comfortably and skillfully operate within more than one linguistic and cultural code,
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transnational adolescents are at an advantage.
What has worked with identity in my class is student validation, letting the
student know that what they have to say is worth listening to, they matter. We may not
all agree on things, but I will listen to you. Generation 1.5 students bring a variety of
skills to the academic table, sometimes unconventional, but I still see the value in it.
Students that are bilingual, transcultural, and know how to navigate in two worlds are an
asset, not a liability. Educators must continue working on developing Generation 1.5
students ‘understanding of academic vocabulary so they can have a repertoire of skills to
become successful.
I give opportunities for Generation 1.5 students to showcase their languge and
multimodal skills, whether it be with the written word, poetry, rapping, connecting
artwork to our reading, showing off their computer skills, mentoring other students in the
class, or just talking to one another, or talking to me. There are times the students and I
just talk. We will find something in the reading that triggers a conversation about their
lives. Sometimes students want to hear about my life, so I share a few things that are
relevant. They ask me about going for my Master’s, why I want to attempt such difficult
thing. They ask me about why I became a teacher, and more. Sometimes the best
learning happens when we are not focused on the book, believe it or not. Sharing their
stories, sharing their experiences, and having their voices heard is really what Generation
1.5 students, indeed all students, want.
Academic Identity. Why do some low-income immigrant and native-born Latino
students do well in school while others do not? Why are low-income Latino students less
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successful in school than their White peers? What are the effects of instructional
mechanism on low-income Latino student engagement? Conchas (2001) reports on the
school experiences of recent immigrants compared to the experiences of second or third
generation Mexican-American students. What is explored is the relationship of the
micro-process of information networks within the school as a source of social and
cultural capital and eventual academic success. Students who found supportive ties
within the school found more academic success.
What molds a student’s academic identity? Eccles (2004) states that two major
factors that influence how a student sees him or herself. Those are teacher efficacy and
teacher expectations. When the teacher holds the students to high expectations, students
learn more, work more, and experience a greater sense of self-worth and competence as
learners. Students feel more connected to their teacher, their school, and resist
involvement in problem behaviors. Teachers who feel they have the ability to reach even
the most difficult students and who believe in their ability to affect students’ lives
communicate such positive expectations and beliefs to their student. So a high sense of
teacher efficacy can actually enhance a student’s own self-confidence in their ability to
master academic material. This promotes effort investment and achievement as well as a
positive emotional relationship with their teacher and greater engagement in school.
In my observations over the course of the year, I found out many things about how
Generation 1.5 students view academic success. In the beginning of the year, many of
them displayed lots of attitude and bravado, but it really just covered the low self-esteem
issues I could see as they walked in. These students have been labeled by some as
failures. Any student, myself included when I attended school, can sense if teachers are
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“in their corner.” if they want you to succeed, if they believe in you. Teaching this class
was like teaching a baby how to walk in many ways. Students here were struggling to get
on their feet academically, and have fallen down many times over the years. I think I
might be acting out the same way if I were in their situation. However, building up
students’ self-esteem is vital if you want them to be engaged in the classroom, and
produce work. Teachers must cover the standards and explain the lessons, but you want
the student to feel that they are important part of the classroom dynamic, that they matter.
During my first semester in my Reading/Writing Workshop, almost everyone in
the class had an F, save for five, quiet, introverted, students who displayed more interest
in academics than the others. When I began to get the more resistant students to try to do
an assignment, at first I received apathy, then anger. (“I ain’t doin’ this. Why the fu*% I
gotta do this?”). When I checked their grades with other teachers, it was the same:
students receiving the same failing grade in all six subjects. I did not relent, I kept at
them, all the while staying positive, telling them I am confident they can do the work and
get a good grade. “Push yourself! The A doesn’t come free!” I would tell them. One
student named Beto, said to me, “I’m going to try to get a D, that’s better than an F,
right?” But I told him, “Don’t aim so low, Beto. I know you can get a B or an A in here
if you really try. How hard have you been trying?” Beto smiled sheepishly. “That’s
what I thought. You have six weeks until the next progress report. I know you can do
this. And if you raise that grade, I’ll call your mom. Moms love to hear good news, huh
Beto?” I said. “It’s on, Mrs. Herrera!” Beto laughed and we shook hands. My challenge
was accepted, and after six weeks, Beto had managed to raise his F to a C+. He put in
the time and hard work, and it paid off. And yes, I did call mom. His identity shifted and
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his change in attitude was contagious; other students started trying to do more work, and
began caring about their grades.
Students’ academic identity is closely tied to their social identity. I saw that it was
not cool to be a straight A student in this class, no one wanted to be labeled as the nerd,
which was the complete opposite of what was going on in my ELD class. There, the
brilliant students were revered, looked up to, and held up as examples. The intelligent
students in that class had their minds on SATs, trying to pass the English portion of the
CAHSEE, and signing up for extra-curricular clubs. They were friendly, approachable,
and always had questions for me. These students were very involved with school
activities, they made it a point to be part of the fabric of the school community, heavy
accents and all. The Generation 1.5 students did not participate in any school activities,
be it clubs or sports teams. I think it would definitely change their perception of school if
they became more involved and met other people. They have their tight-knit group of
friends and rarely venture outside of that, but I believe that they really should, but they
may not feel accepted or valued at school.
One student in my class whose academic identity improved greatly was Fernando
after he passed both sections of the CAHSEE. He was not labeled as the nerd, but
became a shining example for the class on what was possible if a student chose to pay
attention to the lessons, participate in class, and study. Even though he passed the
CAHSEE, Fernando still struggled with maintaining passing grades in all of his classes.
Academic identity is new term for Generation 1.5 students. Many students have
not viewed themselves as academic for a long time, maybe never. Being successful in
school is also a new and sometimes daunting experience for them. But I believe that if
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expectations are held high, the students will rise to the challenge.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter I have described what the research shows about classroom and
school-wide strategies that can lead to academic success for Generation 1.5 students. I
discussed what the current research finds and also how I have applied strategies into my
own classroom. From higher track classes, to meeting students’ diverse needs, to
authentic and holistic assessments and staff development. Students need to be
challenged, and need to have exposure to academic language across the content areas all
year long. I discussed how healthy partnerships between parents and administration can
help the student achieve in school. I discussed alternative academic programs such as
AVID, and I looked at how these academies (schools within a school) can make a
positive impact on a student. When students experience structure, academic rigor, high
expectations, and strong collaborative relationships with teachers and other students, their
perspective on school can change. They feel included in the academic process and make
the effort to become more active learners. Lastly, I shared techniques I use in my
classroom that work with the students.
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Chapter Five
El Fin, Reflections
Generation 1.5 Students and the Educational System
Generation 1.5 students have an uphill battle when it comes to dealing with the
school system in California. Other states, for example, Texas, are facing the same kinds
of roadblocks that we are. Valenzuela (2005) looked at the high-stakes testing and the
questionable ways data is being collected and interpreted. She discusses how the testing
hides as much as it reveals. She found three main reasons why the educational system is
flawed. It attaches high-stakes consequences -- retention, promotion, and graduation -- to
a single measure of students’ academic abilities; it encourages a reductionist, test-driven
curriculum; and it promotes a uniform and objectivist way of knowing, to the detriment
of a variety of cultures, languages, and approaches to knowledge.
All students should have a right to be assessed in a complete and fair manner,
using as many criteria as may reasonably indicate children’s cognitive abilities and
potential. It is not an issue of whether schools should be held accountable or not; they
should, but what means should be used to accomplish the goal of making sure all of our
children receive a high-quality education. Having everything connected to one test score
gives you a snapshot of one type of assessment and how a student performs with that one
type of assessment. You will never get the whole picture of that student, nor the variety
of academic strengths the student has (i.e. participation in class, tutoring/mentoring,
knowledge of computers, authentic writing, collaborating with other students, etc), unless
the creators of state-mandated tests find new ways of assessing students. Students seem
to get lost in the shuffle of school politics, budget cuts, improper placement into classes,
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burned-out teachers, indifferent teachers, and pressure on districts, both at the state and
national level.
Are the Cards Stacked Against Them?
At many high schools in the country, our current economic recession has created
more budget cuts, which translates into fewer resources. There is more focus on the
state-mandated tests and more pressure on the students to score high so it reflects well on
the school. Economic challenges have also placed more students in the classrooms, more
special education students placed in regular education classes, and more Generation 1.5
students entering into high school. Less money means not enough alternative programs
implemented, teachers feeling burned out, frustrated, and not receiving the necessary
training. On the chopping block again in my district is the sports program, which many
students, parents, teachers, and community members feel is a complement to academics
and helps produce a well-rounded student. Many students trying to enter colleges and
universities with the help of scholarships will not be able to if the sports program, school
clubs, and the school newspaper are removed. Students feel the school experience will be
altered in a negative way, all of this being a uncontrollable by-product of the budget cuts.
Schools are spending small fortunes on outside consultants who are supposed to
help the schools, or teacher training in areas that do not address the needs of the teachers
or the students. Money needs to be spent in the right areas. A good investment might be
to examine which publishing companies are currently creating the state-mandated tests,
and find ways for teachers to have more input into how the tests are constructed, taking
into account the many ways in which students demonstrate knowledge. Who better to
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ask than the teachers for feedback? Teachers collaborating, finding and discussing
training that would benefit all teachers; we need more networking. This “us vs. them”
(teachers vs. school officials) mentality needs to stop and we need to find a way for
everyone to work together for the common good of the students. These are a few of the
issues that we are addressing at my school and in my district. These are my next steps as
a professional.
It is sad that a student’s value has come to what their score is on the test. Your
worth is not connected to a test once you have graduated, finished college, and are
looking for work. Potential employers look at a variety of qualifications before he/she
hires you. The best person for the job is not always the student with the 4.0 grade point
average and who has the highest score on the CAHSEE. Case in point: I have two male
students in my mainstream English class who received the highest CAHSEE scores of the
entire class. These two students, while good-humored and easy-going, do not
participate in class, balked at the idea of going into Honors classes, which I suggested
early in the year because of their exemplary writing skills (“No, Mrs. Herrera, they give
too much work! I have a life, ya know…” ). These two students turn in mediocre to
below-average work, have an excuse for everything, feel they will be successful anyways
once they graduate, and are just biding their time until school lets out. On paper, these
two students appear to be academically advanced, and they are, but their scores do not
tell you about their personality, if they have goals for the future, their willingness to
engage in class, the quality of work they turn in, or how they interact with other students.
Not to leave out the Generation 1.5 students, consider Fernando, who has passed
his CAHSEE, but is currently failing all of his subjects. He is presently signed up for
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summer school, and will be doing as much as he can to recover credits. I have spoken
with him and asked him if he has really given 100% effort in his studies this year. “Nah,.”
he mumbled to me. “Why not? ” I asked. “I don’t know… but it’s too late now. I’ll do
better next year,” he replied with a smile.
The cards are stacked against the Generation 1.5 student to be sure. Olsen’s article
Reparable Harm (2010) lists several findings in the areas which are hindering the
academic achievement of Generation1.5 students (p.2): California school districts do not
have a shared definition of “Long Term English Learners” and English Learners become
“Long Term” English Learners in the course of their schooling experience. But few
districts have designated programs or formal approaches designed for Long Term English
Learners.
According to Olsen, other barriers that are preventing Generation 1.5 students from
achieving academically are inadequate data and student information systems; shortage of
teachers prepared with the knowledge and skills to effectively teach Long Term English
Learners; lack of appropriate curriculum and materials targeted for this population;
contradictory mandates and counsel; general misunderstandings and lack of knowledge of
the research about effective practices for Long Term English Learners; inadequate
assessments and systems to know how English Learners are doing or to identify English
Learners who are not adequately progressing; widespread lack of understanding related to
English Language Development and misunderstandings about what constitutes “English
proficiency.” These are all, fundamentally, policy issues. But they are also leadership
issues (p.3).
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The Relationship Between School Success and Life Outside of School
Another area that heavily influences how a Generation 1.5 student will do
academically is their family and other outside influences that shape their identity. Many
of my students shake their head in amazement and ask me how I managed to pursue my
Master’s Degree with a full-time job, two active children ages 11 and 10, having to pay
bills, do housework, and participate in other family and school commitments. My answer
was always the same, “I had the full support of my husband and family. Plus, I really,
really, wanted this. So I went for it.” Several students in my class are street savvy, and
will find innovative ways to showcase their talents so they can find employment. I try to
instill the importance of finishing your education, career and life skills. My
recommendations to my students reflect an academic perspective that is starkly different
from the perspective of their lives outside of school.
Some of my students are influenced by the gang activity that goes on in their
neighborhoods. Many know gang members, are associated with them, or are in a family
that has been in gangs for generations. They idolize fallen gang members (gang members
who have been shot by rival gangs) and many students do not look too far into the future.
I try to change their mindset and tell them that yes, they are a vehicle for change, and yes,
they can choose to do things differently. You do not have to follow the same path as the
others. The students understand and want to change, I see it in their eyes, but I cannot
control things outside of school. The students are on their own in that area. I can only
hope they are wise enough to make the right choices.
But it is not all negativity with Generation 1.5 students. While many of these
students need more support in order to perform well academically, this is not to say they
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are not intelligent; quite the contrary. Many Generation 1.5 students , as mentioned
earlier, thrive in the world of computers, video production, Facebook and Youtube.
They are very eloquent speakers, writers, and storytellers, but in different genres, which
are the music/rap world, and social network communities; many learn in a variety of
ways. I would like to see more of these areas woven into their academic learning. I have
implemented some of this and have seen some amazing results: set the bar high, demand
the best from your students, be in their corner, have patience, and they will produce
meaningful and powerful work that they can be proud of.
Students need to be aware that there must be a balance. We must strive for
critical thinking, acquiring academic language and literacy, and building a good
academic foundation, as well as having success in the world of technology, music, and
social networking, which seems to be the area students are very interested in these days.
The state mandated tests are the STAR, CAHSEE, and the CELDT for English Language
Learners and Generation 1.5 students. Students need to pass these tests, which are
gatekeepers. Balance is key, so why not be successful in both areas? With the proper
curriculum, holistic assessments, appropriate placement of students in the high
track classes, administration, teacher, counselor, mentor, parental support, and a
district and administration that demonstrates clear and specific criteria for English
Language Learners, I believe Generation 1.5 students can have an opportunity to
achieve academically. They can pass the CAHSEE and be successful, in high school
and after they graduate.
I have applied many strategies that I have discussed in my classroom, and I have
had good results, but it did not come easily. The Generation 1.5 students that I had this
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year, in a specially designed class just for them and with a specialized curriculum tailored
to their needs, have been unsuccessful in school for many years, some as early as
elementary. There is a sense of “learned helplessness” and not being held accountable
for one’s learning, that these students have acquired over the years. There were
challenges, we had battles, but with the help of my supervisor, my department, a
guidance counselor, and my academic coach (this was a true professional learning
community, small as it was) many of the students turned it around and began to achieve
and experience success in the classroom, which was something new and foreign to them.
The students knew I cared and wanted them to do well. I went the extra mile with this
class, in that I always kept tabs on how they were doing in their other classes by emailing
their teachers, I had ongoing dialogue with parents, and documented everything. I
referred students for SSTs (Student Study Teams), had ongoing dialogue with Special
Education educators as well as the school psychologist, and had students referred for
Special Education assessments if it was needed.
Why go the extra mile? Because these are the students that fall through the
cracks, these are the students who drop out and who may end up incarcerated, and who
are ill-prepared for aspects of the outside world, such as finding good employment, or
getting into a college. I will do whatever it takes to help these students achieve in school,
and I will celebrate the victories with them too, no matter how small. These students are
often stereotyped as not being capable academically, even if they do not do bad things. I
want to show the world that Generation 1.5 students can be successful, if given the right
tools and the right support.
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Fight the Power…. Y la Lucha Sigue (and the Battle Continues)
Right now at my school, thirty percent of our student population is at Far Below
Basic level on standardized reading test scores. The district has decided that the panacea
that will fix everything for all struggling readers is the new curriculum called the EDGE.
It will be considered a reading intervention class that counts for graduation, but will not
count if a student wants to go to college. Does this new curriculum work when you have
a small class size, mentors, collaboration, dialogue with parents, goals for the students, a
variety of assessments, student-based projects, student engagement, and everyone
working together? Yes, it can work because there is not a single given curriculum that
teaches what students need for academic success, as Harklau (2000) and Forrest (2006)
point out: addressing the diverse needs of the learner, holistic approaches for
assessments, tapping into students’ prior knowledge, higher track classes, and developing
critical literacy to name a few. Until state policy makers and district level administrators
recognize that it is not just an issue of purchasing a particular curriculum, there will not
be significant change.
The future is uncertain for Generation 1.5 students, but I will be there no matter
which way the pendulum swings. My main concern is to find ways to pull these students
up from the situation they find themselves in and to show them the importance of
literacy, in all its forms. It is not only a skill to be used in school, but will be a necessity
for the rest of their lives.
My department and I are vocal advocates for Generation 1.5 students and all EL
students. These students are the invisible ones, though their numbers grow and grow at
the school site. When schools get marked down on test score results due to EL scores
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(“They need to learn English!”), this population of students is looked at, even though they
are being taught English in their ELD classes and are progressing as quickly as they can.
Sorry folks, you cannot learn English in six months. I have voiced my concern at
meetings, listen to the same types of concerns from parents, get frustrated at all the
bureaucracy and red tape, and fume when it always boils down to the same thing: test
scores. The students are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet. I will continue to fight
for the rights of these students. Generation 1.5 students are capable, intelligent, human
beings who deserve the best chances for success.
Conclusion and Next Steps
I have taken a look at a type of student that has been present in our schools for
quite some time but is just now being identified in the high schools, the Generation 1.5
student. This student has a unique profile and has a different set of learning challenges
that sets them apart from both the EL student and the mainstream, monolingual, native
speaker. Generation 1.5 students bring a myriad of positive attributes to the table.
However, they must first gain more knowledge of school language, build their skills in
school reading tasks, and hone their academic writing, before they can showcase their
knowledge in ways most schools expect, including success in state-mandated
assessments. I do not think that these types of tests are fair to EL and Generation 1.5
students, but I do agree that Generation 1.5 students have to have a specialized
curriculum that is tailored to their needs and recognizes their strengths. Generation 1.5
students are diamonds in the rough, but with the right strategies in place, student
motivation, and an effective literacy program, these students can flourish. They will
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become more academically proficient, and evolve into students who can have a positive
influence on others. As my title indicates, Escucha Nuestra Historia (Listen to our
Story), listening and finding out more about students’ backgrounds, families, talents, and
areas that need work, will help you to connect with them and better serve them in the
classroom. In listening to students, teachers will have better insight for tailoring lessons
that fit the needs of that class. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work. Doing well in
school and doing well on state-mandated assessments are two of the many challenges
Generation 1.5 students have to overcome. Alternative forms of state-mandated
assessments for EL and Generation 1.5 students are needed, but for now, this is their
reality and ours.
School districts need to make drastic adjustments to properly serve this growing
population of students, from having a clear definition of what constitutes a Generation
1.5 student / Long Term English Learner, to trained staff that understands the needs of
this population. These students do not need a remediation class. They require a special
curriculum that will give them the proper tools to improve their reading skills and provide
them more exposure to academic language. EL Learners and Generation 1.5 students
have been put on the back burner long enough. We, as a learning community, along with
the school districts, and the federal government, need to work collaboratively so that
proper implementation of curriculum, assessments, placing of students in the appropriate
classes, and communication with parents, all happens. If the student is our first priority,
then we need to take action that reflects that priority.
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