The Ascription or Denial of Intelligence Based on Race
My friend’s daughter once told me that she figured a relatively new, Asian classmate was intelligent just by looking at her. She then followed the statement with, “I wonder if I made that assumption because of her race,” and proceeded to analyze her thought process. Undoubtedly, as a parent, an educator, and as an equity-minded…
Keep readingNew Year’s Resolution: Perpetual Growth
The ending of a year, whether it is the Gregorian calendar year, a luni-solar year, an academic year, or even a fiscal year, presents us with an opportunity to reflect and commit ourselves to growth. One place where we can never stop growing is in our struggles for social justice. Because each of us, regardless…
Keep readingEquity Measures in Dual Language Education: Separation of Language
Dual Language Education is a social justice movement for students who speak a Language Other Than English (LOTE) at home because it is the only language acquisition program research proven to close the opportunity gap for students identified as Emergent Bilinguals. However, as demonstrated by various studies (Urow & Beeman 2013; Thomas & Collier, 2004)…
Keep reading5 Steps for Ensuring That Your Dual Language Program Is Still A Strong, Equity-Based Dual Language Program
Dr. Jose Medina, one of the authors of the Guiding Principles of Dual Language, famously said, “Dual language Programs not grounded in equidad y justicia social (equity and social justice) are NOT dual language programs.” I couldn’t agree more. Two-Way Dual Language Programs are measured by how well they are servicing their emergent bilinguals… those…
Keep reading5 Tips to Honor Language Diversity in Dual Language Classrooms
Language is ever evolving. How we spoke a hundred years ago is not how we speak today, and how we speak today is not how our descendants will speak a hundred years from now. The English we speak in the US is not identical to the English spoken in England. For that matter, the English…
Keep readingMicroaggressions: Forever Alien in One’s Own Land
“How do they celebrate Three Kings’ Day in Mexico?” I once observed a teacher ask one of her Dual Language students. The question seemed innocent enough. She was trying to build sociocultural competence in her classroom by being inclusive of all her students as the upcoming holiday approached. However, the student felt uncomfortable. While his…
Keep reading
Social Justice and Education 