Hi all. I was really affected by the manner in which Mr. Larievy chose to conduct class today. The passion and urgency he displayed (from moving among his syllabus points to asking for our dedication to urban education) are tough to match.
That being said, let me turn that assessment on its head. Is the urgency necessary, and why don't we see more of it? If by 2025 we will be working in schools were 1/3 of every classroom is ELL, how can it be that (at least in Massachusetts) problems like lack of uniform entry-level ELL categorization and too many non-ELL-certified administrators (both of which Mr. Larievy mentioned in his sweeping presentation) get swept under the rug?
Could it all stem from America's lack of belief in making the "ideal" of a multilingual society "realistic?" This question kept creeping into our small group discussions and I think it just might speak to the "lack of preparation" problem. Does this issue go beyond the bigoted songs, comments and speeches we witnessed to hardened pessimism and apathy? Have we exhausted ourselves by talking, unpleasantly surprised to find we have no energy left to "act?" Solid praxis cannot exist without the presence of both consciousness/reflection and action, after all.
So, I'll leave everyone to ponder something I'm still hung up on: We spend a lot of time discussing how to be prepared educators (we can't afford not to be!) ... but sometimes social conditions make it seem like a lack of preparedness is the cultural standard to which America holds itself. I am beyond bothered by this meta-reality. Thoughts/questions/concerns?
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