Submitted by C. Gilcher (not verified) on June 16, 2007 - 08:36.
In Florida, where I work, nearly half of our students come from families and, many times, communities, where English is not the primary language. I, for my own reasons, support families who want to maintain their cultural heritage while becoming American citizens. The issue we face as teachers, however, is that with a 6-8 week hiatus from the school environment every summer, the students often lose some of their English language development because they don't use their English skills during summer break. Our district is not going to consider the option of year round schools anytime soon, and as much as we get parents involved with using English language skills at home, it's sometimes difficult for them with the immense responsibilities they face, multiple jobs, caring for extended families, and maintaining their households. Furthermore, summer programs have been nearly eliminated, and the ones in existence focus strictly on test scores. We need summer programs, partnerships with local governments, and something that can be available to all students- sports camps, book clubs, art projects, volunteer and community service projects, dance and music programs- stuff they don't get access to year round.
10th Grade English
Submitted by C. Gilcher (not verified) on June 16, 2007 - 08:36.
In Florida, where I work, nearly half of our students come from families and, many times, communities, where English is not the primary language. I, for my own reasons, support families who want to maintain their cultural heritage while becoming American citizens. The issue we face as teachers, however, is that with a 6-8 week hiatus from the school environment every summer, the students often lose some of their English language development because they don't use their English skills during summer break. Our district is not going to consider the option of year round schools anytime soon, and as much as we get parents involved with using English language skills at home, it's sometimes difficult for them with the immense responsibilities they face, multiple jobs, caring for extended families, and maintaining their households. Furthermore, summer programs have been nearly eliminated, and the ones in existence focus strictly on test scores. We need summer programs, partnerships with local governments, and something that can be available to all students- sports camps, book clubs, art projects, volunteer and community service projects, dance and music programs- stuff they don't get access to year round.