ESED 5234(G): Cultural Issues: ESOL

College of Education, Georgia Southern University

College of Education Classroom Building Room # 3151

Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00-5:30 pm, June 19 to July 20, 2006

Instructor: Scott A.L. Beck, Ph.D.

Office: Room #4113, College of Education.

Contact: (912) 681-0354, sab44@cornell.edu

Course Catalog Description:

The principles of culture and its link to second language learning, as well as, problems of teaching in a multicultural classroom.

Texts:

Igoa, Cristina. (1995). The Inner World of the Immigrant Child. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Jelloun, Tahar Ben. (1999). Racism Explained to My Daughter. New York, NY: The New Press

Spring, Joel. (2007). Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States. New York, NY: McGraw Hill College Division.

Teaching Tolerance Project. (1997). Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center.

ALSO:

Readings posted on WebCT

Book Circles:

1. Rivera, T. (1971). …y no se lo trago la tierra / …and the earth did not swallow him. Houston: Arte Publico Press

Kadohata, Cynthia. (2004). Kira-Kira. New York: Scholastic

2. Viramontes, Helena María. (1995). Under the Feet of Jesus. New York: Plume Book.

Ho, Minfong. (2005). The Stone Goddess. New York: Scholastic.

3. Jiménez, Francisco. (2001). Breaking Through. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Na, An. (2003). A Step from Heaven. New York: Puffin.

Course Requirements:

Note: This course is a taught as a combined graduate (G) / undergraduate section. The primary distinction between the two levels of the course is based upon a research and synthesis paper required for the graduate version of the course.

[NOTE: There are 2 PSC/NCATE Key Assessment in this course:

- Community Resource Project

- Interview of a Multilingual Immigrant or Migrant Paper & Presentation]

Attendance, Participation, Daily Quizzes / Writing Opportunities

(Undergraduate: 30% of total grade; Graduate: 20%)

You should attend class and arrive on time, bring assigned readings to class, complete all assignments on time, and display an understanding of material read through class discussions. Your participation is not only welcome; it is absolutely necessary if this course is to be successful! Most classes will begin with a quick quiz or writing opportunity based upon the assigned reading for that day. This will be your chance to demonstrate that you have completed the assigned reading and considered its implications.

Book Circle: Group Participation and Presentation

(Undergraduate: 30% of total grade; Graduate: 25%)

We will form book circles of four to five students. Each circle will be assigned to read two of the book circle texts listed above. You will read the books outside of class, but you will have time during class to discuss them. We will use a rotation of standard book circle roles (summarizer & discussion leader, wordsmith & passage master, real-life connector & researcher, illustrator) to structure these discussions. Pay particular attention to cultivate different responses to the book within your group. Please don’t spend all your time agreeing with each other. That will not make for interesting discussions or an interesting presentation. One of the things that makes literature interesting is the fact that we all bring different background experiences to the reading process. Don’t squelch these differences… celebrate and learn from them.

At the end of the course, you and your peers will present your book(s) to the class, making sure to tell us not just about the book(s), but about the nature of your discussions about the book(s) and connections you made with the readings and discussions in this course. Finally, each circle member will confidentially assess the contribution made by his or her individual teammates. These assessments will take into account your professionalism, courtesy, promptness, reliability, work ethic, contributions, and cooperation in the team context. Based upon these assessments, my own observations, I will assign a grade to each circle member.

Small Group Community Resource Project

(Undergraduate: 10% of total grade; Graduate: 10%)

[ESOL Endorsement PSC/NCATE Key Assessment]

Working in small groups of 4 to 5, you will develop a plan for a Community Resource Project examining local and state community resources and how they might be utilized for ESOL. You will use the mapping model provided (Diaz-Rico, 2004, p. 387) to help formulate the “big picture” for the project. You will complete a graphic mapping of the project, including questions and answers, as well as a short narrative description outlining how the project could be incorporated into an ESOL classroom. For example, in the mapping section, questions might be as follows:

· Planning – What activities need to be planned? Who are the people who will help make this project happen?

· Management – How are people, money, and materials related to ESOL managed in this school/community/state?

· Community – What is the impact of ESOL education on this community? What service or benefit is the community receiving?

· Finance – What is the cost of the project?

Interview of a Multilingual Immigrant or Migrant: Paper and Presentation

(Undergraduate: 30% of total grade; Graduate: 20%)

[ESOL Endorsement PSC/NCATE Key Assessment]

Each of you will identify and interview a different multilingual immigrant or migrant in your community – preferably someone not affiliated with Georgia Southern University. Your participant must be someone who learned English as an additional language after immigrating to the U.S. or after starting his or her schooling in the U.S. Since this activity will be “for a class” and is not intended to become a publication, we will not need to go through the formal IRB Human Subject process. (If however, you think you may want to produce something publishable, then the IRB process will be a necessary step.) Even without IRB processing, however, you need to take care with how you treat your participant. We will discuss appropriate protocol. Be sure that you obtain voluntary consent from your participant. A consent letter for the signatures of you and your participant will be provided.

You will arrange an interview with your participant at their convenience, preferably in a home or work setting that is comfortable for them. You will conduct an interview of about 1 hour in length. We will work together to sketch out an informal, flexible interview protocol to help structure these interviews. If both you and your participant agree, the interview may be tape-recorded.

You will selectively transcribe and analyze the interview and then write a short paper (approximately 1000 words) that discusses the life history of your participant and interprets their life in light of the readings and discussions for this course. Finally, you will briefly (in 5-10 minutes) present what you have learned to the entire class.

Research and Synthesis Paper and presentation (Graduate Students Only)

(Graduate: 25% of total grade)

This summative paper is only required of those seeking graduate credit for this course. This paper should be 2000-3000 words in length. In this paper you will be expected to connect a variety of sources and readings with the stories you read for your book circle. You should seek to interpret and understand the perspectives presented in your book circle texts in light of the readings and discussions for this course. Your paper must make reference to Igoa, Jelloun, Spring, and some of the readings from the course reader. Other potential sources that you might want to consult include: Jim Carnes’ Us and Them; Jeffra Flaitz’s Understanding Your International Students; Joy Hakim’s A History of US; James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me; and Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States.

You will briefly (in about 10 minutes) present the ideas from your paper to the entire class.

Tentative Course Schedule:

Date	Readings -Assinmnts Due at start of class	Class Activities
Tuesday, June 20	In class: Reader: Kohls	Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Formation of Book Circles & Discussion of Roles Book Circle Meeting Kohls – Culture Defined Vygotsky -> Rogoff -> Heath -> Delpit & Moll SSmall Activity: Colors of Us (Starting Small video) Begin Planning for Immigrant Interview Project
Thursday, June 22	Book Circle 1/6 Jelloun – all Reader: McIntosh	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting McIntosh – White Privilege Race and Racism (Power of Illusion video) Complete Planning for Immigrant Interview Project
Tuesday, June 27	Book Circle 2/6 Starting Small 1 Spring 1-3 Reader: Anzaldúa	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting SSmall Activity: Race, Class, Gender & Cultural Issue Puppetry America’s History of Intolerance (Place at the Table video) Cultural and Linguistic Human Rights
Thursday, June 29	Book Circle 3/6 Starting Small 2 Spring 4-6	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting Textbook Analysis Immigrants & Migrants in Georgia (UGA video) SSmall Activity: Critical Examination of Children’s Books
Tuesday, July 4	n/a	NO CLASS - HOLIDAY
Thursday, July 6	Book Circle 4/6 Starting Small 3 Igoa thru 1 Reader: Reguero & A-Snider	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting SSmall Activity: Compare/Contrast Family Traditions (La Boda video)
Tuesday, July 11	Book Circle 5/6 Starting Small 4 Igoa 2-3 Reader: Valdés	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting SSmall Activity: Cooperative Play/Work Significant School Experiences (La Escuela video)

Thursday, July 13	Book Circle 6/6 Starting Small 5 Igoa 4 Reader: Scarcella	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Book Circle Meeting: Finalize Presentation Plans SSmall Activity: Cultural Quilt, Us & Our Interview Participants Community Resource Project – in class
Tuesday, July 18	Starting Small 6 Igoa 5-6 Reader: Beck Book Circle Presentations	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book SSmall Activity: Preempting & Mediating Violent Conflicts (Postville video) Book Circle Presentations & Discussion
Thursday, July 20	Starting Small 7 Reader: Beck & Allexsaht-Snider Immigrant Interview Papers Graduate Papers	Daily Quiz / Writing Opportunity Response & Discussion - taped short story & children’s book Graduate Synthesis & Research Presentations & Discussion Immigrant Interview Presentations & Discussion

END OF COURSE-SPECIFIC MATERIAL

3

BEGINNING OF GENERAL SYLLABUS MATERIAL

ASSESSMENT:

I adhere to Georgia Southern University’s definitions for grading:

A Exceptional capabilities and exceptional performance 90-100

B Significantly more effective command of the material than expected 80-89

C Mastery of the material 70-79

D Grasp of the material is minimal 60-69

F Failure to master the essentials below 60

I will return graded assignments in as a timely fashion as possible. I will gladly explain evaluation / assessment procedures and results.

Midterm Progress: Any student who wishes to discuss his or her cumulative class grade at mid-term (before the last day to withdraw without academic penalty) is encouraged to make an

appointment with me.

ATTENDANCE:

Punctual attendance is mandatory. Your success in this course is dependent upon your presence. Failure to attend all classes and scheduled field-based responsibilities will have a severe impact on your final course grade. Any missed quizzes, in-class reflective writings, idea lists for team discussions, or homework, etc. – whether due to absence, illness, tardiness, or early departure will be recorded as zeros and cannot be made up. Any missed time during a field practicum must be made up as soon as possible. You are responsible for any notes, materials, or assignments missed during your absence.

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING ASSIGNMENTS:

· Assignments and projects used to fulfill the requirements of this course are not to have been used for the fulfillment of requirements for other courses, except as explicitly described in the syllabus or assignments.

· All assignments are due on time as indicated in the course calendar.

· Late papers/assignments will be accepted for up to 1 week with a…

… 10 point (1 letter grade) reduction in grade when less than 24 hours late.

… 20 point (2 letter grades) reduction in grade when less than 1 week late.

Unless the necessity to teach or use the assignment within a short period of time prohibits the consideration of late work.

· All assignments are to be typed and stapled or bound together or submitted electronically as specified by the instructor. All electronic assignments must be in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, etc…) formats only. I reserve the option to not grade any work that is not turned in the appropriate electronic format.

· Each assignment must have your name, course section and the date clearly indicated

· Demonstrate thoughtful reading, research, analysis and presentation in your work.

· Your work must be yours – write in first person when appropriate. Share your thoughts; don’t just copy the ideas of others.

· Avoid strings of quotes or paraphrased material with little of substance linking and explaining these materials. Instead, explain why you think certain quotes are significant and/or related to each other.

· Avoid use of the ‘generic he.’

· Your grade will suffer if errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation) and poor composition and style make an assignment difficult to read.

· Write, then edit, re-write, then proofread, re-write, and ask friends to edit and proofread, and re-write again.

· Make use of GSU’s Writing Center (call 871-1413). It’s free! They can help improve anyone’s writing.

· Document your writing with bibliographies and citations using standard APA style. For clarifications regarding APA style see: http://www2.gasou.edu/library/broch_ref/apastyle.pdf

http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm

http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

http://www.lib.usm.edu/~instruct/guides/apa.html

· Failure to post any required assessments on TK20 by the due date is grounds for a failing grade in this course.

CONDUCT, ACADEMIC HONESTY, PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS & PROGRAM RETENTION:

· The GSU Student Conduct Code and Regulations regarding Academic Honesty will be enforced. (See: http://www.stp.gasou.edu/scc/index.html). Misconduct will be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs and can result in severe penalties.

· Academic honesty is not just a nice idea, it is the rule at GSU. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism can lead to your immediate failure of this course. Plagiarism includes: using someone else’s ideas or words without proper quotation marks and citations and/or failing to properly cite paraphrased material. If you think that you can plagiarize and get away with it, see:

http://www.asee.org/prism/december/html/student_plagiarism_in_an_onlin.htm

· Cheating or any other infraction against the Student Conduct Code can lead to your immediate failure of this course.

· The Professional Standards of Conduct outlined by this department will be enforced.

· Candidates are expected to meet all requirements for retention in their program of study and the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Unsuccessful progress toward meeting program objectives (including course assessments), unsatisfactory grades/GPA, and actions found in violation of the GSU Student Conduct Code or the Georgia PSC’s Code of Ethics can result in non-retention in these programs.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability that might affect your performance in this course, please contact the Student Disability Resource Center in Hampton Hall as soon as

possible. The SDRC will determine appropriate accommodations based on testing and medical documentation.

SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO REVISION IF NECESSARY:

While the provisions of this syllabus are as accurate and complete as possible, the instructor reserves the right to change any provision herein without actual notice if circumstances so warrant.

Every effort will be made to keep candidates advised of such changes and information about such changes will be available at all times from the instructor. It is the responsibility of each candidate to know what changes, if any, have been made to the provisions of this syllabus and to successfully complete the requirements of this course. This syllabus may be part of a larger packet of material covering important aspects of this course and/or a block of courses.