Posted on 09/27/2005 9:12:55 AM PDT by raybbr
NIU is teaming up with the Illinois State Board of Education, the Chicago Public Schools and the Illinois Resource Center to address the problem of a bilingual teacher shortage in the Chicago area.
This program is part of a federally-driven initiative fueled by the No Child Left Behind Act. Across the nation, states and schools receive grants from the government.
The Chicago Public School system has 57,000 students who speak English as a second language. This qualifies the schools for high need of the Title II grant, which addresses the bilingual teacher problem. According to a press release, around 800 people have expressed interest in the program.
"The sheer growth in the number of second-language learners in the state of Illinois makes it imperative we have individuals teaching in the classrooms who are bilingual," said Norm Stahl, chair of the NIU College of Education. "This is particularly true in Chicago, but true also in school districts such as Cicero, West Chicago, East Aurora, Waukegan and Elgin."
The NIU program begins in September with 30 students. These students will need two and a half years to complete the curriculum. New students will be added every semester through fall 2007.
"Positive role models are important," Stahl added. "Kids need to be able to communicate with someone who speaks their own language and has an understanding of the culture the kids bring to the classroom."
In recent years, NIU has trained nearly 200 bilingual teachers, with more than 100 of them expecting to graduate in May 2005. More than 300 new bilingual and English as a Second Language teachers are taking classes through NIU.
"NIU clearly has a very real, very compelling interest in this program," Vice Provost Earl Seaver said. "The greater Chicagoland region served by NIU is among the fastest-growing regions in the country."
The program works by allowing teachers holding the Type 29 certificate to work in a Chicago public school while they complete training. The certificate is a temporary teaching permit obtained on the basis of bilingualism. The teachers must know English plus either Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Urdu or Vietnamese, all of which have been labeled as target languages by the state.
The Illinois Transition to Teaching initiative hopes to recruit 250 participants in the next five years. Along with providing the elementary education certification, the initiative will also provide financial support for the completion of a master’s degree.
ping
What, no Portugese? They must be discrimintating against Brazilians. Isn't that against some law? Sounds like a hate crime to me.
Horsefeathers.
I see absolutely (positively) no need for bilingual education. Make the kids learn English and English only. If you want additional language education, teach 'em Latin. There are many benefits to learning Latin, including the fact that it will help them learn English, and no one will show up with an advantage/disadavantage because their family does/does not speak it at home. Level playing field.
Blame the drunk irishman in charge, little dickie of the daley klan.
Blame the drunk irishman in charge, little dickie of the daley klan.
PRECISELY!
Unless we have -- at a MINIMUM -- a common LANGUAGE (ENGLISH), the drift toward balkanization will lead to a disaster here.
Can you say "Civil War, II?"
No attempt at sensationalizing here !!
An interesting problem. Why is there a need for bilingual teachers in the US if the only language being used for teaching school children is English? Immersion is the best way to learn English, or any other language.
Silly you !
think incremental (additional) dues paying union members.
No. Not requiring English of all students cripples Chicago.
WELCOME TO AMERICA.... NOW SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!
My wife is a teacher and they have nicknamed it the Every child takes it in the behind act.
There are probably as many Polish illegal immigrants in Chicago as there are Mexicans, but I suspect the Poles won't have as much of a problem with learning English.
We are going to go live in Rome, Italy in May so we are currently learning Italian. Then we are off to Oman for a year, after a couple of years in Rome. (Hubby is Dow chemical engineer). In Calif. now enjoying the climate! We will learn Arabic while in Italy. When we go to France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland, etc. on vacation, we always bone up on the lingo BEFORE we go.
And I am NOT a rocket scientist! I want to be able to get around wherever we go so I learn enough of the language to do so. I can't imagine living in a country without speaking the language. How lazy do they have to be? We bought Italian tapes, book, flash cards, and we are learning the language now, and it is fun! My son took five years of German just for fun. A friend of his is learning Italian right now just for fun.
And when I was a public school teacher in Texas 1973-1975 we had many kids moving into Texas from Mexico. Usually within ONE year the kids were fluent in English. All you have to do is WANT TO LEARN.
How about: Refusal of Immigrants, Many of Whom are Illegally in the US, Cripples Chicago?
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