Questions:

The questions that I would like to explore originate from my past experiences. I am fluent in Spanish and English. Although I was born here in the States, growing up, Spanish was the language spoken at home. This is something which my parents were pretty strict about, and for which I will always be grateful for. Being fluent in another language other than English has provided me with more job opportunities, has allowed me to really get to know the Spanish speaking countries I have visited, and most importantly has made possible the close relationships I maintain with my relatives overseas. Being bilingual was also very useful in school, mainly in elementary school where there were very few Latinos. Whenever there was a new student that did not speak English, chances were that the student would be seated next to me so that I could translate what was being taught, this of course before they were placed into ESL classes. What most caught my attention was that many of the things we were being taught, especially in Math, they would always tell me that they had already been taught in their native countries. What would later bother me is that when they were placed in ESL classes they would most often have to take less advanced subject courses because they were not fluent in English. Although it is logical that they would have to learn English first, many of them became frustrated and even bored, in classes like Math, when they had to go over things that they already knew. My questions are the following:

· What are the evaluation standards set for Non-English speaking students in comparison to English speaking students? And how and what are they based on?

· What is the success rate of minorities that have come to this country having already experienced the education systems of their native countries, versus the success rate of minorities that have solely been educated in the United States?

Another question I have, which can relate to my topic and this class in general, is the following:

· So far we have discussed and read about how change can be achieved by focusing in on changing the system, but while we are doing this, what can we effectively do in our classrooms to make a difference in our students’ education despite what is being imposed on them by the school, community, government, and etc.?