Roberto Germán [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Our Classroom. In this space, we talk about education, which is inclusive of, but not limited to, what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. I am your host, Roberto Germán, and Our Classroom is officially in session.
Roberto Germán [00:00:27]:
Welcome back to Our Classroom. Roberto here with Lorena, who is running a little bit late.
Lorena Germán [00:00:35]:
You don't gotta add that piece.
Roberto Germán [00:00:37]:
You know, I gotta tell the people the truth.
Lorena Germán [00:00:39]:
Hello, everyone. I am right on time.
Roberto Germán [00:00:41]:
No, we gotta be authentic. And so this is gonna be your last episode for a while based on your tardiness.
Lorena Germán [00:00:48]:
Oh, my goodness.
Roberto Germán [00:00:49]:
I'm just being real with you. This is part three of multilingual speakers in the US. Gonna go ahead and dive right in. Hopefully. Y'all have been engaging in this conversation and carrying it to different spaces. So we got a couple questions we want to unpack today, and let's go ahead and start with the first one. How does a humanizing approach to bilingual education contribute to creating a respectful and dignified learning environment for students and their families?
Lorena Germán [00:01:22]:
You keep giving me these very big and broad questions, thinking that they're short. That's huge. Listen, that's, like, the premise for a PhD.
Roberto Germán [00:01:33]:
Well, we don't need that right now. All right?
Lorena Germán [00:01:36]:
Goodness.
Roberto Germán [00:01:37]:
We don't. All we gotta do is give the people a taste, feed them a little bit. If they want more, they can continue listening, or they can reach out to us for the resources and conversations they could come comments on and so forth.
Lorena Germán [00:01:48]:
How does a humanizing approach to bilingual ed contribute? I don't know that it contributes. I think it is the foundation for a respectful and dignified learning environment. Say more like, you cannot have a respectful and dignified learning environment for these particular students and their families if you don't see them as human, if you don't understand that they come first before these learning goals and these learning targets. Right. They are more than what they can and cannot say. Usually we're talking about English, right? So if I see the kids that I'm working with as deficient in a language, as illiterate in a particular language as a score, right.
Roberto Germán [00:02:35]:
We get so caught up in test scores that for some people in some institution, that's. That's. That's what ends up happening.
Lorena Germán [00:02:40]:
Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:02:41]:
Is that we start overlooking the human beings that we are educating and just focus so much on the numbers, on the data, data, data.
Lorena Germán [00:02:53]:
And let me just say that I fell into something similar.
Roberto Germán [00:02:57]:
It's easy to fall into.
Lorena Germán [00:02:58]:
It's so easy to fall into. It is because one of the things that I had to do often. One of the things that I had to do often was. Was, you know, differentiate. You got one class. But I had all these different levels in this one class or abilities and skill sets, but I had to go based off this standardized test. And I don't even want to make this about standardized testing. Let's not even call it that.
Roberto Germán [00:03:21]:
Let's just say, right about that. We let out. We let it all out.
Lorena Germán [00:03:25]:
Yes, but. But my point here is not so much the test, but, like, the. The scores, right? And so I had, in my mind, even though I wouldn't say this to them and I wouldn't even write it on their papers, I came up with, like, really creative ways of naming groups, like rock stars, superstars, you know, and, like, whatever. And they were in alphabetical order. And in my mind, it was like, level one, level two, level three. Right. But anyway, I had grouped them in a certain place, and that certainly influenced how I saw them and how I thought of them, what I believe they could and couldn't do. And when I finally caught myself, which was absolutely way too late in the school year, this was, like, years ago, I just.
Lorena Germán [00:04:08]:
I felt so terrible because I was like, man, I wonder what role I've played in limiting them. Right. Because when you keep them in these groups, sometimes they struggle to grow because they're. They're limited to that work, to whatever you're giving that group. All of this is to say that when we see them through these lens of simply achievement, we do lose. You know what you were just saying? Like, the human in that space.
Roberto Germán [00:04:31]:
Yeah. For me, a simple way to think about this is, what are we doing and why are we doing it?
Lorena Germán [00:04:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:04:40]:
And who are we doing this for?
Lorena Germán [00:04:43]:
Yeah. Yeah. And we can even push it with some other questions, too, like, who benefits from what we're doing, right. Who is this good for? Like, is this a thing that's gonna be. Make my life easier.
Roberto Germán [00:04:55]:
Right. What are we paying?
Lorena Germán [00:04:55]:
Which is not bad. Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:04:57]:
Like, what are we paying for? Who are we paying? Where's the money going? Follow the money.
Lorena Germán [00:05:00]:
Right. That too.
Roberto Germán [00:05:01]:
Cause it's probably gonna tell us a lot.
Lorena Germán [00:05:03]:
Yeah. Who is this that I'm doing? Right. Like, who is this possibly excluding? Like, who is it leaving out? Right.
Roberto Germán [00:05:12]:
And why?
Lorena Germán [00:05:13]:
And why? Yeah. So there's a lot of questions we can ask ourselves, but.
Roberto Germán [00:05:17]:
But I think, what are we to do about that?
Lorena Germán [00:05:19]:
Right. Like, what can I do?
Roberto Germán [00:05:21]:
These are all great, like, professional development questions.
Lorena Germán [00:05:25]:
Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:05:26]:
You know, like, this would be not the way but a way you could start the school year. Right. Like, let's sit down and ponder these questions and have a real raw conversation that ultimately centers around our students and our practices and hopefully challenge and encourage us to make whatever necessary adjustments and also to keep the good things that we're doing. So something for y'all, something for folks to consider as the school year starts winding down and folks transition into the summer and ultimately start preparing for the fall, for the 2024 school year. Right. This is something for folks to consider.
Lorena Germán [00:06:27]:
Yeah. I, you know, I think sometimes we think of humanizing approaches or, you know, whatever language we want to use around these different approaches as, like, super complex and overhauling everything you're doing. And it's not always that. I mean, there are times where, yeah, you got to stop simply doing this one thing or change this one whole aspect of what you're teaching. That might be a thing, but it's also tweaks here and there, and it is also about your disposition and how you're walking in that room, like, how am I approaching these children? How am I thinking about who they are? Right. Like, how am I incorporating their values and, or at least keeping in mind their values and their cultures and their backgrounds and even their families and communities, you know?
Roberto Germán [00:07:17]:
Right. And how can I do that better? What supports do I need to be more effective in that?
Lorena Germán [00:07:25]:
Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:07:27]:
What supports do I need from the school leaders? What supports do I need from my colleagues? What supports do I need from the caretakers, parents and guardians? This should be a collective effort. You know, I dare even ask, you know, what supports do I need from the student? Right. Cause then it gives the opportunity for the student to voice like, all right, well, this is how I can partner with you.
Lorena Germán [00:07:53]:
Sure.
Roberto Germán [00:07:53]:
And it also gives the student ownership of their own educational journey and so transition into our next question. What role do community and family engagement play in supporting students of color in their language learning journey? And how can educators foster meaningful partnerships? Right. This.
Lorena Germán [00:08:16]:
So that, this, again, a big question. I can literally think of two books right now, three books. Right?
Roberto Germán [00:08:24]:
Name them. So one is the people resources.
Lorena Germán [00:08:27]:
All right, so the one is obviously En Comunidad. They talk about this. Yeah, well, we mentioned, we already mentioned that one.
Roberto Germán [00:08:34]:
Shout out. Shout out to doctor. The doctor us.
Lorena Germán [00:08:37]:
Yes.
Roberto Germán [00:08:38]:
Carla España, Luz Yadira Herrera.
Lorena Germán [00:08:42]:
All right, I'm thinking, too, of Dr. Professor Amigo Steven Alvarez's book En Confianza.
Roberto Germán [00:08:50]:
Shout out to Steven Alvarez, published by NCTE, Taco Literacy.
Lorena Germán [00:08:53]:
That's right. Taco Literacies friend of the platform right. His book. And also, I'm thinking, too. I mean, I haven't read it fully, but we, you know, we featured her on our podcast and everything in Nawal's book. Like, I'm thinking of three books. Shout out to Nawal, who are already talking about this. But you want me to answer this quickly, is what you're saying.
Roberto Germán [00:09:13]:
Well, I mean, I want you to not give us the PhD version. Golly, I don't got time for that. All right, this is part three of this series. Come on.
Lorena Germán [00:09:25]:
Because this became a part. You thought this was gonna be a one and done podcast, but you have these big questions. So I'm like, I did.
Roberto Germán [00:09:32]:
I'm not gonna lie. I did.
Lorena Germán [00:09:33]:
My goodness.
Roberto Germán [00:09:34]:
All right, here we are, by the way, Naval's book, Nawal Qarooni, Nurturing Caregiver Collaboration.
Lorena Germán [00:09:44]:
Isn't it Nourishing?
Roberto Germán [00:09:45]:
Nourishing. That's, you know, Nourishing.
Lorena Germán [00:09:47]:
I know that.
Roberto Germán [00:09:48]:
I was playing pickleball this morning.
Lorena Germán [00:09:50]:
Yeah, you're tired.
Roberto Germán [00:09:50]:
It was hot. I'm tired. Nourishing. I can't even say it right. Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations. And Nawal was on a platform, as was Steven, as was Carla and Luz. So y'all could go back and check those episodes to get insight about not just their books, but the topics that we were unpacking.
Roberto Germán [00:10:10]:
All right, go ahead.
Lorena Germán [00:10:11]:
So you don't feel well? Do you need a hug?
Roberto Germán [00:10:13]:
Go ahead. All right, so you want me to reiterate the question?
Lorena Germán [00:10:18]:
Yes, please.
Roberto Germán [00:10:19]:
What role do community and family engagement play?
Lorena Germán [00:10:24]:
Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:10:25]:
In supporting students of color in their language learning journey. And how can educators foster meaningful partnerships?
Lorena Germán [00:10:31]:
Okay, good, good. What role? They play a crucial, central role. Right. Like you or me? Us. We.
Roberto Germán [00:10:42]:
Who are we? The community?
Lorena Germán [00:10:44]:
No, the educators or even the school. Right. Like, my point is, is that we have to do this in partnership with the home. One of the biggest issues that teachers have.
Roberto Germán [00:10:55]:
And the community.
Lorena Germán [00:10:57]:
Yeah. And admin. I'm going to get to the community in a second. But, you know, one of the main issues that we have in terms of effective school days, effective learning environments, is how disconnected school and home feel. And that's a realistic gap because schools have done that for a long time. Right. And in their design, in the United States, schools were about taking these kids of color away from parents. And so they were designed to keep us out.
Lorena Germán [00:11:26]:
So unless we are innovative and intentional about bridging that gap, it is just simply not going to come naturally. So that's one thing. Right. And so when we do that, when we bridge that gap, when we make those relationships. When we have these conversations with parents, we have to understand the students cultural backgrounds, their family's values, so that we can talk about how are we going to come together to support this person, right. This learner in their language learning journey. We have to. We have to build and communicate.
Lorena Germán [00:12:05]:
And are there strategies? I'm sure we could all come up with them, but, you know, some of them are, like, maybe we print posters that parents can have up at home that are bilingual, sharing kind of. What are some things they can do at home? Maybe there are little index cards that we send home to parents that they can use to practice the new language with their kids at home.
Roberto Germán [00:12:28]:
Right.
Lorena Germán [00:12:28]:
Like, there's. There's a number of different things that we can do that makes it interactive and playful and helps to build relationship. One of the fears of, like, particularly immigrant parents from the Caribbean and other spanish speaking languages is that their kid.
Roberto Germán [00:12:43]:
At home, spanish speaking countries, you mean?
Lorena Germán [00:12:45]:
What did I say?
Roberto Germán [00:12:46]:
Spanish speaking languages?
Lorena Germán [00:12:47]:
Yeah, that's what I mean. Spanish speaking countries. Is that the fear is that at home, my kid is gonna stop speaking Spanish.
Roberto Germán [00:12:54]:
Right.
Lorena Germán [00:12:55]:
You know, and so what if at home we can still communicate and we can do this together? We can practice Spanish and we can practice English. Right. Just as a supplement to what's happening during the day, but that it doesn't take over. And so, you know, what role do they play? You can't do it effectively without them, period. And then there's. There's community engagement. Right. Or the community.
Lorena Germán [00:13:19]:
Like, how do we embed the community? And again, I have to point to Textured Teaching, because that. I mean, I break that part down. There are ways for us to be reaching out and infusing what's going on out there in here, you know?
Roberto Germán [00:13:39]:
Well, what are those ways? I mean, I read the book, but. Right.
Lorena Germán [00:13:42]:
I was about to say, like, I read the book.
Roberto Germán [00:13:45]:
I also listened to the audiobook.
Lorena Germán [00:13:48]:
Thank you.
Roberto Germán [00:13:49]:
You're welcome. I'm not saying tell us all the ways.
Lorena Germán [00:13:54]:
Okay.
Roberto Germán [00:13:55]:
You know, you gotta tell the people something.
Lorena Germán [00:13:57]:
All right. Okay. So some of the ways to welcome community. Well, first of all, we can get some, you know, important community members, like the, I don't know, mayor or a city rep or, you know, a librarian. Right? Like, these local roles, they can come in to do a lesson on English, right? To teach, like, what does this one word mean? Or what does this one. What is love to you? Oh. And they can come in and they can talk to us in English, and we can have a conversation back and forth as a class. Right.
Lorena Germán [00:14:28]:
Like, I just feel like sometimes we're so boxed in by standards, by the performance of schooling that we forget about interactive education, that we forget about simply just, like, having some fun and being thoughtful and meaningful and inclusive in really original ways. And I'll say that I've seen, like, you know, as teachers continue to embed Textured Teaching in their classrooms and try these different approaches, and they're sharing some of the things that they're doing. It's very encouraging. And I'm like, wow, I would have never even thought of that myself. I love the ways that folks bring in their selves and their own ideas and tailor it to their communities.
Roberto Germán [00:15:21]:
Yeah, I know Jessica Vilas Novas, who used to be director of the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is now serving in a different capacity. But I know she was doing some great work over there, and that works been continued by Janelle Abreu and Tianisha Torres. And I know they're there. And I'm not saying this is without struggle, but I know they have been intentional about offering literacy programs for the community, given support that they need, bilingual programs. Also, they've been intentional of trying to work with the schools in the city. And I'd love to see the schools be even more responsive, more engaged, and think about, like, you know, how can we better leverage the local library as a resource? Another thing that comes to mind for me, something I saw recently was there's a local boys and girls club, I think it's the boys and girls club in Brandon. And there was some Florida here in Florida. Yeah.
Roberto Germán [00:16:29]:
And there's something I seen about a literacy program that they have here, which also now makes me think about the boys and girls Club in Lawrence, and we know about the literacy program that they have over there in Lawrence, Massachusetts. And so I think there's some wonderful things happening in some of these communities spaces where we can connect the school, connect the students, connect the parents, and there could be some wonderful collective efforts that extend themselves beyond the normal hours of the school day.
Lorena Germán [00:17:03]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. And those are. Those are really easy and concrete ways to bring in community elements into the classroom, you know, in terms of partnering with these different people. And then what happens is, is that these young people are rocking around their city or participating in after school programs, and it's like, oh, it's the same people. There's connections here. Right. Like, I already, not only do I feel okay, but you already know what I'm doing and what I've been working on, you know? And so then it becomes.
Lorena Germán [00:17:33]:
Then it really does feel like I have a whole community around me working with me to learn this new language or to practice, you know, and to develop more skills.
Roberto Germán [00:17:44]:
Absolutely. Well, thanks folks, for tuning in. Keeping the short and sweet. This was our series on multilingual speakers in the US. If you're interested in learning more, feel free to reach out. Multicultural classroom.com. You already know learning. Any final words before your long hiatus.
Lorena Germán [00:18:05]:
On oh my gosh, I'm gonna be back. I bow to return soon enough. It's been great chatting with you all. Thanks.
Roberto Germán [00:18:13]:
Peace.
Roberto Germán [00:18:15]:
As always, your engagement in Our Classroom is greatly appreciated. Be sure to subscribe, rate the show, and write a review. Finally, for resources to help you understand the intersection of race, bias, education, and society, go to multiculturalclassroom.com. Peace and love from your host, Roberto Germán.
