from Wings & a Wand
If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY. – Simon Sinek
I believe that education can shift to meet the needs of our Emergent Bilinguals.
We can do this through Blended Learning to personalize the learning environment for the Emergent Bilingual.
Blended Learning will enable the Emergent Bilingual students to be successful in their education versus a potential high school drop-out.
“A dream is a wish your heart makes…” (David 1950). We all have dreams! Like the song lyric says, a dream comes from the desire of the heart. A dream is what fuels our motivation to make positive changes in our life. A dream has the potential to change the lives of others as well. If others have the same dream, the passion to make that dream come true is increased exponentially.
Parents have some of the most aspiring dreams. These dreams are for their children – to have a good life, to have a good job, to get a good education. Immigrant parents coming to the U.S. have the same dreams for their children – especially to have a good education. How can they see that dream becoming a reality when their children have to work twice as hard in school to learn a new language while learning new academic concepts at the same time (DeLollis, 2021)?
As educators, we have to dream with them, too. Educators must be willing to create a shift in the learning environment to make this happen for their Emergent Bilingual learners. There are not enough bilingual teachers and resources in the U.S. to meet every language need so we have to look at ways to leverage what resources we do have. Thanks to cutting edge technology, educational research, and innovative planning, we can work to make this educational dream a reality.
We can do this starting at a young age through Blended Learning. Utilizing this framework, Emergent Bilinguals’ specific learning needs can be met by creating authentic learning environments, where students have choice, ownership and voice in their learning using cutting edge classroom technology (Harapnuik et al., 2018; Horn et al, 2014). This personalized learning will engage and enable the Emergent Bilingual learner to succeed in education versus becoming a high school drop-out.
References:
David, Mack, et al. (1950). A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: (from the
Walt Disney Film “Cinderella”), Walt Disney Music Company.
DeLollis, B. (2021, December 6). How english as a second language affects
learning. US news & World Report. Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/how-english-as-a-
second-language-affects-learning
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). COVA: Choice,
ownership, and voice through authentic learning (0.9) [eBook].
Creative Commons License.
Horn, M. B., Staker, H., & Christensen, C. M. (2014). Blended: Using Disruptive
Innovation to Improve Schools. Wiley.
Kotter, J. (2013, August 15). Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency.
Retrieved from https://youtu.be/2Yfrj2Y9IlI
Sinek, S. (2013, September 29). Start with why. Retrieved from:
Wings and a Wand 