The National Association for Bilingual Education (http://www.nabe.org/) addresses research with regards to diversity in education and maintains the mission statement of advocating to the nation's bilingual and English language learners to "cultivate a multilingual multicultural society by supporting and promoting policy, programs, pedagogy, research, and professional development that yield academic success, value native language, lead to English proficiency, and respect cultural and linguistic diversity.A specific article addresses the fact that "recent vote in Arizona underscores that many people don't appreciate the importance of bilingual education." It continues on to suggest that supporters to bilingual education should improve on explaining to the public that quality bilingual programs are one of the ideal ways for students to lean and succeed academically in English.
The available resources on the NABE website specifically relate to the topic of changing demographics and increasing diversity as it emphasizes the importance of maintaining native languages when learning English within USA. We should advocate bilingual programs and make sure that the have the teachers, resources, and leadership to succeed.
Resources:
National Association for Bilingual Education. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.nabe.org/
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and it appears that the NABE is an excellent organization at teaching bilingual children how to become proficient in English rather than writing them off as another child that cannot be helped. It is also a great thing that they encourage the children to maintain who they are while learning another language and culture.