Why Are We Funding This Stuff??

"Why Are We Learning This Stuff??"

When I was in K-12 education, a colleague of mine who taught biology posted that on his wall.  Beneath it he stapled up articles on "science in the news."  Whatever you needed to do to sell 15-year-olds on the wonders of mitochondria, right?

In my own adult-ESOL teaching, I've done a similar thing, less explicitly.  After a few weeks, our students start setting goals.  "Ha!" you might say, "'Goal-setting.'  Three syllables.  Can't be that hard, right?"  Well, it was three syllables like "debt ceiling" or "health reform" were three syllables.

Actually, it was really hard (I know, because many of my fledgling lessons in this area flopped).  What is a goal?  What is a realistic goal?  An academic, professional, or personal goal?  How do you make it specific?  Not too vague ("help my family"--whatever that means) ... but not near-term either (brush my hair tomorrow).

Once students had worked through several lessons, they wrote their own goals.  Different types of goals went on different-colored sticky notes.  These were affixed to a poster.  Every day I saw it.  Every day the students looked at.  Why are we learning this stuff??  That was why.

But if you're a funder, an agency head, an elected official, you have a different question: Why are we funding this stuff??  Sure, ESOL matters to the everyday happiness and prosperity of students, but how does it fit in a bigger policy framework?

• 28 percent of Boston's population is made up of foreign-born individuals
• In the last two decades, Boston's immigrant population has increased more than 50%
• Forty-five (45!) percent of children 0-17 in the city are children of immigrants
• One out of two adult immigrants in Boston struggles with English or lacks a diploma
• In the early years, how parents interact with their children, read to their children, manage their children's behavior has a big impact on whether those kids are passable or great students years later
• In the school-age years, parental engagement is HUGELY important to student learning
• Adult ESOL classes can help parents in two areas: First, how to enhance their young children's literacy.  Second, how to speak English they can use to stay in touch with teachers, principals, tutors, and coaches.
• There's demand.  Parents are tremendously eager to help their children.  They'll engage with most who want to help them do this.  Those parents who aren't working (and it's a lot these days) often crave classes to improve their literacy skills.  The waitlist in Boston for ESOL class stretches into the thousands.  

In other words, for many parents, especially immigrant parents, I think you can draw a line from the education they receive in their new country to the educational outcomes of their children.  Are there a thousand other factors?  Yes.  Are there a million exceptions?  Yes.  But that's why we need to fund ESOL programs--especially in family literacy.  And sooner rather than later.