Probably one of the biggest struggles we future teachers will face will be teaching ESL students. Any time someone is approached with language barriers, they shut down and get flustered. I've seen it everywhere. And it is easiest to just stay frustrated and let the person with that barrier to fluster. That's what most people do and that is what Francisco's (protagonist of the book) teacher did. The whole story Francisco was written off by his teacher and classmates because he didn't understand them and they didn't understand him. He was treated poorly by a particular student who got mad at him for borrowing his lost jacket and then left on the sideline by his teacher because he didn't capture the lessons. At the end of the book, it was Francisco's illustration of a butterfly that brought people closer to him. He finally received recognition from the teacher and the same boy that gave him a hard time earlier. The point of the book was that recognition and attempt to work with ESL students makes so much of a difference. If you get frustrated with people you don't understand, then most likely you will brush them off or react negatively towards them. Start seeing things from their point of view, start being more patient. Be aware that they are having a tougher time understanding a completely different world than you are understanding them.
Comments
Post a Comment