Shownotes
How do I advocate for myself and my multilingual learners?
In this episode of Equipping ELLs, host Beth Vaucher dives into the crucial realm of advocacy. Listen in for a comprehensive guide breaking down the what, why, and how of effective advocacy in education. Explore a five-step plan, from identifying challenges to crafting impactful solutions, empowering educators to become passionate advocates, working to transform the educational landscape for ELLs. Tune in to equip yourself with the tools and knowledge you need to advocate effectively for yourself and your ELLs!
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Hey there, and welcome back to another episode of the
Equipping Ells podcast. And welcome to a brand new year. Can't
believe that it's:bringing in y two k and now we're here in 2024. Time is flying.
lso really excited about what:are more passionate than ever to be here to help support your
english language learners. And we have some big ideas, some big
plans, and some big ways that we are going to share with you
throughout this year. And we are always here to listen if there's
an episode topic that you would love to hear about, if there's
just something you want to chat about, we are here for you and to
support you. So please reach out. You can email us, you can dm me
on instagram. Whatever way works best for you. We want to help
support you in whatever ways that we can. Now, last week's
episode, I challenged you to focus on one word. This year, if you
didn't catch that episode, you can go back, it's a quick episode,
and listen in on that one. That's episode 107. Do you remember
that word is are you accepting this challenge? The word is
advocate. And the beautiful thing about this word is that it's
really a noun and a verb. It's taking on the identity as a teacher
of ells that you will be an advocate this year for the needs of
both you and your students. And by doing that, you will advocate
for your students needs and what's best for them. So I hope that
you are joining us on this challenge because this school year,
this upcoming year, we are going to really be focusing on
empowering you with the education, the knowledge, the wisdom, the
experts in the field of different areas of teaching multilingual
learners and helping you build that knowledge base so that you can
go and be the advocate that your students need you to be. It
today's episode. I want to walk you through what advocacy is and
isn't. And I'm going to share with you a simple five step process
for choosing what to advocate for and really figuring out how can
we make the biggest impact with the time that we have, with the
energy and the resources that we have to really create change in
our schools, in our districts, and even beyond that. Now, before
we dive in, I want to just take a moment and look at our current
reality. This is currently what is happening in our education
system in the United States. First, a significant number of
teachers are not sufficiently equipped to address the educational
and language needs of ells. They often lack the cultural knowledge
necessary for effectively teaching these diverse students, and a
lot of times they just lack the training or having any educational
experience working with ells. I've done a lot of research on this
topic, and it is shocking to see how little support is provided at
the district and school level for all teachers to have a good
foundation of the skills that are needed to teach english language
learners. Even though the numbers and the demographics is
increasing rapidly, the training programs and the support is not
keeping up. In California alone, there was a study that I read,
and California has one of the largest population populations of
english language learners and their teachers. They only need to
have one professional development for every five years. That's
about english language learners. So think about one of the biggest
populations of elLs, and the teachers every five years are given
at least one training. This is a big problem that we're having.
Some other problems that we're having are the resources currently
available in schools. They fall short of what really is needed for
the education of our ells. Many of our students are placed in
subpar ELL programs with teachers that just have too many numbers,
not enough resources, or they're just using curriculum that has a
sticker slapped on it that says four ells. But it's really not
what is best for our students.
You there's also a rising trend of EL students becoming long term
english language learners that despite their continued efforts,
they're just not achieving english proficiency, really, because
it's in regards to one factor, if they pass access testing or not,
or your academic language testing that you do, and this really
pushes them to fall behind. Academically just because they're
feeling like they're never going to make it, they're never going
to get beyond this test that keeps them in the system. And stay
tuned. I have a guest coming on in two episodes that you will not
want to miss. She's done some research and has written an
incredible article, really, about this topic of our students who
are turning into long term ells, and we're really preventing them
from soaring and growing because they're getting trapped in the
system. So stay tuned for that episode. You will not want to miss
it. And then another issue that we're seeing in our schools is the
misconception that ELL students with limited proficiency English
really equates to lower capabilities. That's not true at all. It's
such a misconception. And it has led to reduced expectations,
diluted academic programs where really teachers who don't have
going back to that first point, who don't have the training, don't
have the experience. Their default then is to think that they need
to water it down and really lower the expectations because of
these misconceptions that they are believing. So this is just the
tip of the iceberg of where we're at right now when it comes to
supporting english language learners, even though bilingual
education has been around since the. We're going to get into that
in an episode down the road. But this is nothing new. But the
decisions that are being made don't seem to be doing what's best
for teachers and for our ELL students to really get the support
they need so that we can be creating a future generation of
incredible bilingual students? I say this because I want you to
sit in this uncomfortable spot of this kind of stirring of these
things that you, I'm sure, are seeing as well. Because the reality
is if we, if you don't speak up, will these things change? Will
all of a sudden money and budget be spent in the right way? Will
all of a sudden administrators bring on more teachers when they
see your caseload is at 150? Not without somebody speaking up for
what is right. Now, let's break down what is advocacy and what is
not, because sometimes that helps us to clearly see that this is a
role that you can step into. Even if you're shy, even if your
personality, if you don't have a ton of experience, this is
something because of you and your passion and the work that you're
doing. It's something that your students need for you to step into
this role. So first, advocacy isn't being angry about everything
and always arguing or fighting with your coworkers about
supporting your ell students better. I know sometimes it can feel
really frustrating. I know sometimes you feel like is the work
that I'm doing to help these homeroom teachers understand doing
anything because we continue you to not be aligned on the same
page. I've been there. I've had that experience. It can be very
tiring. It. But what I want you to move into this year is not
allowing those small things to erupt and make you really become
angry or just so frustrated with the homeroom teachers. Like I
said, I mean, only 1% of student of the teaching population is
certified to teach english language learners. That means 99% of
the teachers in our schools do not have the back background and
the knowledge and the training. That's a lot. So you have a lot on
your plate if you're in that 1%. And it's easy to get angry and
frustrated and feel like they are not helping. But that does not
move change. That doesn't move things forward. So instead of it
being about being angry and fighting with coworkers, advocacy is
really about being intentional, being purposeful and direct on how
change can happen. We want to continue to look at the solution
complaining, which I know I was guilty of all the time. And I
don't know if it's just the school environment or what it is about
schools that it can breed this ground for constant complaining.
Looking at the negative, it can be a really tough environment. And
so we don't want to sit in that. We don't want to sit in the
complaining and just allowing these things to continue to happen
without making change. So we want to focus on the solution. Next.
Advocacy is not just, like I said, complaining about the issue or
placing blame or the problem on someone else to solve. No one will
speak up more for your students than you. And I did this a lot of
just expecting my administration to be the ones that came up with
the solution and I would sit and complain, but they have a lot on
their plate, too. And so like I said, no one will speak up more
for your students than you. When you can identify a problem and
you can create a solution, those around you are much more likely
to join in and help create change. So instead of complaining or
placing blame, advocacy is action oriented. You really want to
work on finding a feasible solution and working with the end in
mind. And I'm going to give you a few examples because some
things, it might just be a really small idea that you begin with.
We're not talking about having to go to Capitol Hill and change
everything, and it's not going to happen overnight. So let's start
small. Let's start with easy solutions that we can find that
people are, they're easily going to want to get on board to
support it. And that little change that we can create, we don't
know how that will spark other change down the road. Advocacy also
is not what?
So along those lines, advocacy isn't always a big push or effort.
Advocacy can be as simple as beginning with educating yourself and
spreading that with those who are willing to listen. It. So that's
where it could really begin this year is you are just going to
take time to advocate for yourself. You're going to learn and
educate yourself on laws, on what is the rights of your students
and their families on just maybe go deeper in a topic, read a
professional development book about it, read some articles, listen
to some podcasts, become very interested in one topic. And by
educating yourself, you now have something to share with those who
are also wanting to learn, those who are willing to listen.
Lastly, advocacy is tenacious. It's not giving up when there are
setbacks, because there will be setbacks and when it's easier to
just give in and when you feel alone and when you feel like, why
am I even spending my time doing this? I'm already so tired. But
advocacy continues on and pushes through and that's where we have
these incredible, inspiring stories of people who started with a
small idea and create big change in their students lives that last
for a lifetime. So don't give up. I know in the middle of the
year, I know many of you are tired and you feel like, is it worth
my time? These homeroom teachers are not getting it. They're not
wanting to support me. Now I'm moving into testing season and I'm
so spread thin. That's why today I really want to help you break
it down and decide where should you spend your time and what you
should advocate for. Because there are so many things that need a
voice. There's so many issues in education today that need some
change, but it's not all going to be done overnight and it's not
all going to be done quickly. So let's focus on the things that
really will make the biggest impact. Now that we're clear on that,
let's build out a plan of how to choose, what to advocate for and
how to use your time to make the biggest change. And I just want
to remind you that it is not by accident that you are in the
position that you are in with the students that you are working
with. It can only take one teacher willing to speak up that can
transform your students life, that can transform your school and
how it works and supports and receives and encourages and empowers
english language learners years. It can take one teacher who has
one idea to transform how the parents and the families of your Elo
students are welcomed into your school building and accepted and
become a vital part of your community. Those things matter and it
will impact your students for life. So. So help you get started.
What you want to begin with is to find and identify that problem
that you're seeing or that area that you're really passionate
about. It could be as simple as getting better technology for your
ELL students. Maybe it's as simple as getting better headsets for
testing time or when you're doing listening activities. It could
be very specific and very simple. You see a problem and you can
easily create a solution and come up with a solution that people
are going to get on board with. Now, it could get a little bit
bigger than that. So that's maybe one simple problem that you're
going to want to advocate for. But it could be something as trying
to get an additional teacher hired or a paraprofessional hired, or
things like better curriculum, more professional development,
better ways to connect with the parents, more opportunities to
bring them into the school and provide childcare and things like
that so that they can really become part of the educational
process and learning how they can support their students. There's
so many areas that you could just see and identify, but find those
that you are very passionate about that, you know, if my students
have better curriculum, it's going to help me and it's going to
directly impact them. Then maybe that's where you want to start.
Maybe you want to start smaller. If you have an administration
that's really hard to work with or they're just not really that
knowledgeable about Ells. And so it's maybe hard to really get
that conversation happening. Maybe start small with just trying to
get a few iPads for your class so you can work on the listening
skills or something like that. So number one is to begin with your
problem and try to see if it aligns with your passionate, what
you're something you're really passionate about. When those two
things align, you will be unstoppable in making change. The next
thing is to research. You want to know the rights of your
students. You want to know your rights. Now, I did a little bit of
research because I know there's many of you, and I talk with a lot
of you that are inside the equipping ELLs membership who are from
North Carolina. And you're saying my numbers are crazy. I have 70,
80, 90 plus students on my caseload. That might be a place to
start and start having these conversations now so that by next
school year there is something better in place. Now, I did do some
research, and what I found out, and this is what it says, is the
specific ratio of ell students to teachers in North Carolina is
not explicitly defined in the state's laws or policies. Now, it
goes on to say that, you know, every student should receive
adequate resources and services to overcome language. Barriers to
a sound education. The state's approach includes providing
guidance for yellow program quality and compliance, as well as for
the identification data collection reporting of english learners.
So the focus for North Carolina is on ensuring that english
learners are provided with the necessary resources and support to
achieve academic success within the existing educational
framework. And it goes on and on. Now that might take, you might
come away from that and go, well, that's pretty discouraging.
There's no law around the ratio of students to teacher. But if you
do more digging and you really pull out, here is the law that
every student is required to receive adequate resources and
services. And I think you can easily argue that when you have 90
plus students on your caseload, those students are not receiving
adequate services. And so start there. Start to use the rights of
your students, the law, and bring that up. Have that written out
so you can clearly say, hey, we are not aligned here or this is
what our law says. But I do not see this happening when I have
this many students in my caseload. The next thing you want to do
is compile your observations. So you want to get this, all of this
put together before you go and present it to your administration.
Compile your observations. So if you're looking at having a huge
caseload and your law is that all students are required to receive
adequate education, start to take note of that. I wasn't able to
work with all the students in this class this week because I'm
only able to see them once a week due to having so many students
in my caseload. Or here's my schedule. I'm able to see these three
groups this many times because they are level ones and they need
the most for me and these groups I see once every three weeks, how
is that adequate services to overcome language barriers. So using
the verbiage from the laws and showing them how it's impacting
your teaching, writing down observations, that is where you want
to go next. So we have begin with the problem, know the rights.
Research and know the rights. Number three, compile your
observations. Number four is to create a solution. So what kind of
solutions can you provide? Maybe come up with two or three and
give them options of here is already a solution. Here is how this
could work better with a high caseload. Maybe it is seeing if you
can have a paraprofessional come in and support. Maybe it is
having the homeroom teachers have more training so that they are
also providing the support. And some of those students who are
ready to exit or close to exiting will not receive support from
you so that you have less numbers on your caseload. Maybe it's
grouping them differently. So maybe you can't change the number on
your caseload, but you can change how you can work with all your
level one students. Regardless of the grade level. Maybe it's
getting the opportunity to choose your schedule first and having
that conversation with the homeroom teachers and they have to be
on board so that you can create the ideal schedule for you as
you're servicing so many students. Maybe it's being able to have a
day that you get a sub so that you can do all the paper, necessary
paperwork, or just data points with that huge caseload, those are
just a few solutions. But having two or three solutions that are
very viable, they're not costing a lot more money. See if you have
title three money that you can use or title one money. So maybe
there are some grants, maybe there's some ways that you can find
some extra money in the budget and come up with that solution
yourself. The next then the last way is to find ways that you can
collaborate. Find ways that it's not just on you. There's a quote
that I read and I'm going to share the article in the show, notes
from Coloring Colorado, that said, advocacy is not what we do for
others, but what we do with others to transform our community. So
finding ways can you work with the counselor, the social worker,
homeroom teachers, the community, other people in the community?
Maybe you can reach out and there's things already happening in
the community where you can find, depending on what change you're
trying to advocate for, just finding connections that way there's
a lot of resources if we start to get savvy and we really start to
look and see what's available. So don't try to do it all on your
own, but find ways that you can work and collaborate with people
either in the building, maybe working with other ESL teachers in
your district, you collaborate together on a way to make a change
in the district. There's power in numbers there. So once you have
all of that compiled, then go and present it. Present it to the
head of the bilingual department, present it to your
administrator, post about it, write an article about it, get the
word out there and start to spread it. Because you will find that
people are going to also get on board with that. People will share
the passion that you are sharing and maybe they just didn't take
the time to start it, but they will definitely want to get on and
help what you're trying to change. So real quick, let's go through
those steps again. First, begin with your problem, your passion
area. Second, research know the rights. Third, compile your
observations. Four, create your solution. And five, add in ways to
collaborate. Now we must become part of the solution and we must
start small. Your administrator has so many things on their plate.
But if you present a solution to them, they will do their best to
make that happen. I know that. I know that they want to. They want
to do what's best for the students. They want to see you and your
students. Succeed. And if they don't care, then that might be a
sign. And that's not really someone that you want to work for.
There's a lot of jobs out there for ell teachers. So really when
you come with your solution and why you want to make this change,
they will respond. And just remember, sometimes advocacy is loud
and demanding. Sometimes it is silent and powerful. It burns
deeply in the heart of an educator who sees a child judged by a
standard that discounts their very being. That is from an article
from Coloring Colorado. They have a guide to advocacy that we'll
put in the show notes that just goes a lot deeper on all of these
topics. But I want you to come away with thinking about one thing
that you can do. We have the rest of this school year, another six
months, five months. What could you start to advocate for now that
by the beginning of next school year that change can happen. You
might have a large caseload and you might not get any more support
the rest of the school year. But what if you start to have these
conversations? You start to the research, you start to compile
your observations to create solution. And by the end of this
school year, you're able to have those conversations. And they
find some extra money in the budget where they're able to bring on
another teacher, or they're able to bring on a paraprofessional,
or they're able to give you a subscription to equipping lls. And
you have the resources now that you've been needing. There's a
variety of different solutions. So that's why I want to challenge
you. Start to think about what's one way you can make a change and
advocate for your students and yourself so that in the beginning
of next school year, it begins on a much better note.
All right. Thank you for joining me. I would absolutely love to
hear what types of things that you are advocating for and how we
can help support you with that. You can send us a DM on Instagram
at equipping Ells. Just send us what you're thinking about, what
your thoughts are, because we would love to share out some podcast
episodes in the upcoming months that can help go deeper, do a lot
of that research for you and help you be successful this year.
Stay tuned. Next week we are going to be talking about how you can
easily stay tuned for next week where we are going to be talking
about how you can get set up to run access testing this year and
how you can really prepare your students yourself, homeroom
teachers, the families, all in as easily as possible.
So join us as and we talk about how you can get your teachers,
students set up yourself. The homeroom. The families. Everybody
get ready for this testing season that is coming all as easily and
simply as possible. All right. I hope you join me next week where
we are going to be talking about how you can get set up for access
testing, how you can get your students prepared yourself prepared,
teachers prepared, and the families prepared so that it can run as
smoothly as possible. I'll see you then. Bye.