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I am replying to English Tutor's comment, " It's nuts for parents to regularly pull their kids out of school for 1-2 months to go back to Mexico to visit relatives." While some of my Hispanic and ELL students go to Mexico  to visit relatives for a couple weeks, an equal number of my high SES students vacation in Hawaii for the same length of time. After much thought, I finally decided that family values are important to our society, and giving them an excused absence (number of days gone + 1) is fair. When this is multiplied by the number of classes these students take, it presents a considerable and unfortunate hardship.  

posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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A number of listeners have commented on the blog and phone about the role of cultural and family attitudes in language acquisition.  I was intrigued by a comment by Sandy Valadez, Stanfield School District. As I heard it, Ms. Valadez said that free language classes for parents have an advantage beyond teaching them English. Teachers also have an opportunity to reinforce the importance of school. This encourages parents to support education and set educational goals and expectations for their children. I had not considered this perspective. What a great opportunity. 

posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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