K-12

"I think every religion the same but we call it different name."
Jay.

One of the things that called my attention while reading Leki et al. and Wallace, was that none of them referred specifically to writing teaching phenomena. Instead, they used a much broader approach towards the inclusion of students with linguistically and culturally diverse students. The reason for this is unknown to me, but probably this is because of the difficulty itself.  The problems that underlie this circumstance are beyond any pedagogical measures that can be taken by teachers and administrators. They have to do with political administrations and the ideologies behind this. It is to my surprise that in a county like the US, in which immigration constitutes the core of its history, does not have an adequate national policy to respond to this phenomenon.

This only makes things worse for teachers. In order to respond effectively to this, teachers need to be provided with training and resources, not only for providing students with better English instruction, but also for incorporating inclusive practices that help them see ESL learners as a possibility to put up bridging discourses (Wallace) and bring multiculturalism instead of as a deficit (as Amy has so nicely and repeatedly put it) to the classroom.

Wallace’s article sheds a very bright light on how to do this.  The strands she proposes (“I come from here” identity, “back home identity,” “language identity,” and “religious identity”) may be only an example and they may be changed in order to suit other contexts. However, this study shows us how much we can get only if we provide students room for displaying their own voice, for portraying what it is that constitutes their essence. I found this article absolutely beautiful since it was the kids who had the leading voice and, although Wallace’s clarifications are obviously central, you can draw your own conclusion just by ‘listening’ to the teens and kids voices.  Of course, this is only a study, and deals with only four participants. It would be naïve to think that this very same methodology can be implemented with crowded classrooms. Nonetheless, I personally believe there are many lessons to be learned and ideas to use from this study.