Is Acculturation Dooming Students to Fail?

Here we go! Another messy blog post that will probably lose focus, attempt to tackle a large issue (of which I have a limited scope) and most likely lack a solution for my dissatisfaction for one aspect of “the way things are.”

Despite these self criticisms, the issue that has me most ‘fired up’ this week based both in the Rothenberg selections and outside experiences, is the expectation of acculturation (in schools most notably) that is expected and imposed upon newcomers in the United States.

I contend that certain levels of acculturation are definitely necessary to navigate a new living environment – whether that means basic mastery of language relating to directions, food, and safety, or driving according to the laws of a new country. Where I struggle, is digesting the demands of acculturation in academia.

In the Rothernberg text, several authors describe their painful experiences with acculturation (emotionally, and not necessarily academically) the connection to acculturation in schools is obvious. In the selections, “Civilize Them With a Stick,” “Then Came the War,” and “Crossing the Border Without Losing Your Past” individuals describe the pain and discomfort felt when forced to abandon their culture in favor of adopting an American identity. While the cases described here were extreme (family presence in a Japanese concentration camp; the struggle to remain anchored in Mexican culture) I can’t help but let my brain refer to the demands placed on kids in public schools (2014).  It is easy to see how the students currently in the systems could describe their academic lives as traumatic in the future – even if supported, in some ways, their experiences might not fall totally short of the emotions described by the authors of these texts.

I have demanded acculturation of my students as a teacher, and I can speak honestly and say that by following the demands for Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) put in place by the city in retrospect, I am ashamed – and I don’t necessarily have a better solution. In Boston Public Schools specifically, despite massive Haitian, Vietnamese, Guatemalan, Dominican (and many other notable concentrations of students originally from different countries), the accepted model of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction does little to support children’s strengths in their native languages, and rather uses strategies to make core content “accessible” in English. This approach, known among educators and ESL researchers is absolutely not the most effective helping children acquire English proficiency, and forces children to acculturate to school demands with little consideration to their levels of readiness. Children often go through a “silent period” where they aren’t able or comfortable to speak up in schools, feeling as though their voices have been squashed. Other, more culturally compassionate ESL models require a higher number of humans and resources (think – more bilingual teachers, aids, funds to pay them) etc. in public school districts that are already completely shorted of funding. I understand (and at one point accepted this) however, with some time and space from the teaching profession am really questioning the daunting reality children experience in the face academics.

I saw this again in my graduate school experience. (To be clear, my knowledge of the situation is limited as I only viewed as an outsider). In higher education, I watched as a classmate of ours withdrew from the program – possibly due to an array of motives, but I suspect it may also have had to do with inability to adequately “acculturate” (in regards to language or performance standards). I am noticing the pattern repeat even among adults.

As an educator, I firmly believe in maintaining rigorous standards and expectations for students – but at times I question at what cost? When does academic acculturation surpass compassion in terms of importance? I don’t know how we, as an American society could meet every individual exactly where they are in academia, but my experiences, and the literature about acculturation have led me to the belief that the current expectations are at times un-supporting and ask too much academically and emotionally of newcomers.

References:

Rothenberg, P. S. (2014). Race, class, and gender in the United

States: An integrated study. New York: St. Martin's Press.