Blog 2 - ESL Adult Education

As I progress into my second week of blogging I really wanted to focus on the ESL classroom.  I found an article describing an ESL classroom for adult learners in San Diego, CA.  This article was describing a new regulation regarding its student's future after the ESL classes.  I found this article to be make an impact because I did not have a lot of background knowledge into programs that offer adult ESL classes.  This also made an impression on me because of what they were measuring outside of the classroom to than compare funds for the programs.  I'll explain further below.  The article is linked below to reference if necessary.

There is a school in San Diego, California called Escondido Adult School. Within this program are classes for adults to take to learn English as a second language.  The story is mainly about a mom who was struggling to communicate with teachers at the elementary level.  This individual was 'embarrassed' when she could not advocate in teacher/parent meetings, understand homework assignments, or reach out to better her child's future within education.  She started taking courses to better her communication, but has also made the goals of continuing on to get a GED and a job as an accountant.

Currently the Escondido Adult School can offer these courses free for learners because of federal funding.  I see this as a huge advantage for communities where we see a more diverse population and that is covering a lot of the U.S. these days.  The rule that is being changed could effect funding to these schools, and possible costs to the students who are not going on to the work force.  The law is looking to measure how many students come out of the courses and enter into the work force.  At first, this was a good point to be made for funds to continue to this school.  And then the article goes onto mention several reasons why this would not be a good measure.  It mentioned that some of the students are already retired, don't need to obtain a job, or have the purpose of just learning English as a second language to communicate better.  These reasons don't qualify some of the adults taking the classes to be measured correctly.  Therefore, they could be hurting the results instead of helping.

This was eye opening to me at first, and I didn't realize that a lot of those students would now be entering the work force.  Should they still get those classes paid for then?  The law has not been put into place yet, but they are looking to see what the final funds would be available if students were measured by this law.  A solution that the school has proposed would be to separate students looking for jobs vs. not looking to obtain a job, and require payment for those not in the work force.  I think this is a logical solution, but could also turn people away from the school.  What would you feel is a solution for this school to keep the interest without accumulating costs or losing funds?


ARTICLE TO REFERENCE