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Reflection 6

The document discusses how policies in education, especially zero-tolerance discipline policies, can negatively impact multilingual learners (MLLs) if they do not account for cultural and linguistic differences. These policies can lead to misunderstandings being punished disproportionately, often with suspension. This is especially problematic for MLLs from cultures with different norms around behaviors like movement in the classroom. The document advocates that teachers understand why policies are in place, consider how policies may limit student engagement or create inequities, and get to know their students' cultures to create more inclusive classroom policies.

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32 views

Reflection 6

The document discusses how policies in education, especially zero-tolerance discipline policies, can negatively impact multilingual learners (MLLs) if they do not account for cultural and linguistic differences. These policies can lead to misunderstandings being punished disproportionately, often with suspension. This is especially problematic for MLLs from cultures with different norms around behaviors like movement in the classroom. The document advocates that teachers understand why policies are in place, consider how policies may limit student engagement or create inequities, and get to know their students' cultures to create more inclusive classroom policies.

Uploaded by

api-707767130
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Emilee Rodriguez

Jenny Ahn

Tch_Lrn 401

14 December 2023

Reflection #6: Competency 3G

Policies in education rule everything – they're the rules that districts, admin, and teachers all

have to follow. And most policies are there for good reason – they ensure that students are

treated well and are given equal and equitable educational opportunities. Without policies in

place, students all over the state wouldn’t be treated the same, which would cause a lot of

injustices in our schools. Some of the most important policies are those that protect students who

are vulnerable and need more support than the average student. One of these student populations

that are affected by many policies are MLLs. Because of the enormous amount of diversity found

in MLL student populations, they can be affected by policies in many different ways. One of the

most prevalent policies that MLLs are affected by are discipline policies – specifically zero-

tolerance policies that don’t take cultural or linguistic differences into account. This can lead to

misunderstandings that are punished through disproportionate means – usually suspension,

which can funnel vulnerable MLLs into the school-to-prison pipeline.

The piece of evidence I have for this is a research paper on that very topic. Many times, schools

enact sero-tolerance policies with good (albeit shortsighted) intentions. They wish to limit

bullying and misbehavior by using a no-nonsense approach. However, this lacks the forsight to

consider cultural and linguistic differences that can be seen as misbehavior or insubordination.

The lack of clear guidelines allow teachers to punish whichever students they see fit, and usually

these punishments don’t match the magnitude of the behavior that it seeks to punsih – for
example, a student who disrupts the class by getting out of their seat can be suspended or even

expelled if the teacher thinks that it is necessary. However, many times, immigrant and refugee

students aren’t used to the traditional American school rules – some of them may have never

been to school at all. Some cultures value honesty and speak up for yourself, others value

movement and not sitting still in a chair. These can be huge misunderstandings if misinterpreted

by the wrong teacher, and the results can be life-changing for students who are expelled for

having different cultural norms than the school staff.

The biggest takeaway from the class is being mindful of the policies that you must follow and

understanding why they are important for your students. Sometimes as a teacher, it can be

overwhelming to think of all the things we must do, but knowing why these policies are good for

students makes it a little less annoying to do everything we need to. It can also be important to

consider how classroom policies may limit student engagement or make your classroom inequal.

Many times, we don’t mean to create bad policies in our classrooms, we just fail to see how they

affect the experiences of our students (usually at the expense of our diverse students). Being

aware of this allows us to be proactive and anticipate issues that may arise before we even enact

the policies.

When policies protect students, they are able to have a better education, as they are given the

resources they need to succeed. Without these policies keeping schools and teachers in check,

there is no way to ensure that MLLs are getting an equal education – or even an accessible

education. Although policies can be complicated and confusing, their goal is to benefit students

and help teachers consider how to break down barriers in education for each student. Even

classroom policies have a huge impact on students in ways that we don’t consider, especially

when student cultures aren’t compatible with the policies that we have in place. For example,
some cultures prefer to be close to the ground. These students may prefer to work sitting on the

carpet rather than at the desk. If a teacher has a policy where students must work at their desks,

these students will suffer – especially if this policy is enforced with punishment. Instead,

teachers could consider why they want students wo work at their desk and create a more

inclusive policy. If the teacher wants student at their desks to keep pathways open, they can set

up flexible seating that’s out of the way, for example. With this policy in place, students feel

welcome and know that their teacher cares about respecting their cultural norms, making the

classroom feel safe and inclusive.

As outlined above, teachers need to be considerate of diverse students when creating

policies, as they can have unjust impacts that weren’t intended. This is another reason to get to

know my students and their cultures as soon and with as much depth as I can, especially if they

are a recent immigrant from some place with a very different culture than our own. Not only will

this help me understand their behaviors better, but maybe it will inspire some policies that work

better than the ones I can think of. As a teacher, I want to get to the bottom of why I have each of

my classroom policies – they should each have a purpose that benefits my students and helps

them learn. This mimics the way teachers need to unpack standards to ensure that their

assessments align with the standards they are teaching, only I need to unpack my expectations of

my students in ordcer to ensure that my policies align with the behavior I expect from my

students.

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