In our podcast we will be dicussing the difficulties students of all ages face in classrooms.
From the color of your skin, the language you speak, children and young adults face these hardships. We want to help their voices be heard and put an end to this misconduct.

“17 percent, or one out of every six black schoolchildren enrolled in K–12, were suspended at least once,” compared with “one in 20 (5 percent) for whites.” Black girls ages 5 to 14 have been viewed by adults as “less innocent” than white girls of the same age, which may be a factor in the disparity in suspension rates, according to a 2017 report by Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Columbia University’s Derald Wing Sue defines this term as “prejudices that leak out in many interpersonal situations and decision points”; they are experienced as “slights, insults, indignities, and denigrating messages.”

A microassault is a “verbal or nonverbal attack meant to hurt the intended victim through name-calling, avoidant behavior, or purposeful discriminatory actions.” Example: Students wear Confederate flag clothing.

A microinsult is insensitive communication that demeans someone’s racial identity, signaling to people of color that “their contributions are unimportant.” Example: A teacher corrects the grammar only of Hispanic children.
Over the years, the concept has been extended beyond race to include similar events and experiences of other marginalized groups, including women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, etc.

“In high school, boys in my math classes would look over my shoulder and unsolicitedly point out my errors with their pencils.”
“Sometimes I’m asked, ‘Why are you so white?’ meaning that people with Arab names and heritage are supposed to be all dark-skinned, and I’m asked to justify my skin color and explain why I don’t match their racial stereotypes.”
“I’ve been told, ‘Go back to Mexico!’ many times.”
This is unfair and wrong to profile students of different colors in a classroom. It makes students feel insecure and less of themselves. This is not okay. Our school system needs to do more to implement new rules in a classroom and make sure students feel safe and comfortable to attend school everyday. Just because they come from a different background and speak a different language should not change peoples perception of them.
These remarks towards a student should never be said. We must be teaching children from young ages right from wrong. Parents , guardians and teachers must enforce kindness or else it causes other children to suffer the consequences.

“Language shaming” is an unfortunate way to disparage or demean particular ways of using language. Like other forms of stigma, language shame may have serious effects on the groups and individuals concerned and may result in low self-esteem, a lack of self-worth and social alienation. Unfortunately in certain schools language shaming has become a very common thing. It is sad because you would hope that these kids would have adults in their lives that explain to them that just because someone speaks a different language doesn’t mean that they are lower than you. I think that it is important to identify that language shaming can happen to students whose first language is not english or to a student that is trying to learn a new language.

An example that I found in an article is about how a student was being language shamed in the classroom. This kind of language shaming is detrimental to the student in at least two ways: first, the student is obviously humiliated and his personal worth is being questioned in highlighting that his Chinese language proficiency is substandard for his age cohort (and ignoring that he is not a first language speaker of Chinese but a Chinese language learner). Second, the focus on language instead of content deprives the student of a learning opportunity.

The Bilingual Education Act, Title VII
1968 — The Bilingual Education Act, Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968: Establishes federal policy for bilingual education for economically disadvantaged language minority students, allocates funds for innovative programs, and recognizes the unique educational disadvantages faced by non-English speaking students.

1978 — Amendments to Title VII emphasize the strictly transitional nature of native language instruction, expand eligibility to students who are limited English proficient (LEP), and permit enrollment of English-speaking students in bilingual programs.

1982 — Amendments to Title VII allow for some native language maintenance, provide program funding for LEP students with special needs, support family English literacy programs, and emphasize importance of teacher training.

1988 — Amendments to Title VII include increased funding to state education agencies, expanded funding for "special alternative" programs where only English is used, established a three-year limit on participation in most Title VII, and created fellowship programs for professional training.

No Child Left Behind
2001 — No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB): The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 appropriates funds to states to improve the education of limited English proficient students by assisting children to learn English and meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. Legislation for limited English proficient students is found under Title III of NCLB.

The Laws
No fewer than six federal laws and regulations refer explicitly or implicitly to interpretation and translation in a school setting—not just to prevent discrimination, but to ensure all students get an equal chance at academic achievement. These laws:
Prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or limited English proficiency (LEP) and outline “reasonable steps” to ensure LEP children can access federally-funded programs(learn more here).

Require that schools provide equal opportunities for each student, regardless of national origin and language, and outline schools’ responsibilities in educating ELL students (learn more here).

Outline what information schools need to provide in languages LEP parents can understand.

Note that communication with non-English speaking parents demands the highest standards in translation and interpretation. Assessments, notices, consent requests, and meetings must all be given in the child or parent’s native language.
As a school administrator, you need to communicate with LEP parents in a language they understand about anything you’d communicate to English-speaking parents.
That includes information about:
Academic achievement

Annual report cards
Student discipline policies

Parents’ Right-to-Know

Plans for “school improvement”

Supplemental educational services

Parent programs and meetings

Reasons the child has been identified as LEP and the language-assistance programs provided to help