“Becoming Something Different”-Argument Option

This week, we read an article titled, “Becoming Something Different: Learning from Esmé”. Written by Colleen M. Fairbanks, Penny Mason Cooks, and Mary Ariail, this article is about the journey followed by a young girl in the American education system as an ESL learner. The authors argue that although Esme faces many difficulties through limited resources and support from her school, she is able to be a voice for her own future. She is an example of a Spanish speaking Latina who has been able to denounce any judgements about ESL learners and succeed despite her academic test scores. The authors interviewed Esme 12 times for around 40-90 minutes through her schooling from 6th grade until the middle of 11th.

They admit, “This study’s significance lies in the tensions it reveals between the power of school practices and the quiet ways that students may create spaces by which they can name their school lives as successful”.

They suggest that identity is shaped around social culture (much like the power of culture that Lisa Delpit writes about)–and because Esme’s culture isn’t as important to society as the majority culture, she is left feeling devalued in school. They argue that ESL learners like Esme would have greater success in school if their language was valued and celebrated, instead of excluded.

As we follow Esme’s life, we are able to see how she wanted to learn through seeking help; her remedial classes changed her views toward herself; her friends molded her social culture & classes she took; her parents were her greatest support by encouraging learning and working with teachers to set goals; the English language got in the way of her academic successes; she “enacted the good student identity” in high school, but was starting to struggle academically. Esme was placed in all regular classes after failing a couple of honors, and her academics in the class could not reflect successfully on her state test scores. Yet, she became successful in her vocational cosmetology program. As her friends supported her by acting as middle-men, this weakened Esme’s relationship with them. Wedges were drawn between her Mexican culture and her growing American culture as a high school teenager, but she was able to balance both successfully (unlike Rodriguez whom we’ve studied before). All in all, Esme as a Spanish learner was able to remain bicultural and proved through creating her own unique identity (not just giving into the dominant culture) that she wasn’t just a passive student.

The authors also argue, “Esmé saw herself as a good student, but she did not see herself as smart. She had a sense of pride in contemplating her future graduation and her family’s response, but this pride was tempered by the daily challenges school presented and by its lack of relevancy.” This quote describes how school had prepared her to obey the rules and teach dominant culture, but could not successfully prepare her for academia because of her strong multicultural identity. The authors would argue that educators need to value learners from all cultural backgrounds in order to set them up for true success.

 

Below is a video that gives tips to learning English unlike how it may be taught in ESL classrooms, because the dominant culture is still dominating our schools: