I have had ESL students who I felt had learning disabilities. I would express my concerns with the classroom teacher and strategies that could help these students in both classrooms. The next step would be to meet with the school’s intervention team if these strategies were unsuccessful and the student continued showing much difficulty with their learning. I expected to be invited to these meetings, but many times I was not. Or, I would be told that the final, and most important meeting, where staff members present their data and results to each other and to the student’s parents to determine whether the student needs special education had already occurred…without me. My ESL students who had already been identified as special education students would have annual special education meetings…sometimes without me. I have had to remind teachers, special education teachers, and the principal that I need to attend and be a part of these meetings.
Another challenge I sometimes had during these meetings (if I was invited) was not being listened to or valued. Despite presenting my concerns and the results of assessments, I would feel that my presentation was not given merit. My findings and opinions would not be mentioned later in the meeting or considered when determining whether or not this student had a learning disability. At times (and maybe more times than I would like to admit), I did not feel listened to or valued. Despite having a Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Special Education as well as being an experienced teacher who cared about my students and who gave quality instruction (I thought!), I sometimes felt that I had no voice.
Similar to the above challenge, I sometimes felt that the information that I presented at meetings was perceived as inaccurate and invalid by some of my colleagues. For example, during a meeting, the guidance counselor of our school claimed that it takes English language learners at least two years to learn their letter names and sounds. Despite disagreeing with him and stating that it typically does not take English language learners two years to learn their letter names and sounds, some of my colleagues would disagree with me stating that it takes a long time for ELL students to acquire the English language. It is true that it may take a long period of time for some ESL students to develop their English language skills, at this rate, ELL students would graduate high school with an elementary level education! This is one of many examples of feeling as if I did not know what I was talking about at special education meetings.
I realize that this post may come across as being negative. I have had meetings that were very positive and productive. After these meetings, I felt excited and thought, “This is why I teach!” This post is about getting real and being honest. It is about being understanding and supportive of ESL teachers who are having, or have had, challenging experiences during meetings and the affects that they have on you. If you have had similar experiences to the ones I have described, you are not alone. If you, at times, do not feel valued as an ESL teacher, you are not alone. If you, at times, feel as if your colleagues perceive you as incompetent and not knowing what you are talking about, you are not alone. If sometimes you feel like an outsider as an ESL teacher in your school district, you are not alone. There is at least one other person out there who has had similar experiences and feelings. And that is me. It can feel very frustrating to experience challenges during meetings and to not feel valued or part of your school district. Remind yourself that you DO know what you are talking about and that you ARE a competent ESL teacher. Remind yourself that you ARE valuable and you are an ASSET to your school district. In addition to these reminders, the best thing that you can do is to care about your students, give quality instruction, and to play your role as a caring, competent, valuable ESL teacher as best as you can.