Blog #7 Spanish Speaking Parents

Today, I encountered a very common, yet disturbing situation. A 7th grade teacher called me over to translate her comments over to a student, who only speaks Spanish and was not completing his assignments. I feel that the teacher did not allow the student to respond to her comments. The student mentioned he was not completing the assignments because he had trouble understanding them, and because he was afraid they would be wrong. I mentioned that to the teacher and she just ignored my translation, and I was then told to call home and let the parents know that the student was not turning in work and would be transferred over to "special classroom," because they will help him more there. I spoke to the mother of this student and mentioned that I was not the teacher, yet I was told to translate on behalf of her child's teacher. The mother, who is also only a Spanish speaker, mentioned that she would try to talk to her son, and agreed to the teachers request of moving the student to a special ed. class, then the conversation ended. Once the student left, the teacher mentioned that the child was struggling because the parents are not involved in the education of their children. I did not respond, but now that I think about it, I do not think that it is correct to blame the parents. Spanish speaking parents often avoid confrontation with school staff and officials, and are open to anything they (the school staff) recommend because they believe the teachers know what is best for their child. Spanish speaking parents are not likely to go against the teacher; sadly, the teacher is not always correct in suggesting that a student who only speaks Spanish is "not average" and will probably do better in lower class levels. It is just disturbing to see that a student who is simply struggling with the language will be placed in special classes, because there are no ESL classes available or any support from staff or school officials.