Letters

Teaching Pre K-8, Apr 1997

Animal Tracking

Enclosed is a picture of my students releasing a monarch after its development stages in the classroom. The students were in awe of this "hands-on" release and it helped them to imagine the monarchs' migration to Mexico.

In addition to the butterfly's journey, we've also studied the "migration" of stuffed animals, thanks to your article on Travelmates that I read several years ago ("Travelmates: Geography for Kids and Stuffed Pets," April 1993). The project has been one of the most rewarding teaching experiences I've ever used in my classroom - after 23 years of teaching elementary school. Thank you!

I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for your teaching magazine.

Chris Fitzpatrick Dousman, WI

In Her Own Words

I'm responding to Paula Carter's article, "Mother's Words," that appeared in your February 1997 issue. At the end of the piece, Ms. Carter offers some good ideas to further her students' English language skills in the classroom.

As an ESL teacher, however, I'm concerned about the subtitle of this article: "How do you help a child who finds reassurance in speaking the familiar, foreign language used at home?"

The familiar foreign language that seems to be a problem in this article should instead be viewed as a giant asset. Ms. Carter's students will eventually become bilingual and biliterate!

Teachers like Ms. Carter will provide language development in English (not ignoring cognitively demanding oral language skills, which will aid the reading and writing that will follow) as the student's mother nurtures the primary language at home.

Of course we find "reassurance in speaking the familiar." Wouldn't you? This is the language that connects us to our culture. Ms. Carter needn't be concerned about her students' infrequent use of English in the home. What's important is that her student receives rich language experiences in both languages. All research on second language acquisition proves that the brain handles more than one language just fine.

Ms. Carter's student will learn English. What's crucial is that her primary language is nurtured and not lost. When this happens, her student will be an Exceptional Student of Language, a true ESL student.

Katy Allaback Santa Barbara, CA

Clearly Confusing

I'm a faculty member in the Mathematics Department of a small liberal arts school in the midwest. I enjoy reading Teaching K-8 and sharing the ideas with our Elementary Education majors in their required mathematics course.

However, I'm concerned by part of Activity 63 in the Green Pages of your February 1997 issue. The notation used for the "solve and continue" example suggests that 15 22=37 x 2.

As has been highlighted in the NCTM Standards, communication is an important goal of mathematics education, as it is in every other subject area. Though I do not hold formalism above understanding when an informal explanation may be more meaningful to students, we should be careful not to encourage informality when it leads to false statements.

I would suggest a slight, yet important alteration: "solve and continue, e.g., 15 22=37; 37 x 2, the next person repeating 37 x 2=74; 74-8, etc."

Otherwise, keep those ideas coming!

Susan Enyart Westerville, OH