Ethnographic Study of a School - Research Paper Example

The school in focus is an elementary school so the ages of the student population tend to be under 12 years of age. The Hispanic background of most students means that they come from families where Spanish is spoken and understood. This often occurs at the expense of learning English and a significant amount of students in class tend not to speak any English at all. Yet another significant amount of students in class tend to speak some English though there is a large need to improve their spoken English skills. Only a minor amount of students can fully communicate in and comprehend English.

On average the typical Grade 4 student has trouble coping with speaking a few words of English. In this situation, expecting these children to write words and sentences in English is unrealistic because they can hardly comprehend English. Most children can however follow cues and produce some sensible words while only a small amount of children can produce understandable sentences.

In terms of behavior, a large majority of children are inclined to create disturbance in the classroom. The imposition of order in the classroom is a separate task in itself. However, it has been felt that if these children’s behaviors are reinforced with more positive values, a significant difference could be created. This onus would fall to the school as these children hail from a relatively low socio-economic status. In most of the children’s families, either both parents are working or the mother has too many children to take care of. This indicates that the children are not given a lot of time by parents for their grooming especially as per behavior and education.

In addition, the language barrier that exists between the teachers and the students means that not all instructions are being carried forward as intended. Rework and repetition of the same tasks in class are common since most children fail to comprehend instructions the first time. Since most children are essentially English language learners, so there is a dire need to look into the lingual skills of these children before any other form of learning is introduced.

The lack of proper communication between teachers and students is a major facet of the school environment. The interaction between teachers and students is limited by the fact that both parties are unable to understand each other completely unless the teacher has a Hispanic background as well. A few Caucasian students are present in class as well but interaction with them alone cannot be taken as a guarantee for other children to learn English.

In terms of teaching, the language barrier poses problems on different fronts. For one thing, the instructions passed onto children are not clear the first time and there is often the need to repeat instructions. This tends to slow down the overall pace of work significantly. Furthermore, this issue creates an evaluation-based problem as well. The limited interaction available with the students makes it hard to evaluate if a student has learning disabilities or if the student is being bogged down in translation.

Language also plays a defining role in how the community tends to view itself. It is typical to see Hispanic children sitting together in class, socializing together, and forming cults. This exclusion tends to take place because these children do not have the necessary language skills to interact with other children from other ethnic backgrounds. Given also the fact that the Hispanic student population dominates the classroom, their grouping tends to create visible cleavages in class. The focus of students ought to be learning in the classroom and not preserving any kind of construed social order.

It might be argued that the children’s limited social interactivity stems from the fact that they are not used to socializing with other communities. The Hispanic population in Bay County, Florida is rather limited to certain neighborhoods where only Hispanics live. Consequently, the children growing up in such neighborhoods tend to assume such values that promote limited socialization and hence the acceptance of other ethnic groups.

Most children tend to lose interest in class understandably because they cannot comprehend the instructions. However, if the instructions are repeated in a simpler manner and through the use of Spanish words for support, then children tend to grasp more. It is noticeable that most children are hardworking and tend to take an interest in learning if they can comprehend what is going on. This indicates that the educational methods being applied to these students are relevant and have the potential to produce wanted results.

Given the ethnographic background of the children at this elementary school, it is apparent that the children have a hard time dealing with a language barrier. It would otherwise be assumed that children living in the United States would tend to understand English perfectly though, in the case of a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, this may not be true. The need of the hour is to improve the language skills of the concerned children to educate them better. Only this can ensure that they will transform into responsible citizens who are capable of shouldering a better community and hence a better society.