ESL instruction at elite STEM high schools

ldwendy
Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:00:15 +0000

Hi everyone,

The following article appeared in the Washington Post today about Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology (TJ):

[As Thomas Jefferson adds help for poor English skills, some Va. parents fume - The Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-thomas-jefferson-adds-help-for-poor-english-skills-some-va-parents-fume/2011/03/10/ABK7qVx_story.html)



The country’s embassy devotes a section on its Web site to describing TJ’s admissions criteria, translated into Korean.

…

In the past, when teachers have broached a student’s language difficulties, some parents have been quick to sign waivers declining extra help.



Although I’m not a Virginia resident, I am a U. S. citizen. I’m Asian-American as well. Putting aside the possibility that TJ may be admitting students who are not legal residents, I wonder how can immigrant parents be so fixated on math and science such that they feel they can neglect a student’s English proficiency? I think what they’ve done is succeeded in strengthening the stereotype that Asian parents are one-dimensional, which I find upsetting.
(I don’t urge D1 or D2 to focus on any particular field, but only do what they enjoy.)

They would also feed into the suspicions that the immigrant parents are more interested in using TJ to obtain a free education into Ivy League colleges than into becoming a model citizen of this great country.

I think this TJ should actually have both spoken and written tests in English and change the format of the language proficiency test each year to lessen the changes of fraud and cheating. In addition, they should have a minimum cutoff figure for this test as well. After all the language of instruction is going to be in spoken and written English.

I wonder whether other elite high schools in the United States offer ESL services for their students. (For example, Stuyvesant High School of Science and Math in New York appears not to have ESL instruction, based on a cursory glance on their website). If anyone can share their experiences that would helpful.