Public Procurement and Contract Administration in Nigeria

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Overview of Procurement Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works and services at the best total cost of ownership, in the right quality and quantity and at the right time. It also involves the acquisition of goods and services at the right place and from the right source. Public Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works and services by Government Ministries Departments and Agencies. In an effort to provide development and fulfil campaign promises, governments all over the world are involved in large scale procurement of goods, works and services. Public Procurement account for substantial part of most countries GDP. The establishment of good public procurement system is increasingly being viewed as measure of accountability and transparency. The responsibility of government to ensure transparency is also increasingly becoming a serious campaign issue. Public Procurement helps ensure the judicious use of public resources. An efficient Public Procurement System will ensure at all times government acquisition of goods, works, and services are done with due regard to:  · Economy;  · Efficiency;  · Fairness;  · Reliability; Transparency; and  · Accountability and Ethical Standards. Economy: This will ensure that the procuring entity obtain the best value for the money expended. Value may include more than price. It includes quality, and timely delivery of the goods or services. However, the ultimate aim of a sound procurement is to obtain the maximum value for money. Efficiency: A good procurement must be seen to be posi tive. It should be devoid of bottlenecks and other forms of inefficiencies. A good procurement system is devoid of protracted delays. It must be simple and swift. Fairness: A good system will ensure fairness to all bidders and will be impartial, consistent, and reliable. It will ensure level playing field to all contractors, suppliers and consultants. Transparency: Good procurement system establishes and maintains rules and procedures that are accessible and unambiguous. It is not only fair, but it is seen to be fair. Accountability and Ethical Standards: A system must ensure its practitioners obey the rules. It enforces the rules through a process of sanctioning those who neglect, disobey or bend the rules to gain certain advantages. The rules and procedures must be clear and unambiguous The process of establishing formal public procurement system in Nigeria started with the election of Obasanjo in 1999. It started with the establishment of Due process office under the Presidency. The Due process office was headed then by Mrs. Oby Ekwesili, the current Vice President of World Bank in charge of African Region. The Due process Office succeeded in saving billions of Naira according to the press release by the Agency. Public Procurement bill was passed by the two houses of the National Assembly and signed into law by the President in 2007. The Act provide for the establishment of Public Procurement Council and Bureau for Public Procurement to beheaded by a Director General. Nigeria public procurement Act was enacted in 2007. Overview of Contract Administration Contract Administration on the other hand involves all those activities which are performed with aim of promoting the smooth execution of contracts. Contract Administration starts from the time a contract is signed to the time a contract is closed. There are various forms in which a contract can closes: A contract can close when an operational certificate has been issued and the contractor collects the final payment under the contract. A contract can close if it is terminated and what is due to the either of the party (client or contractor) has been paid. A contract could be terminated due non performance by the contractors, due to failure of the client to fulfil obligations under the contract or due to events or happening beyond the control of the parties to the contract (force majeure). A contract can be discharged when there is a dispute. This can happen either amicably or through mediation through arbitration and adjudication or through the court. The court is usually the last resort in this kind of settlement. Most modern contracts proscribe mediation mechanism. Contract closure should be seen as part of the procurement process that assures that the employer gets what it paid for and contractor, payment for goods or services delivered. The Role of Regulation in Public Procurement A good regulatory framework is pre-requisite for an efficient Public procurement system. The role of policy formulation should be separate from policy execution and a mechanism for handling protests must be established. Any agency involved in any form of execution of public procurement should not be involved in regulating procurement. The Nigeria Public Procurement Act is however, somehow deficient in the area of separation of policy formulation, execution and regulation and protest handling mechanism. The Bureau is involve in giving no objection for contracts yet is involve enforcing compliance with the provisions of the Act. This vested the power of execution and regulation in the Bureau. The Bureau also through the council (where the DG is the secretary) is involved in policy formulation and handling of protest. A good example of separation of regulation, execution and protest handling mechanism is the Kenyan public procurement system. It incorporated the necessary separation of execution, policy formulation and protest handling mechanism. However, this has not prevented politicians in Kenya from abusing the procurement system. In 2004 all the procurement officials in the various MDA in Kenya were suspended to allow politicians recover the money they spent in election campaign. The various agencies under the Kenyan Act are: Public Procurement Oversight Authority The functions of the Kenyan Public Procurement Oversight Authority are: To ensure that the procurement procedures established under the Act are complied with; To monitor the public procurement system and report on the overall functioning to the Minister and also do the following functions: support the training and professional development of persons involved in procurement Issue written directions to ublic entities with respect to procurement including the conduct of procurement proceedings and the dissemination of information on procurements; and ensure that procuring entities engage procurement professionals in their procurement units. To initiate public procurement policy and propose amendments to the Act. To perform such other functions and duties as provided for under the Act Public Procurement Oversight Advisory Board Composition The Public Procurement Oversight Advisory Board shall consist of nine members appointed by the Minister approved by Parliament from persons nominated by the prescribed organizations and the Director-General. Functions To advise the Authority generally on exercise of its powers and the performance of its functions To approve the estimates of the revenue and expenditures of the Authority; To recommend the appointment and termination of the Director-General of the Authority Perform such other functions and duties as provided for under the Act. Public Procurement Administrative Review Board The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, review complaints and make appropriate recommendation to the government. The Public Procurement Oversight Authority shall provide administrative services to the Review Board. Procuring Entities (MDA) It is the responsibility of Procuring Entities to comply with provisions of the Act. Specifically the Kenyan Act provides; What is being procured must be within the approved budget of the procuring entity and included an annual procurement plan Procurement undertaken by a procuring entity must be as per threshold matrix as set out in the regulations There is adequate segregation of duties in respect of procurement initiation, processing and receipt of goods, works and services. A public entity shall establish a tender committee, procurement unit and such other bodies as required under the regulations for the purpose of making such ecisions on behalf of the public entity as specified in the Act . Procurement Planning The first thing to do in procurement is, planning the process. It involves definition of the project scope and expected completion time. Specifically, the procuring entities need to identify the required works, goods or services to be procured. The procuring entities also need to determine the various procurement sequences. The procuring entity will selec t equipment packages and choose the method of procurement to use depending on the scope and complexity of the assignment. The following methods are usually used in procurement of goods, works and services (non-intellectual services): International competitive bidding (ICB) Limited international bidding National competitive bidding Shopping Procurement Plan should separate consultancy services, works, goods and supply and installation of plants and equipments. Procurement plan should address the following; How the procurement process should be handled (ICB,NCB, Others, Co-financing) Define the timing of each step in the procurement process (Each step, Each Package). It should also identify the procurement & implementation team The plan should also take in account the approvals process and delays that may occur. It should take into account all technical, staffing, legal and training etc. Procurement Steps There should be identification of needs. The list of goods, equipment, materials plants etc. Types of Works (Large, Small, Very Small) and aassociated Services. The procuring entity should also indentify the means of transportation, distribution and training. The plan should also take into account after sales service and warranty period. The steps include the advertisement of tenders. The World Bank require advert in G. D. Market and United Nation Business on-line. National competitive bidding requires advert in at least two nationally read newspapers. The process includes; Issuance of Bidding Documents Bid or Quotations Submission & Opening Bid or Quotation Evaluation Contract and Purchase Order Award. This will be preceded by contract notification, signature and effectiveness. Pre-contract Meeting Officials of the procuring entity involve in the procurement process should meet in order to: Understand their responsibilities and restrictions under the contract The role of the project manager should also be defined The various tests and other forms of quality control should be defined. Specific deliverables and special contract provisions should be explained. Monitoring and performance measurement should be understood and invoicing and payment procedures should be explained. Pre- contract meeting/discussion between the employer and the contractors are usually organised. At such meeting, the objective of the contract and its requirements are clearly defined. The contract effectiveness conditions are explained. Others issues to be discussed are: The project manager (from the employer) and contractors representative Organization and structures of the contractor’s implementation team. Implementation schedule and Reporting method Progress meetings, works certification and invoicing After the pre-contract discussion all grey areas are ironed out, the contract is signed by contractor’s representative with the power of attorney and the authorised representative of the contractor. Contract Effectiveness This will take place after the contract has been signed and following conditions have been fulfilled: Contractor provide performance guaranty and advance payment guaranty (if required) If the contract requires payment of advance payment, it has been paid If Letter of Credit is required it must be established The Letter of Credit must be confirmed (if funded by Nigeria government) or made operative through issuance of special commitment if World Bank financed contract or letter of guaranty if AfDB financed contract The employer must write a letter conveying the effectiveness to the contractor Letter of Credit Letters of Credit are guided by universal custom practice established by International Chamber of commerce and Industry based in Paris, France. It provides condition to enable parties to contract of sale living in different countries to make and receive payment for goods supplied. It start with a bank in the buyers country (opening bank) opening direct communication with another bank in the seller country (advising bank), through a correspondence bank (usually the negotiating bank). The opening bank will open either an irrevocable Letter of credit or a revocable letter of credit depending on the circumstance of the transaction. It is irrevocable because once established neither of the party can cancel it unilaterally before the expiration of the validity. Letter of Credit is said to be confirmed if in addition to the confirmation of the opening bank, another bank (say the negotiating bank also add its confirmation). Under LC for contracts financed by World Bank, LC’s are irrevocable but are unconfirmed. They are made operational when a special commitment is issued on it by World Bank. Incoterms 2000 Incoterms means International Commercial Terms published by International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), Headquarter in Paris. Incoterms was created in 1936 by ICC to facilitate international trade by providing uniform interpretation of trade terms. Incoterms are regularly updated to keep pace with developments in international trade. The latest is incoterms 2000. The scope of incoterms is limited to rights & obligations of parties to contract of sales as it relates to delivery of tangible goods. For example under the C terms, the Seller fulfils his obligation upon the shipment of goods. Once the good are shipped by the seller, under the C terms the buyer is obliged to receive the goods. The following are the various incoterms Group E: Departure {text:list-item} Group E: Main Carriage unpaid {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Group C: Main Carriage Paid {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Group D: Arrival {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Terms of Payment There are terms of payment for various contracts. Terms of payment are usually specified in the bidding document or request for proposal (RFP). Under a project financed by credit from the World Bank, the following terms shall apply as follows; Schedule 1-Plant & Equipment from Abroad text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Schedule 2-Plant & Equipment from Employers Country {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Schedule 3-Local Transportation {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Schedule 4-Installation Service {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} All payment must be made 45 days from submission of invo ice and invoice not paid more than 60 days will attract interest. Role of Project Manager and Contractors Representative: Project Manager The contractor must be notified of the Project Manager in writing. The Project Manager shall act and represent the employer at times during the validity of the contract. He shall give all instructions, notices, orders, certificates etc. He shall give approval and receives notices, instructions, information on behalf of the employer. Contractors Representative: The employer must be notified in writing with his CV attached. Contractor representative must be approved by employer. The contractors representative act and represent the contractor at all time during the validity of the contract, He received all instructions, notices, orders, certificates, approvals and communications. The contractor representative issues all notices, instructions, information and other communications on behalf of the contractor Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation is an essentially part of contract administration. It is usually performed by project manager. Project Manager approves all designs and drawings for supply & installations contract etc. The project manager inspects & issue acceptance certificate before shipment. Proper monitoring ensures potential disputes are averted Invoicing and Payments Contractors and employers are partners. The contractors have goods/services or works required by the employer while the contractor want money from the employer. Contract won under international competitive bidding process give world-wide, most competitive price to the employer. Issuance of invoices and demand for payment is an obligation of the contractor while the employer has responsibility to pay for goods delivered and or services and works performed by the contractor. The format of invoicing and works certification should be worked out early to avoid employment of penalty clause. Progress Meetings Progress meeting is necessary aspect of large and complex contracts which takes longer time to complete. Progress meetings are held at regular intervals. It is usually held to monitor the progress of the contract implementation. At such meeting contract implementation progress are discussed and compared with the contract implementation schedule. Implementation problems are also discussed with a view of solving them. The objective is to ensure that the contract will be completed with requisite quality, on time and within budget. Some identified Contract Administration Problems in Nigeria Institutional problems like contracts enforcement and prolonged court procedures are serious impediment to smooth contract administration. Other common contract administration problems are: Contracts entered into with parties having little understanding of the contract terms. Ccontracts’ seen as ways of dispensing favours. Therefore, little attention is paid to qualification. Contractors in some cases do not employ qualified personnel to manage and execute contracts. It usually takes unnecessarily long time to issue sufficient Bonds and Insurances for the execution of contracts, due to stringent conditions. Inadequate monitoring by employers also affects smooth contract implementation. A common contract administration problem that has become very visible especially in Nigeria Power Sector is losing out other partners in JV or Consortium agreement Delay in making payment to the contractors due to inadequate budgetary provisions Employment of unqualified or incompetent sub-contractors Delays in opening LC’s and extension of LC’s & Form M. Misapplication of proceeds of advance payment by contractors Di spute in the interpretation of contract terms Delay in issuing Duties and vat exemptions certificate conveyance Difficulties in clearing goods in the ports and the poor state of the nation infrastructure Inconsistency in government policies and corruption of government officials Avoiding Dispute in contract implementation The best dispute resolution method is not to have disputed at all. However, if there is a dispute direct negotiations between the parties at an early stage could be helpful. If no solution is found through direct negotiation, establish in a letter the facts of which constitute the breach of contract to focus the problem on the issue under dispute In United Kingdom an alternative dispute resolution technique called â€Å"partnering technique† is being employed. Partnering starts with a workshop usually during the kick off meeting where expectations of parties (contractor and employer) are discussed and harmonised. A partnering agreement or charter is signed by the parties. Employer and contractor are expected to encourage their staff to achieve the charter. In some cases the employer and the contractor share offices in the spirit of the partnering. Dispute Resolution Adjudication Once a dispute cannot be resolved mutually between the parties, it can be referred to adjudicator by either party in writing with a copy to the other party. The adjudicator shall give his decision in writing to both parties. The decision of the adjudicator is not final. The name of the adjudicator and his CV is usually included in the bidding document. If a bidder has problem with a suggested adjudicator, he must indicate so in writing and suggest another adjudicator which must be accepted by the employer. Arbitration If either of the party is dissatisfied with the decision of the adjudicator, the dissatisfied party can write to the arbitrator. Either party may give the other notice to commence arbitration. The ddecision of arbitration are final and binding on all parties Arbitration Courts The Court of Arbitration of International Chamber of Commerce (Paris) is the most popular arbitration institute in the World. Other are; London Court of Arbitration and Allied Professional Society The American Arbitration Association in United State of American Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce based in Sweden. United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) – UN International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID)- WB Change Orders and Price Adjustments Contracts are base on plans, designs, specification and quantities which are best estimates. Field conditions, revisions to original plan could cause the scope of the contract to change. Revisions caused by changes in expectation and technology may require change order. A â€Å"change order† is request for a change in the scope of a contract. It may be requested by either party to a contract. A â€Å"change order† signed by all the parties have the same authority as the original contract. For contracts financed by World Bank, change order is applied to changes in contract that is more than 5% of the contract sum. Under the World Bank procurement system, contract which exceed 18 months period should have provision for price adjustment. Contract Close Out Contract close out begins when the contract has been physically complete, i. e. all services have been performed and products delivered. Close out is completed when all administrative actions have been completed, all disputes settled, and final payment have been made. Materials and equipment to be handed over properly receipted. Contract close out is as important as contract award and contract monitoring. A check list of all services, products, etc. to be delivered in the contract should be kept in the contract file. Governance: Fraud, Corruption & Conflict of Interest Conflict of interest refers to a situation in which procurement official evaluate tenders involving companies in which they have direct or indirect interest. Fraud on the other hand includes misrepresentation or omission of facts to influence a procurement process or the execution of contract. It also includes collusion among bidders. corruption include offering, giving, receiving or soliciting directly or indirectly of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or contract execution. Governance: Identification of Corruption Some â€Å"red flags† in procurement process that indicate possibility of corruption include the following: Poor record keeping Deviations from procedures without written justification Poorly defined roles/responsibilities Absence of good internal control system â€Å"Red flags† can be exhibited by individuals involve in procurement and contract administration as follows: Extravagant lifestyle Excessive interaction with supplier(s) and contractors Too much secrecy Reluctance to delegate duties Keeping contact with certain suppliers exclusively Some â€Å"red flags† in a particular procuring entity are: Always the same suppliers competing & wining Reluctance of established supplier and contractors to bid for contracts in an entity Some â€Å"red flags† in contract administration Excessive cost overruns Excessive numbers of change orders (increasing cost) Payment of frivolous claims Governance: Corruption Contributing Factors& Known Signals Lack of competitive environment Lack of trained & competent procurement staff Widespread lack of trust & job security Permissive environment (no sanctions after established cases of fraud and corruption) Lack of good mechanism for handling protest & delays Known signals {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Case Study Case 1 An employer invited bid for the supply of one X-ray machine for the main hospital for delivery one month ex-stock within 2 months of Letter of Credit. In the bidding document, bidders were asked to quote price on CIP capital city by air in US dollars. Bidders were provided 60 days to submit bids. Six bids were opened publicly. All except one bidder quoted the price as solicited. One bidder quoted the price in French Francs. In its evaluation the employer rejected the bid as it did not comply with the currency provision. The employer proposed to award the contract to the lowest bidder as all the other bid are responsive. The contract will be financed under a credit from World Bank and the rejected bidder protested to the World Bank on the ground that World Bank permitted bids from any member country and currency and his bid was in fact the lowest. What should the World Bank do and Why? Case 2 In an agricultural project, an employer presented papers relating to an advance procurement of two bulldozers for World Bank financing retroactively. The employer/borrower claimed to have followed the World Bank ICB procedures. On review, it was noted that the General Procurement Notice (GPN) and Specific Procurement Notice (SPN) were issued, adequate time provided for the bidding, there was good response and award had been made to the lowest bidder. The only short-coming was the bids were opened by a government committee without inviting the bidder representative. Is the process valid under this circumstance? Case 3 You are the chairman of public procurement administrative review commission. A project includes the procurement of 10 tracks Dozers and excavators to be procured under a single package. The specifications stated the tracks should be powered by an engine with a minimum of 175 horsepower (SAE) at a rated RPM. Firm A offered its dozers with a 165HP. In the evaluation the committee consider the deviation as minor and awarded the contract to Firm A. Firm B

Working with Children with Additional Needs

Section B: Specific Additional Requirements †¢Describe 3 examples of syndromes/conditions of your choice. †¢Describe 2 strategies for each example described above. These strategies could be medical, nutritional, educational, social or emotional which are meant to meet the children’s additional needs. Down Syndrome Down Syndrome, also referred to as Trisomy 21, is a condition which causes delays in the development of children, both mentally and physically, due to extra genetic material.While normally when a baby is conceived it receives genetic information in the form of 46 chromosomes, 23 from the mother and 23 from the father, in a Down Syndrome the baby receives a total of 47 chromosomes, where an extra chromosome 21 is received. This extra chromosome causes the physical features and developmental delays that are associated with Down Syndrome. It is still unknown why Down Syndrome occurs but there is no way to prevent it, and although children with Down Syndrome ma y share some physical and mental features it can still range from mild to severe.It is known that women age 35 and over have a significantly higher risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. The physical features common to children with Down Syndrome include an upward slant to the eyes, a short neck and a large tongue, which may protrude, poor muscle tone (muscle hypotonia), a flat nasal bridge, unusually large space between large toe and second toe, and small ears.Other problems related to Down Syndrome may include, but vary from child to child, heart defects at birth, digestive system problems, learning difficulties, delayed language development, speech difficulties, pulmonary problems, problems with hearing and vision, thyroid problems, and delayed physical development, reaching developmental milestones later than children without impairment, together with various other medical conditions. Strategies for Down Syndrome. In the case of children with Down Syndrome early-intervention services are recommended.These include various medical check-ups, as well as working together with physical, occupational and speech therapists to help encourage and accelerate the child’s development. Inclusive education with the help of a Learning Support Assistant and a well structured Individualised Education Plan (IEP) based on the child’s needs is also recommended. Dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects the reading and writing abilities of a person. Children with Dyslexia usually have trouble learning how to read properly and connecting speech sounds to the letters of the alphabet.Research has shown that Dyslexia occurs because of problems related to the mental processing of information related to language. Because of this, reading itself becomes a difficulty within itself. Dyslexia is usually diagnosed in children in primary school, although sometimes it only becomes apparent at a later stage, when a child is older and is faced with more complex texts. Other problems associated with Dyslexia include difficulty reading, spelling and learning foreign languages. The later Dyslexia is identified, the more difficult it may be to help the child.Children whose parents suffered from Dyslexia are more likely to also suffer from Dyslexia. The later children learn how to speak the more at risk they are of having Dyslexia. Dyslexia may be diagnosed by a reading specialist or a psychologist. To children, having Dyslexia can prove to be very frustrating, firstly because they find it difficult to read, secondly because they feel inferior to their peers. Children with Dyslexia miss out on valuable reading practice and often fall behind their classmates.Strategies for Dyslexia One way of promoting reading to children with Dyslexia is to have a reading corner. Ideally, the reading corner should be attractive to children with comfortable seating, colourful posters and bookcases and possibly a screen to separate it from the rest of the classr oom. The reading corner should be a quiet, comfortable, welcoming area where children can settle down to read. This area may be used for individual reading, peer reading, and small group discussions in a relaxed environment.Another way to help children with Dyslexia is to use interactive whiteboards. Instead of asking all students to copy from the board, children with Dyslexia can be asked to follow during a lesson after which any notes written on the interactive whiteboard will be printed out to aid these children and to make sure that they have correctly written notes. Autism Autism, also known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, is a lifelong brain development disability that affects communication, social interaction, together with other behaviours.Autism affects the way people make sense of the world around them, because the brain has a problem interpreting what is seen, heard, experienced, etc. making it hard to do basic everyday things. Although people with autism share certain dif ficulties, each person is affected in a different way, and autism may affect a person in various degrees, ranging from very mild to severe; this is why autism is often referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. People with autism may find it hard to interact with other children, making friends, interpret facial expressions and other body language.People with autism have problems with both verbal as well as non-verbal language, and many may only have a literal understanding of spoken language. Speech may also be limited or not present in people with autism, although this may not necessarily always be the case. People with autism may also have a problem recognising and interpreting other people’s emotions and feelings together with expressing their own, which may make it difficult for them to fit into society.Another problem that people with autism might have, is understanding or predicting people’s behaviour, making sense of abstract ideas or understanding ideas and thi ngs which are outside their daily routine. Despite all these difficulties, people with autism have been known to have very particular capabilities, such as being very creative, having a talent for the arts, or being exceptionally good in working out calculations. Strategies for Autism Although there is no cure for autism, there are various ways in which a person with autism can be helped.Because people with autism find it difficult to understand the world around them it is very helpful for them to have a fixed daily routine. Having a highly structured schedule will help the person with autism to avoid getting confused and frustrated. Since it may be quite a challenge to communicate with a person who has autism, it may help to try to find alternative methods of communication, which the person may understand and react to. These may include sign language, use of technology or other alternative methods. Working with Children with Additional Needs Section B: Specific Additional Requirements †¢Describe 3 examples of syndromes/conditions of your choice. †¢Describe 2 strategies for each example described above. These strategies could be medical, nutritional, educational, social or emotional which are meant to meet the children’s additional needs. Down Syndrome Down Syndrome, also referred to as Trisomy 21, is a condition which causes delays in the development of children, both mentally and physically, due to extra genetic material.While normally when a baby is conceived it receives genetic information in the form of 46 chromosomes, 23 from the mother and 23 from the father, in a Down Syndrome the baby receives a total of 47 chromosomes, where an extra chromosome 21 is received. This extra chromosome causes the physical features and developmental delays that are associated with Down Syndrome. It is still unknown why Down Syndrome occurs but there is no way to prevent it, and although children with Down Syndrome ma y share some physical and mental features it can still range from mild to severe.It is known that women age 35 and over have a significantly higher risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. The physical features common to children with Down Syndrome include an upward slant to the eyes, a short neck and a large tongue, which may protrude, poor muscle tone (muscle hypotonia), a flat nasal bridge, unusually large space between large toe and second toe, and small ears.Other problems related to Down Syndrome may include, but vary from child to child, heart defects at birth, digestive system problems, learning difficulties, delayed language development, speech difficulties, pulmonary problems, problems with hearing and vision, thyroid problems, and delayed physical development, reaching developmental milestones later than children without impairment, together with various other medical conditions. Strategies for Down Syndrome. In the case of children with Down Syndrome early-intervention services are recommended.These include various medical check-ups, as well as working together with physical, occupational and speech therapists to help encourage and accelerate the child’s development. Inclusive education with the help of a Learning Support Assistant and a well structured Individualised Education Plan (IEP) based on the child’s needs is also recommended. Dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects the reading and writing abilities of a person. Children with Dyslexia usually have trouble learning how to read properly and connecting speech sounds to the letters of the alphabet.Research has shown that Dyslexia occurs because of problems related to the mental processing of information related to language. Because of this, reading itself becomes a difficulty within itself. Dyslexia is usually diagnosed in children in primary school, although sometimes it only becomes apparent at a later stage, when a child is older and is faced with more complex texts. Other problems associated with Dyslexia include difficulty reading, spelling and learning foreign languages. The later Dyslexia is identified, the more difficult it may be to help the child.Children whose parents suffered from Dyslexia are more likely to also suffer from Dyslexia. The later children learn how to speak the more at risk they are of having Dyslexia. Dyslexia may be diagnosed by a reading specialist or a psychologist. To children, having Dyslexia can prove to be very frustrating, firstly because they find it difficult to read, secondly because they feel inferior to their peers. Children with Dyslexia miss out on valuable reading practice and often fall behind their classmates.Strategies for Dyslexia One way of promoting reading to children with Dyslexia is to have a reading corner. Ideally, the reading corner should be attractive to children with comfortable seating, colourful posters and bookcases and possibly a screen to separate it from the rest of the classr oom. The reading corner should be a quiet, comfortable, welcoming area where children can settle down to read. This area may be used for individual reading, peer reading, and small group discussions in a relaxed environment.Another way to help children with Dyslexia is to use interactive whiteboards. Instead of asking all students to copy from the board, children with Dyslexia can be asked to follow during a lesson after which any notes written on the interactive whiteboard will be printed out to aid these children and to make sure that they have correctly written notes. Autism Autism, also known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, is a lifelong brain development disability that affects communication, social interaction, together with other behaviours.Autism affects the way people make sense of the world around them, because the brain has a problem interpreting what is seen, heard, experienced, etc. making it hard to do basic everyday things. Although people with autism share certain dif ficulties, each person is affected in a different way, and autism may affect a person in various degrees, ranging from very mild to severe; this is why autism is often referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. People with autism may find it hard to interact with other children, making friends, interpret facial expressions and other body language.People with autism have problems with both verbal as well as non-verbal language, and many may only have a literal understanding of spoken language. Speech may also be limited or not present in people with autism, although this may not necessarily always be the case. People with autism may also have a problem recognising and interpreting other people’s emotions and feelings together with expressing their own, which may make it difficult for them to fit into society.Another problem that people with autism might have, is understanding or predicting people’s behaviour, making sense of abstract ideas or understanding ideas and thi ngs which are outside their daily routine. Despite all these difficulties, people with autism have been known to have very particular capabilities, such as being very creative, having a talent for the arts, or being exceptionally good in working out calculations. Strategies for Autism Although there is no cure for autism, there are various ways in which a person with autism can be helped.Because people with autism find it difficult to understand the world around them it is very helpful for them to have a fixed daily routine. Having a highly structured schedule will help the person with autism to avoid getting confused and frustrated. Since it may be quite a challenge to communicate with a person who has autism, it may help to try to find alternative methods of communication, which the person may understand and react to. These may include sign language, use of technology or other alternative methods.

Bilingual Education

Bilingual education is unquestionably a controversial issue. There are several people and organizations in this country, who, for various reasons are opposed to bilingual education. In today’s society regarding education there has been a big issue about whether bilingual education should be taught in classrooms for immigrant students who do not speak English. Bilingual education began about 1967 as an effort to help immigrants, (mostly Spanish speakers) to learn English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates).Bilingual Education involves teaching two languages to the students. Many persons believe that bilingual education means Spanish and English only, but bilingual could be any two languages. There is a common problem where many parents are against bilingual education because many students are forced into Spanish bilingual classes because they have Spanish surnames, even though they understand and speak English well and they do not speak or read Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Ed ucation Advocates).I have found throughout my studies in bilingual education that a lot of students are placed in bilingual classes because the parents fill out a home language survey stating that the home language is Spanish. Little do the parents know that this is what determines what type of class their child will be in. This is causing many problems for children that are being forced into bilingual classes even when they are not immigrants. The promoter of bilingual education was the German language, because in 1837 students were required to take German in school at least one year (Eva Giles).But one of the most common bilingual programs here in South Texas is Spanish and English. A research states that â€Å"Nearly one in every six school age children in the United States come from a home where a language other than English is regularly spoken† (Eva Giles). â€Å"By some estimates, English is spoken today by one million people and two thirds learned it as a second langu age† (James Crawford). Secretary of Education T. H. Bell remarked that the support of the government for bilingual education grew from $7. 5 million in 1969 to $134 million in 1982 and it provides help for between 1. million to 3. 5 million children (Hoover, The case for and against Bilingual Education). There are many reasons why bilingual education is not effective for many people. First of all, the schools that have bilingual education do not have certified teachers. The problem that I have seen most too often is that many people are going through an alternative program to become a teacher, where they have no schooling in bilingual education and they don’t understand the concept of how it works, nor do they understand the laws.A person that has a degree in criminal justice, per se, goes through a 5 month program, takes a test, and is then considered to be a bilingual teacher. It is very common, here in south Texas where I live, that people that have gone through the ACP certification are being chosen over traditional college path teachers. Bilingual education is controversial for the simplest reason that it disrupts established patterns in school. For many schools, it can cause many headaches because they need to recruit more qualified teachers, redesign curricula, and reorganize class schedules, so many administrators want to avoid that.The monolingual teachers fear the reassignment, loss of status, or other career setbacks (Crawford). Because many schools do not have qualified teachers, the students get behind in their studies because they do not learn either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, many parents complain that their children on a regular school day are exposed mostly to Spanish and only few minutes to English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). This is because the immigrants are mixed with the non-immigrants and the teachers focus more on the immigrant students so they can learn English.Furthe rmore, the students get confused in their writing in Spanish and English. For example, a child was enrolled in bilingual education only because he/she has a Spanish surname even though he spoke only Spanish, and by the seventh grade the child could not read or write either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). On the other hand, many states reported on an average annual increase of 9. 2 percent in the enrollment of limited English proficient students (Crawford).If we do not have more certified teachers in our schools most of the students would have a high rate of falling behind, failing and dropping out of school. Language minority youths are 1. 5 times more likely than the English language counterparts to have discontinued school before completing twelve years, according to the Intercultural Development Research Association. In 1988 the Hispanic youths were more than twice likely to have dropped out. Therefore if we do not have certified teachers to teach the children we are going to have more uneducated children (Crawford).The solution to this problem about not having many certified teachers in our schools is that we need to train the teachers that we already have with some programs that they need to be a certified teacher. â€Å"Bilingual programs, in order to be effective, must be able to attract and retain a teaching staff sufficient in numbers and qualify to meet the needs of the children enrolled in the program. † (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia). A teacher in the bilingual program must master a subject, possess the skills to teach the subject well, and also have mastered two languages as well to be familiar with the children’s culture.Moreover, a bilingual teacher must meet five criteria, and all are very important for them to be an efficient teacher. The five criteria are: †¢The teacher must be fluent in English †¢The teacher must be fluent in Spanish †¢Mastery of the content area to be taught; e. g. scien ce, history etc. †¢Mastery of the teaching skills necessary to teach content area †¢Well information and complete understanding of the child’s culture, custom, and history (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia).Many schools might have to go to another country to recruit bilingual teachers; they go to Puerto Rico or even to Latin American because the United States has a diversity of cultures and it is much easier for a teacher from other countries to come to the United States and teach because they already know the culture of the student, and the students feel more comfortable and learn more. Furthermore, the second reason why bilingual education is not efficient for many people is because they do not have enough research on it.Many people do not know about all of the help that there is in schools for all immigrant students that came from other parts of the world. Parents do not get involved in their child’s studies or know what classes they are taking especially when th ey are in middle school or high school. â€Å"Many advocates of bilingual education fear that any government recognition of minority languages ‘sends a wrong message’ to immigrants encouraging them to believe they can live in the United States without learning English or conforming toAmericans’ ways† (Bilingual Education). Many parents believe that enrolling their children in only English classes will help them to improve in their language. For example, there is a case in California where the government is going to enforce a new program called Ballot Initiative, which would mandate English only instruction for children until they become fully proficient in English (Bilingual Education). But parents do not see all those programs that they have in schools to help their children improve in English without getting frustrated because they do.Parents should think about all the frustration that their children are dealing with because they are enrolling them in En glish classes even if they do not know the language. This is why they need to be made aware of all the programs that the schools have to offer to assist the students that do not speak English. The solution to this kind of problem in the schools is a program called late and early transition that helps the students who receive instructions in their native language during the early years of schooling eventually â€Å"transition† into mainstreaming English. William M. Saunders, Claude Goldenberg. ) Transition programs can occur anywhere from the early elementary grades to middle school or later in high school; it all depends on the school program when the student starts. Transition programs are three year program constants that approach the Spanish to English development in grades 3-5 and transition programs compromise 12 specific components falling in to three categories: 1. Literature studies (literature units, instructional conversations, writing projects) 2.Skill building (re ading comprehension, reading, dictation, and oral English) 3. Supporting Components (reading, reading aloud, and writing journals) A transition program is divided into three parts; Pre-Transition, Transition I, and Transition II. A Pre-Transition program is considered for the students in the third grade. Its purpose is to emphasize the fundamental role of Spanish reading and writing and oral English development that precedes transition and the goal is that by the end of the year the student should read and write Spanish, and a certain level of oral English.The second part of the transition program is called Transition I and it is used in the fourth grade. It is designed to make clear the need of an actual program for a certain time. By the end of fourth grade or Transition I, students should show at least initial reading and writing fluency in English. Moreover, the student should be able to participate in discussions in English and the student should also continue to demonstrate a good level in writing and reading in Spanish used in language arts throughout the entire year. The last part of the program called Transition II is used in the fifth grade.This last part of the program is where the students should be decoding and comprehends grade level materials in English, which mean in literature and content areas (Saunders). According to many teachers in California, bilingual transition programs work very well in schools where they have positive teachers that want to help the student and where the first language is used in the first year (Stephanie Krasren). One of my solutions for bilingual education is to implement more programs for older students as high school students.Right now we do not have enough programs that help those students and that is why we have a lot of college students that do not know how to write or read English or Spanish. In our high schools there is not enough emphasis in programs for high school students because many teachers believe that the students already know English because they attended elementary and middle school. Sometimes it doesn’t cross teachers minds that many students came to the United States when they were 16 and older and they had finished elementary or middle school in Mexico or other places.When they come to high schools here in the United States they do not know English. The program that I would implement for high school immigrant students that do not know any English would be called Older Transition. It would be separated in two parts, the first one being Older Transition I. It would be for ninth grade. The student would have a special teacher in separate classrooms, a teacher that helps them learn the basic English language and as the year goes by to improve their English in all subjects, so the student can be familiarized with the language.The second part would be called Older Transition II and would be for tenth grade immigrant students. The students would be placed in regular classes so they can be familiarized with how the classes work and begin taking the TAKS test that they need in order to graduate. Also the student would be required to participate in school activities so they can be involved with the language and improve their skills. If we would have more programs like this, many students would be beneficiated and wouldn’t feel left out and they would have a better future with more opportunities.These days, many jobs require applicants to be bilingual. â€Å"Businesses, especially telephone companies here in Texas and California are seeking for bilingual employees† (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, Texas and California have a high percentage of immigrants and Hispanics, which is why many companies ask the employee if they can speak Spanish and English. According to Hoover, English is the widely used language in history also; English in the language of Science technology, and business (Bilingual Education Advocates).Furthermo re, right now in this society we have a high call for merchants, bankers, and diplomats able to speak two languages. Therefore, if programs like this would be enforced in many high schools many students would have a better future and they would not have problems in college. The opposite view about my solution of implementing more transition programs for high school students is that many high schools do not have enough funds to be spending in transition programs.Moreover, many principals say that high schools do not receive money to have special teacher or train the teachers that the schools already have to teach the immigrant students that do not speak English. I believe that schools have enough money to spend to train teachers and programs because they have enough money to spend in athletics and other elective courses. Many high schools put more interest in athletics or any other activities than in the improvement of the student’s studies.To reiterate, whether bilingual educ ation is effective or not for immigrant students who do not speak English is up to the schools and how they approach the effectiveness of the bilingual programs. After reading much information about bilingual education, I have come to a conclusion; if we have more certified teachers who care and help the students with the English skills and if the schools implement more programs to help immigrant students, we are going to have a nation with many bilingual people who would help others. Moreover, we are going to have a better future for the kids of tomorrow.I encourage many teachers to support more bilingual programs and talk with their principals about them and put them into practice in the classrooms. A lot of this implementation starts with the district, of course, but sometimes certain districts don’t want to implement the bilingual programs and are just receiving the money for it. This is where the schools need to step up and implement the programs and possibly make a call to the TEA and make sure that the district starts following the rules. It all begins with one person making the difference and then it goes from there. Bilingual Education Bilingual education is unquestionably a controversial issue. There are several people and organizations in this country, who, for various reasons are opposed to bilingual education. In today’s society regarding education there has been a big issue about whether bilingual education should be taught in classrooms for immigrant students who do not speak English. Bilingual education began about 1967 as an effort to help immigrants, (mostly Spanish speakers) to learn English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates).Bilingual Education involves teaching two languages to the students. Many persons believe that bilingual education means Spanish and English only, but bilingual could be any two languages. There is a common problem where many parents are against bilingual education because many students are forced into Spanish bilingual classes because they have Spanish surnames, even though they understand and speak English well and they do not speak or read Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Ed ucation Advocates).I have found throughout my studies in bilingual education that a lot of students are placed in bilingual classes because the parents fill out a home language survey stating that the home language is Spanish. Little do the parents know that this is what determines what type of class their child will be in. This is causing many problems for children that are being forced into bilingual classes even when they are not immigrants. The promoter of bilingual education was the German language, because in 1837 students were required to take German in school at least one year (Eva Giles).But one of the most common bilingual programs here in South Texas is Spanish and English. A research states that â€Å"Nearly one in every six school age children in the United States come from a home where a language other than English is regularly spoken† (Eva Giles). â€Å"By some estimates, English is spoken today by one million people and two thirds learned it as a second langu age† (James Crawford). Secretary of Education T. H. Bell remarked that the support of the government for bilingual education grew from $7. 5 million in 1969 to $134 million in 1982 and it provides help for between 1. million to 3. 5 million children (Hoover, The case for and against Bilingual Education). There are many reasons why bilingual education is not effective for many people. First of all, the schools that have bilingual education do not have certified teachers. The problem that I have seen most too often is that many people are going through an alternative program to become a teacher, where they have no schooling in bilingual education and they don’t understand the concept of how it works, nor do they understand the laws.A person that has a degree in criminal justice, per se, goes through a 5 month program, takes a test, and is then considered to be a bilingual teacher. It is very common, here in south Texas where I live, that people that have gone through the ACP certification are being chosen over traditional college path teachers. Bilingual education is controversial for the simplest reason that it disrupts established patterns in school. For many schools, it can cause many headaches because they need to recruit more qualified teachers, redesign curricula, and reorganize class schedules, so many administrators want to avoid that.The monolingual teachers fear the reassignment, loss of status, or other career setbacks (Crawford). Because many schools do not have qualified teachers, the students get behind in their studies because they do not learn either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, many parents complain that their children on a regular school day are exposed mostly to Spanish and only few minutes to English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). This is because the immigrants are mixed with the non-immigrants and the teachers focus more on the immigrant students so they can learn English.Furthe rmore, the students get confused in their writing in Spanish and English. For example, a child was enrolled in bilingual education only because he/she has a Spanish surname even though he spoke only Spanish, and by the seventh grade the child could not read or write either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). On the other hand, many states reported on an average annual increase of 9. 2 percent in the enrollment of limited English proficient students (Crawford).If we do not have more certified teachers in our schools most of the students would have a high rate of falling behind, failing and dropping out of school. Language minority youths are 1. 5 times more likely than the English language counterparts to have discontinued school before completing twelve years, according to the Intercultural Development Research Association. In 1988 the Hispanic youths were more than twice likely to have dropped out. Therefore if we do not have certified teachers to teach the children we are going to have more uneducated children (Crawford).The solution to this problem about not having many certified teachers in our schools is that we need to train the teachers that we already have with some programs that they need to be a certified teacher. â€Å"Bilingual programs, in order to be effective, must be able to attract and retain a teaching staff sufficient in numbers and qualify to meet the needs of the children enrolled in the program. † (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia). A teacher in the bilingual program must master a subject, possess the skills to teach the subject well, and also have mastered two languages as well to be familiar with the children’s culture.Moreover, a bilingual teacher must meet five criteria, and all are very important for them to be an efficient teacher. The five criteria are: †¢The teacher must be fluent in English †¢The teacher must be fluent in Spanish †¢Mastery of the content area to be taught; e. g. scien ce, history etc. †¢Mastery of the teaching skills necessary to teach content area †¢Well information and complete understanding of the child’s culture, custom, and history (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia).Many schools might have to go to another country to recruit bilingual teachers; they go to Puerto Rico or even to Latin American because the United States has a diversity of cultures and it is much easier for a teacher from other countries to come to the United States and teach because they already know the culture of the student, and the students feel more comfortable and learn more. Furthermore, the second reason why bilingual education is not efficient for many people is because they do not have enough research on it.Many people do not know about all of the help that there is in schools for all immigrant students that came from other parts of the world. Parents do not get involved in their child’s studies or know what classes they are taking especially when th ey are in middle school or high school. â€Å"Many advocates of bilingual education fear that any government recognition of minority languages ‘sends a wrong message’ to immigrants encouraging them to believe they can live in the United States without learning English or conforming toAmericans’ ways† (Bilingual Education). Many parents believe that enrolling their children in only English classes will help them to improve in their language. For example, there is a case in California where the government is going to enforce a new program called Ballot Initiative, which would mandate English only instruction for children until they become fully proficient in English (Bilingual Education). But parents do not see all those programs that they have in schools to help their children improve in English without getting frustrated because they do.Parents should think about all the frustration that their children are dealing with because they are enrolling them in En glish classes even if they do not know the language. This is why they need to be made aware of all the programs that the schools have to offer to assist the students that do not speak English. The solution to this kind of problem in the schools is a program called late and early transition that helps the students who receive instructions in their native language during the early years of schooling eventually â€Å"transition† into mainstreaming English. William M. Saunders, Claude Goldenberg. ) Transition programs can occur anywhere from the early elementary grades to middle school or later in high school; it all depends on the school program when the student starts. Transition programs are three year program constants that approach the Spanish to English development in grades 3-5 and transition programs compromise 12 specific components falling in to three categories: 1. Literature studies (literature units, instructional conversations, writing projects) 2.Skill building (re ading comprehension, reading, dictation, and oral English) 3. Supporting Components (reading, reading aloud, and writing journals) A transition program is divided into three parts; Pre-Transition, Transition I, and Transition II. A Pre-Transition program is considered for the students in the third grade. Its purpose is to emphasize the fundamental role of Spanish reading and writing and oral English development that precedes transition and the goal is that by the end of the year the student should read and write Spanish, and a certain level of oral English.The second part of the transition program is called Transition I and it is used in the fourth grade. It is designed to make clear the need of an actual program for a certain time. By the end of fourth grade or Transition I, students should show at least initial reading and writing fluency in English. Moreover, the student should be able to participate in discussions in English and the student should also continue to demonstrate a good level in writing and reading in Spanish used in language arts throughout the entire year. The last part of the program called Transition II is used in the fifth grade.This last part of the program is where the students should be decoding and comprehends grade level materials in English, which mean in literature and content areas (Saunders). According to many teachers in California, bilingual transition programs work very well in schools where they have positive teachers that want to help the student and where the first language is used in the first year (Stephanie Krasren). One of my solutions for bilingual education is to implement more programs for older students as high school students.Right now we do not have enough programs that help those students and that is why we have a lot of college students that do not know how to write or read English or Spanish. In our high schools there is not enough emphasis in programs for high school students because many teachers believe that the students already know English because they attended elementary and middle school. Sometimes it doesn’t cross teachers minds that many students came to the United States when they were 16 and older and they had finished elementary or middle school in Mexico or other places.When they come to high schools here in the United States they do not know English. The program that I would implement for high school immigrant students that do not know any English would be called Older Transition. It would be separated in two parts, the first one being Older Transition I. It would be for ninth grade. The student would have a special teacher in separate classrooms, a teacher that helps them learn the basic English language and as the year goes by to improve their English in all subjects, so the student can be familiarized with the language.The second part would be called Older Transition II and would be for tenth grade immigrant students. The students would be placed in regular classes so they can be familiarized with how the classes work and begin taking the TAKS test that they need in order to graduate. Also the student would be required to participate in school activities so they can be involved with the language and improve their skills. If we would have more programs like this, many students would be beneficiated and wouldn’t feel left out and they would have a better future with more opportunities.These days, many jobs require applicants to be bilingual. â€Å"Businesses, especially telephone companies here in Texas and California are seeking for bilingual employees† (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, Texas and California have a high percentage of immigrants and Hispanics, which is why many companies ask the employee if they can speak Spanish and English. According to Hoover, English is the widely used language in history also; English in the language of Science technology, and business (Bilingual Education Advocates).Furthermo re, right now in this society we have a high call for merchants, bankers, and diplomats able to speak two languages. Therefore, if programs like this would be enforced in many high schools many students would have a better future and they would not have problems in college. The opposite view about my solution of implementing more transition programs for high school students is that many high schools do not have enough funds to be spending in transition programs.Moreover, many principals say that high schools do not receive money to have special teacher or train the teachers that the schools already have to teach the immigrant students that do not speak English. I believe that schools have enough money to spend to train teachers and programs because they have enough money to spend in athletics and other elective courses. Many high schools put more interest in athletics or any other activities than in the improvement of the student’s studies.To reiterate, whether bilingual educ ation is effective or not for immigrant students who do not speak English is up to the schools and how they approach the effectiveness of the bilingual programs. After reading much information about bilingual education, I have come to a conclusion; if we have more certified teachers who care and help the students with the English skills and if the schools implement more programs to help immigrant students, we are going to have a nation with many bilingual people who would help others. Moreover, we are going to have a better future for the kids of tomorrow.I encourage many teachers to support more bilingual programs and talk with their principals about them and put them into practice in the classrooms. A lot of this implementation starts with the district, of course, but sometimes certain districts don’t want to implement the bilingual programs and are just receiving the money for it. This is where the schools need to step up and implement the programs and possibly make a call to the TEA and make sure that the district starts following the rules. It all begins with one person making the difference and then it goes from there. Bilingual Education Bilingual education is unquestionably a controversial issue. There are several people and organizations in this country, who, for various reasons are opposed to bilingual education. In today’s society regarding education there has been a big issue about whether bilingual education should be taught in classrooms for immigrant students who do not speak English. Bilingual education began about 1967 as an effort to help immigrants, (mostly Spanish speakers) to learn English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates).Bilingual Education involves teaching two languages to the students. Many persons believe that bilingual education means Spanish and English only, but bilingual could be any two languages. There is a common problem where many parents are against bilingual education because many students are forced into Spanish bilingual classes because they have Spanish surnames, even though they understand and speak English well and they do not speak or read Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Ed ucation Advocates).I have found throughout my studies in bilingual education that a lot of students are placed in bilingual classes because the parents fill out a home language survey stating that the home language is Spanish. Little do the parents know that this is what determines what type of class their child will be in. This is causing many problems for children that are being forced into bilingual classes even when they are not immigrants. The promoter of bilingual education was the German language, because in 1837 students were required to take German in school at least one year (Eva Giles).But one of the most common bilingual programs here in South Texas is Spanish and English. A research states that â€Å"Nearly one in every six school age children in the United States come from a home where a language other than English is regularly spoken† (Eva Giles). â€Å"By some estimates, English is spoken today by one million people and two thirds learned it as a second langu age† (James Crawford). Secretary of Education T. H. Bell remarked that the support of the government for bilingual education grew from $7. 5 million in 1969 to $134 million in 1982 and it provides help for between 1. million to 3. 5 million children (Hoover, The case for and against Bilingual Education). There are many reasons why bilingual education is not effective for many people. First of all, the schools that have bilingual education do not have certified teachers. The problem that I have seen most too often is that many people are going through an alternative program to become a teacher, where they have no schooling in bilingual education and they don’t understand the concept of how it works, nor do they understand the laws.A person that has a degree in criminal justice, per se, goes through a 5 month program, takes a test, and is then considered to be a bilingual teacher. It is very common, here in south Texas where I live, that people that have gone through the ACP certification are being chosen over traditional college path teachers. Bilingual education is controversial for the simplest reason that it disrupts established patterns in school. For many schools, it can cause many headaches because they need to recruit more qualified teachers, redesign curricula, and reorganize class schedules, so many administrators want to avoid that.The monolingual teachers fear the reassignment, loss of status, or other career setbacks (Crawford). Because many schools do not have qualified teachers, the students get behind in their studies because they do not learn either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, many parents complain that their children on a regular school day are exposed mostly to Spanish and only few minutes to English (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). This is because the immigrants are mixed with the non-immigrants and the teachers focus more on the immigrant students so they can learn English.Furthe rmore, the students get confused in their writing in Spanish and English. For example, a child was enrolled in bilingual education only because he/she has a Spanish surname even though he spoke only Spanish, and by the seventh grade the child could not read or write either English or Spanish (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). On the other hand, many states reported on an average annual increase of 9. 2 percent in the enrollment of limited English proficient students (Crawford).If we do not have more certified teachers in our schools most of the students would have a high rate of falling behind, failing and dropping out of school. Language minority youths are 1. 5 times more likely than the English language counterparts to have discontinued school before completing twelve years, according to the Intercultural Development Research Association. In 1988 the Hispanic youths were more than twice likely to have dropped out. Therefore if we do not have certified teachers to teach the children we are going to have more uneducated children (Crawford).The solution to this problem about not having many certified teachers in our schools is that we need to train the teachers that we already have with some programs that they need to be a certified teacher. â€Å"Bilingual programs, in order to be effective, must be able to attract and retain a teaching staff sufficient in numbers and qualify to meet the needs of the children enrolled in the program. † (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia). A teacher in the bilingual program must master a subject, possess the skills to teach the subject well, and also have mastered two languages as well to be familiar with the children’s culture.Moreover, a bilingual teacher must meet five criteria, and all are very important for them to be an efficient teacher. The five criteria are: †¢The teacher must be fluent in English †¢The teacher must be fluent in Spanish †¢Mastery of the content area to be taught; e. g. scien ce, history etc. †¢Mastery of the teaching skills necessary to teach content area †¢Well information and complete understanding of the child’s culture, custom, and history (Del Valle, Franco, Garcia).Many schools might have to go to another country to recruit bilingual teachers; they go to Puerto Rico or even to Latin American because the United States has a diversity of cultures and it is much easier for a teacher from other countries to come to the United States and teach because they already know the culture of the student, and the students feel more comfortable and learn more. Furthermore, the second reason why bilingual education is not efficient for many people is because they do not have enough research on it.Many people do not know about all of the help that there is in schools for all immigrant students that came from other parts of the world. Parents do not get involved in their child’s studies or know what classes they are taking especially when th ey are in middle school or high school. â€Å"Many advocates of bilingual education fear that any government recognition of minority languages ‘sends a wrong message’ to immigrants encouraging them to believe they can live in the United States without learning English or conforming toAmericans’ ways† (Bilingual Education). Many parents believe that enrolling their children in only English classes will help them to improve in their language. For example, there is a case in California where the government is going to enforce a new program called Ballot Initiative, which would mandate English only instruction for children until they become fully proficient in English (Bilingual Education). But parents do not see all those programs that they have in schools to help their children improve in English without getting frustrated because they do.Parents should think about all the frustration that their children are dealing with because they are enrolling them in En glish classes even if they do not know the language. This is why they need to be made aware of all the programs that the schools have to offer to assist the students that do not speak English. The solution to this kind of problem in the schools is a program called late and early transition that helps the students who receive instructions in their native language during the early years of schooling eventually â€Å"transition† into mainstreaming English. William M. Saunders, Claude Goldenberg. ) Transition programs can occur anywhere from the early elementary grades to middle school or later in high school; it all depends on the school program when the student starts. Transition programs are three year program constants that approach the Spanish to English development in grades 3-5 and transition programs compromise 12 specific components falling in to three categories: 1. Literature studies (literature units, instructional conversations, writing projects) 2.Skill building (re ading comprehension, reading, dictation, and oral English) 3. Supporting Components (reading, reading aloud, and writing journals) A transition program is divided into three parts; Pre-Transition, Transition I, and Transition II. A Pre-Transition program is considered for the students in the third grade. Its purpose is to emphasize the fundamental role of Spanish reading and writing and oral English development that precedes transition and the goal is that by the end of the year the student should read and write Spanish, and a certain level of oral English.The second part of the transition program is called Transition I and it is used in the fourth grade. It is designed to make clear the need of an actual program for a certain time. By the end of fourth grade or Transition I, students should show at least initial reading and writing fluency in English. Moreover, the student should be able to participate in discussions in English and the student should also continue to demonstrate a good level in writing and reading in Spanish used in language arts throughout the entire year. The last part of the program called Transition II is used in the fifth grade.This last part of the program is where the students should be decoding and comprehends grade level materials in English, which mean in literature and content areas (Saunders). According to many teachers in California, bilingual transition programs work very well in schools where they have positive teachers that want to help the student and where the first language is used in the first year (Stephanie Krasren). One of my solutions for bilingual education is to implement more programs for older students as high school students.Right now we do not have enough programs that help those students and that is why we have a lot of college students that do not know how to write or read English or Spanish. In our high schools there is not enough emphasis in programs for high school students because many teachers believe that the students already know English because they attended elementary and middle school. Sometimes it doesn’t cross teachers minds that many students came to the United States when they were 16 and older and they had finished elementary or middle school in Mexico or other places.When they come to high schools here in the United States they do not know English. The program that I would implement for high school immigrant students that do not know any English would be called Older Transition. It would be separated in two parts, the first one being Older Transition I. It would be for ninth grade. The student would have a special teacher in separate classrooms, a teacher that helps them learn the basic English language and as the year goes by to improve their English in all subjects, so the student can be familiarized with the language.The second part would be called Older Transition II and would be for tenth grade immigrant students. The students would be placed in regular classes so they can be familiarized with how the classes work and begin taking the TAKS test that they need in order to graduate. Also the student would be required to participate in school activities so they can be involved with the language and improve their skills. If we would have more programs like this, many students would be beneficiated and wouldn’t feel left out and they would have a better future with more opportunities.These days, many jobs require applicants to be bilingual. â€Å"Businesses, especially telephone companies here in Texas and California are seeking for bilingual employees† (Hoover, Bilingual Education Advocates). Moreover, Texas and California have a high percentage of immigrants and Hispanics, which is why many companies ask the employee if they can speak Spanish and English. According to Hoover, English is the widely used language in history also; English in the language of Science technology, and business (Bilingual Education Advocates).Furthermo re, right now in this society we have a high call for merchants, bankers, and diplomats able to speak two languages. Therefore, if programs like this would be enforced in many high schools many students would have a better future and they would not have problems in college. The opposite view about my solution of implementing more transition programs for high school students is that many high schools do not have enough funds to be spending in transition programs.Moreover, many principals say that high schools do not receive money to have special teacher or train the teachers that the schools already have to teach the immigrant students that do not speak English. I believe that schools have enough money to spend to train teachers and programs because they have enough money to spend in athletics and other elective courses. Many high schools put more interest in athletics or any other activities than in the improvement of the student’s studies.To reiterate, whether bilingual educ ation is effective or not for immigrant students who do not speak English is up to the schools and how they approach the effectiveness of the bilingual programs. After reading much information about bilingual education, I have come to a conclusion; if we have more certified teachers who care and help the students with the English skills and if the schools implement more programs to help immigrant students, we are going to have a nation with many bilingual people who would help others. Moreover, we are going to have a better future for the kids of tomorrow.I encourage many teachers to support more bilingual programs and talk with their principals about them and put them into practice in the classrooms. A lot of this implementation starts with the district, of course, but sometimes certain districts don’t want to implement the bilingual programs and are just receiving the money for it. This is where the schools need to step up and implement the programs and possibly make a call to the TEA and make sure that the district starts following the rules. It all begins with one person making the difference and then it goes from there.

Obama's position Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Online Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Online Education - Assignment Example Modern ways of communication through internet and new forms multimedia has helped the online education to become more resourceful and accessible. With more advanced input technologies like webcams, screen capturing software etc. the trainers able to record and upload all the helping material related to the course online. Students have the option to download or stream videos and helping material online. The latest technological advancement is virtual classrooms where instructor and students can communicate in real time by using live webcams and microphones (Allen & Seaman, 2011). Online education is a mode of providing educational information through the internet on a personal computer rather than a traditional classroom environment. With the internet as a medium of online education courses are offered to students in different forms, including audio and video formats primarily. These types of electronic communications create a bridge between student and the instructor. Online education is usually considered distant learning home-based education but in some cases, there are hybrid education courses which require students to complete comes portion online and the rest of it requires classroom session. E-learning (Online education) trend is increasing quickly according to the recent study by the Sloan Consortium (A nonprofit organization that studies online education trends) (Bishop, 2006). Online education trend is increasing by about 21 percent from 2008 to 2009 and on the contrary, enrollments are only growing by 1.2 percent a year. More universities and colleges are offering online courses (Pew Research Center, 2011, p. 4). Online education courses are customized for people who are either already having a degree or they want to develop some new skills to progress in their fields.

Phonemic Awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Phonemic Awareness - Essay Example d on the NRP report and also details the relationship between the various components of the balanced reading program and the above mentioned entities. A phoneme is the smallest part of a spoken language which has the ability to change the meaning of a word. Phonemic awareness (PA) is the skill to hear, recognize and control the phonemes (Armbruster, Lehr and Osborne, 2003, p.3). Studies have demonstrated that PA can be taught to the children through many methods of instruction such as phoneme isolation (recognition of individual sounds in a word), identity (recognizing same sounds in different words), categorization (recognizing an odd word from a set of three or four words), blending (combining various phonemes into a single word), segmentation (breaking a word into smaller sounds) and deletion (to recognize a word after a phoneme is deleted) (National Reading Panel, 2000, p.2-2). However, children who were taught three or more types of the above mentioned phonemic instructions did not gain much in terms of PA. Many reasons can be cited for the same. The children get confused by the multiple types of phonemic instruction and the teachers are not in a position to concentrate on a single type of instruction completely. They rush through the methods of instruction and sometimes end up teaching tougher methods before the children are aware of easier types of instructions. However, if only one or two methods of instruction were used it was found to be highly effective in gaining PA (Armbruster, Lehr and Osborne, 2003, p.7). It has also been proved that children with PA found it easier to read and spell words as PA helps children understand and pronounce the different phonemes which constitute a word. Also PA helps the children relate sounds with the alphabet (Armbruster, Lehr and Osborne, 2003, pp.6-7). This is the reason why PA is found to be very effective when alphabets are used during the process of phoneme manipulation. English language is represented as words

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Reflective Teaching in Teaching and Learning or Chilldren's Literature Research Proposal

Reflective Teaching in Teaching and Learning or Chilldren's Literature in Victorian Period for Teaching in Singapore - Research Proposal Example Overtime, other philosophers have become instrumental in developing the theory of reflective practice and among those notable are John Dewey (1933) and David Schon (1983). Dewey, much influenced by the Progressive Era of his time, employs the scientific process of generating and testing hypothesis as vital components to reflective thinking. Half a century later, David Schon revolutionised the concept of reflective practice emphasising the importance of context and experiential knowledge for continuous improvement. The integration of ideas from these two theorists is evident in current reflective practice literature. Reflective practice is borne out of the basic premise that changes in an organization starts within each individual. It is regarded as a â€Å"meaningful and effective professional development strategy† (Osterman and Kottkamp, 2004, p. 1). Although the goal remains synonymous (the development of individual competencies leading to improved organizational performance), reflective practice offers an alternative approach to traditional professional development approaches. The emergence of reflective practice in the educational setting, as discussed by Osterman and Kottkamp (2004), was a response to the failure of educational reforms to effectively address the need of academically and socially preparing students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Educators on a daily basis â€Å"routinely juggle multiple tasks, process information on many levels, manage a continual stream of interruptions, and make on-the-spot decisions to meet the changing needs and demands in the teaching environment† (York-Barr et al., 2006, p. 2). Though teachers are guided by their knowledge, a significant margin of uncertainty accompanies their practice as a result of unpredictable circumstances that require spontaneous responses. The reflective practice