Doc Slovin 1 Biographical Profile (Autobiographical Trilogy ) The Journey Begins

Transcription

1 Doc Slovin 1 Biographical Profile (Autobiographical Trilogy ) The Journey Begins My first involvement in bilingual education was cultural. I was born in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa, where English, Afrikaans, and a host of African languages were spoken. Even though my native (home, first) language was English, in order to survive in the community, it was necessary to at least have survival skills in another language. Thus my interest in other languages besides English was piqued at a very young age. My favorite subject at school was Latin which I took for five years. It was the one subject I excelled in because I had a passion to learn it. When I first attended college/university in California, I became interested in literacy from a global perspective and when I arrived in Texas, I decided to pursue a Bachelor s degree in Humanities with a concentration in sociology and English. I then continued my education and received a Masters in English. Throughout my bachelor s and masters education, however, I felt that the educational program needed to be more holistic to address the needs of minorities/speakers of other languages (from their perspectives). The Journey Around 1983, I first became involved in teaching ESL initially part-time at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). At the time, I was considered an international and it seemed natural and meaningful that I became involved in teaching English to speakers of other languages because it seemed to fit my cultural background, my values, and my passion. While I was teaching ESL part time, I was also teaching for the English Department at S.H.S.U. I was very much involved with remedial, developmental reading

2 Doc Slovin Autobiographical 2 and writing so that students could pass the English exam in order to start receiving college credit and also involved in the TOEFL Exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language). There was an ESL Director opening in the Department of Education and Applied Science at SHSU and I was recommended for it. I spent five years as ESL Director working with international students from Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Africa, the Middle East, Mainland China, Taiwan, and various countries in Latin/South/Central America/Mexico, etc. In the Spring of 1994, I began my Ph.D. at Texas A&M in College Station with a major in Curriculum and Instruction focusing on the following: literacy, global multiculturalism, and my passion ESL/bilingual. I eventually received a fellowship/grant from the United States Department of Education to assist monetarily with the completion of my Ph. D. with ESL/bilingual emphasis. In turn, it was understood that I would try to make a difference in trying to realize the ESL/bilingual potential through meaningful research that informed educator/teacher practice. The following provides a brief synopsis of my involvement in ESL education, Beginning with the most recent experience: Lonestar College-Tomball; Huntsville ISD; Alpha Academy (Magnolia ISD); Magnolia High School (Magnolia ISD), ESL I&II and English II, lead ESL teacher/dept.head/support teacher; Region IV Educational Service Center: ESOL Module teacher for Alternative Certification Program (contractual) and to help prepare teachers to pass state ESL EXCET exam; Willis ISD, ESL, beginning Spanish, and exploring languages, Grades 7-8; Texas A&M University, teaching Reading 468, Acquisition of Literacy (culturally diverse learners), fall 2000-Spring 2001). I taught

3 Doc Slovin Autobiographical 3 Multicultural Literacy (whole language approach reading and writing Interconnectedness) to primarily (95%) elementary and (5%) secondary pre-service Teachers; mentored and advised pre-service teachers/field work experience; Huntsville Alternate School, Language Arts and Social Studies, grades 9-10; initially grades 9-12, One full academic year including ESL, ; Conroe ISD, ESL and sheltered English with at-risk students including "alternate" setting: first two years, grades 9-12, Third year grades 5-6, ESL, ; Sam Houston State University, ESL Program, Education and Applied Science, ESL Director/teacher: directed international and special programs, budgeted, hired teachers and chaperons, cooperated in grant writing across the curricula, revamped the payment structure for international students, provided educational opportunities and cultural experiences to international students including host family involvement, , coordination/collaboration with other disciplines in Education, English, and Foreign Language Departments; Sam Houston State University, English Department, English lecturer, including teaching and mentoring remedial/developmental/esl students in writing, reading, and whole language concepts, involvement in literature, technical writing, English composition, and writing center monitor, ; Writing Evaluations, College Station, English and ESL composition grader, papers from Texas including all over the nation, ; Lonestar College (Conroe and Tomball), reading, writing, literature lecturer including ESL, ; Sam Houston State University, TASP writing tutor--mentored remedial and ESL students to successful completion of state-required test, ;Lee College, Texas

4 Doc Slovin Autobiographical 4 Department of Corrections, English instructor--at-risk students/esl, ; ; Shepherd ISD, Language Arts teacher, grades 9-12, including minorities (ESL), ; Sam Houston State University, English as a Second Language instructor, The Journey: Still In Process To conclude, my ESL/bilingual journey is still in process. Once we as educators feel we know it all, there is a danger. The learning/acquisition process is always in process. It is important that we stay abreast with the latest ESL/bilingual research as it applies to practice. I consider myself a phenomenological teacher: an educational approach based on experience, research, knowledge, and intuition. After 25 years in the field of ESL/bilingual education, I am still passionate about what I do. Hopefully, through a mediative (vicarious) experience, I might be able to instill this passion, this enthusiasm, to other teachers who might be interested in teaching ESL/bilingual education. Each day I experience and learn more and more about the ESL/bilingual education. It is my goal to produce a book that will assist future ESL/bilingual teachers but that also helps mainstream teachers (who have ESL students) and experienced ESL/bilingual teachers. I also plan to publish my dissertation topic : An Analysis of English as a Second Language (ESL) Students Writing Experiences as Reflected through the Portfolio Writing Process Approach. I retired from public school teaching May 31, 2007 and I currently teach ESOL classes part time (adjunct faculty) at Lonestar College-Tomball. I am in the process of acquiring on-line certification.

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