In response to my 1 on 1 feedback I used 2 more sources to add onto my argument. I also corrected the formatting of my citations (in-text and the Work Cited: page). I also removed the 1st person narrative voice apart from the beginning and got to my thesis quicker. I added some transition sentences, as well.
1st Draft:
Are You Doing STEM?
I came to the US while I was around 2 years old. I didn’t have much difficulty learning English just from being in preschool and watching TV and yet I always felt certain that I was the kind of person that just could only get math and science and never something that involves applying high level reading comprehension or writing skills. My mom had similar thoughts herself. I remember her saying how it has to just be in our family to be better at math than writing. It’s less of an issue now, but my experiences and grades ended up with me deciding to go into Computer Science.
There are probably people who ‘settle’ for STEM careers after having similarly harsh experiences with non-STEM classes growing up, especially if they came to the US older than me. Maybe people like my old friends I had growing up, who, more often than not, doubted their abilities in ELA or History. This feeling of lack of choice some immigrants have likely correlates with the stereotypes of certain immigrants doing well in those subjects based on where they may be from. Regardless, there’s some value to reflect on the path you’ve been on so far because even though you most likely don’t need to reconsider it, you can affirm it with acknowledgement of what pushed you there.
Hoyt Bleakley and Aimee Chin, who are both associate professors of economics, in their journal article, “Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation Among US Immigrants,” suggests that there is a connection between the age of arrival of an immigrant and and their capability in English and from that how far they can assimilate. Bleakley and Chin support their suggestion by depending on statistics from the 2000 census and by comparing immigrants who arrived to the US at different ages. Bleakley and Chin start by identifying the “well-documented phenomenon from psychology: the critical period of language acquisition“ (166). Children, young children especially, tend to learn English with less difficulty. Also, Bleakley and Chin recognize that there is a “view that poor English proficiency is a constraint that impedes assimilation” (165-166) This is expanded upon by Marcos A. Rangel and Ying Shi, both applied microeconomists who have covered education policy, in their article “Early patterns of skill acquisition and immigrants’ specialization in STEM careers.” In it they more rigorously assert that immigrants end up committing to learning a specific set of skills a while before going into a career. Rangel and Ying Shi support their assertion by providing empirical evidence and by identifying patterns of immigrant children learning in a way that encourages getting nonlanguage skills specifically: . On page 489, Rangel and Ying Shi find that “Evidence across three nationally representative datasets shows that early patterns of specialization are a key factor contributing to certain immigrants’ shift toward STEM subjects in high school and college” (CITE.)..” And one of these early patterns is how “Those who arrive before middle childhood have higher rates of language assimilation compared with later-arriving peers… This absolute disadvantage in language skills has been shown by researchers to place immigrants at higher risk for academic underperformance and poorer physical and mental health while facing barriers to social assimilation and mobility more generally” (486). Rangel and Ying Shi extend on the effect that Bleakley and Chin are exploring. A person’s age when immigrating has an effect on their assimilation and understanding of language and these lead to some people underperforming in some parts of their education. All while a person’s “early patterns of specialization” mean they have a preference for STEM in their education. The age of a person when they immigrate to America affects their relationship with English, and that not only can relate to how assimilated they are but also their preferences in education based on their confidence in their English. I believe there is a connection here, many immigrants who feel they need to settle onto STEM careers because of their lackluster performance in other classes may’ve ended up feeling they had more options if they learned English under different conditions which they have no control over.
There is a discussion about how education can be different for US students who need to learn English while older, and how certain limitations are given to those students that prevent their growth or acquisition of skills. Stacey J. Lee, a professor of educational policy studies in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in her article “New talk about ELL students,” states that English Language Learner (or ELL) students are limited by the current ELL placement classes they learn English from. Lee supports her statement by comparing those classes with alternatives that do a better job and by identifying what limits ELL programs. Lee talks about the results of these classes for these students and how “they’re often unprepared to handle the academic content in mainstream classes because they haven’t been prepared to do so. When ELL placement limits access to academic subject matter, there are long-term negative effects on students’ achievement and future educational opportunities” (66). Lee highlights the misconception in the goals for these classes, with how “Educators often view immigrant cultures and languages as barriers to academic success. Instead of building on students’ back grounds, the assimilationist perspective encourages educators to disregard native languages and cultures, which alienates both the immigrant youth and their families from schools” (66). Corey Mitchell, an associate editor of Education Week who also writes about ELL students, in his article, “Study: Language Barriers Can Steer Immigrant Students to STEM Courses” posits that there should be consideration of how English learners are educated. Mitchell supports his position by referencing Rangel and Ying Shi’s research into the matter and by considering how things could be different. “If foreign-born students who aren’t fluent in English can access and excel in STEM courses here, why aren’t U.S.-born English-learners afforded those same opportunities?” Mitchell brings attention to a separate report with “tips on how districts can remove barriers that limit English-learners’ participation in STEM education and monitor the progress of students once they enroll in courses.” Mitchell supports and extends the ideas Lee has about the limitation of what’s offered to ELL students. Students who happen to not know English from a young age are put in classes that end up limiting them by the time they come out. Lee discusses specifically how those classes disregard the value in what the students already know and don’t give a connection to English that is useful to succeed in higher academic applications of the language. Mitchell seems to agree that ELL students are unfairly limited as well. He also believes that these students should have the opportunity to excel in STEM in consideration of what he can tell from other studies, though he identifies a distinction between foreign-born students and US-born ones. I believe that there is a point that the time you learn a language, because it impacts how you learn a language, between these ELL classes or through TV and friends from a young age, has an effect on your career choice if it’s proven that it can limit your options. But these do complicate my idea as it seems the situation is different between immigrants and US-born students, and that even the opportunity for a STEM focus can be held back as well.
Last Draft:
Are You Doing STEM?
I came to the US while I was around 2 years old. I didn’t have much difficulty learning English just from being in preschool and watching TV, and yet I always felt certain that I was the kind of person that only had talent in math or science and never something that involved applying high-level reading comprehension or writing skills. My mom had similar thoughts herself. I remember her saying how it has to just be in our family to be better at math than writing. It’s less of an issue now, but my experiences and grades ended up with me deciding to study Computer Science. Everyone should consider why they’re in STEM and how their early experiences with English in education impacted that, and specifically if they’re immigrants, to what extent their age at arrival was a part of their choice.
It’s likely that there are people who ‘settle’ for STEM careers after having similarly harsh experiences with non-STEM classes growing up, especially if they came to the US a lot older. This could include people like my old friends I had growing up, who, more often than not, doubted their abilities in ELA or History. This feeling of lack of choice some immigrants have likely correlates with the stereotypes of certain immigrants doing well in those subjects based on where they may be from. Regardless, there’s some value to reflect on the path you’ve been on so far because even though you most likely don’t need to reconsider it, you can affirm it with acknowledgment of what pushed you there.
Starting with the significance of an immigrant’s age when they come to the US, Hoyt Bleakley and Aimee Chin, who are both associate professors of economics, in their journal article, “Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation Among US Immigrants,” suggest that there is a connection between the age of arrival of an immigrant and their capability in English and from that how far they can assimilate. Bleakley and Chin support their suggestion by depending on statistics from the 2000 census and by comparing immigrants who arrived in the US at different ages. Bleakley and Chin start by identifying the “well-documented phenomenon from psychology: the critical period of language acquisition“ (166). Children, especially young children, tend to learn English with less difficulty. Also, Bleakley and Chin recognize that there is a “view that poor English proficiency is a constraint that impedes assimilation” (165-166).
This is expanded upon by Marcos A. Rangel and Ying Shi, both applied microeconomists who have covered education policy, in their article “Early patterns of skill acquisition and immigrants’ specialization in STEM careers.” In it, they more rigorously assert that immigrants end up committing to learning a specific set of skills a while before going into a career. Rangel and Ying Shi support their assertion by providing empirical evidence and by identifying patterns of immigrant children learning in a way that encourages getting nonlanguage skills specifically: “Evidence across three nationally representative datasets shows that early patterns of specialization are a key factor contributing to certain immigrants’ shift toward STEM subjects in high school and college.” (489). And one of these early patterns is how “Those who arrive before middle childhood have higher rates of language assimilation compared with later-arriving peers… This absolute disadvantage in language skills has been shown by researchers to place immigrants at higher risk for academic underperformance and poorer physical and mental health while facing barriers to social assimilation and mobility more generally” (486). Rangel and Ying Shi extend on the effect that Bleakley and Chin are exploring.
A person’s age when immigrating has an effect on their assimilation and understanding of language, and these lead to some people underperforming in some parts of their education. All while a person’s “early patterns of specialization” mean they have a preference for STEM in their education. The age of a person when they immigrate to America affects their relationship with English, and that not only can relate to how assimilated they are but also their preferences in education based on their confidence in their English. Many immigrants who feel they need to settle ionto STEM careers because of their lackluster performance in other classes may’ve ended up feeling they had more options if they learned English under different conditions which they have no control over.
Moving onto the discussion about how education can be different for US students who need to learn English while older, and how certain limitations are given to those students that prevent their growth or acquisition of skills: Stacey J. Lee, a professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in her article “New talk about ELL students,” states that English Language Learner (ELL) students are limited by the current ELL placement classes they learn English from. Lee supports her statement by comparing those classes with alternatives that do a better job and by identifying what limits ELL programs. Lee talks about the results of these classes for these students and how “they’re often unprepared to handle the academic content in mainstream classes because they haven’t been prepared to do so. When ELL placement limits access to academic subject matter, there are long-term negative effects on students’ achievement and future educational opportunities” (66). Lee highlights the misconception in the goals for these classes, with how “Educators often view immigrant cultures and languages as barriers to academic success. Instead of building on students’ backgrounds, the assimilationist perspective encourages educators to disregard native languages and cultures, which alienates both the immigrant youth and their families from schools” (66).
Corey Mitchell, an associate editor of Education Week who also writes about ELL students, in his article, “Study: Language Barriers Can Steer Immigrant Students to STEM Courses” posits that there should be consideration of how English learners are educated. Mitchell supports his position by referencing Rangel and Ying Shi’s research into the matter and by considering how things could be different. “If foreign-born students who aren’t fluent in English can access and excel in STEM courses here, why aren’t U.S.-born English-learners afforded those same opportunities?” Mitchell brings attention to a separate report with “tips on how districts can remove barriers that limit English-learners’ participation in STEM education and monitor the progress of students once they enroll in courses.” Mitchell supports and extends the ideas Lee has about the limitation of what’s offered to ELL students.
Students who happen to not know English from a young age are put in classes that end up limiting them by the time they come out. Lee discusses specifically how those classes disregard the value in what the students already know and don’t give a connection to English that is useful to succeed in higher academic applications of the language. Mitchell seems to agree that ELL students are unfairly limited as well. He also believes that these students should have the opportunity to excel in STEM in consideration of what he can tell from other studies, though he identifies a distinction between foreign-born students and US-born ones. The time you learn a language impacts how you learn a language, between these ELL classes or through TV and friends from a young age, has an effect on your career choice if it’s proven that it can limit your options. An added complication is the idea that the situation is different between immigrants and US-born students, and that even the opportunity for a STEM focus can be held back as well.
Students from the past and present have considered this topic: the idea that their own experiences impacted their preferences. In fact, a Redditor named “MyNamesNotStephanie,” who likely was an engineering student 5 years ago, made a reply to “ttyltyler’s” post in r/EngineeringStudents titled “Why do some engineering/stem majors say they hate English or humanities?” that states that engineering students find math safer than English. NotStephanie supports their statement by replying to the paragraph of ttyltyler’s confusion with 9 words in reduced grammar, and by pointing out the simple connection between subject and emotion a student feels. NotStephanie specifically uses the words, “Word hard but number easy, English scary math safe” and nothing more. A novelist, Amy Tan, mentioned this point of view of students decades ago, and was also the inspiration for this essay.
Amy Tan, a well-known novelist, in her essay, “Mother Tongue,” suggests that Asian-American students get discouraged by their teachers when it comes to writing. Amy Tan supports her suggestion by relating this to her own story where her rebellious nature and proving people’s ideas of her wrong was what encouraged her to pursue an English major and by bringing up how she noticed in surveys of that time that Asian students do better on math tests compared to English ones.
NotStephanie’s argument is that engineering students don’t like their non-STEM classes because they’ve learned to associate English with difficulty and fear, and find STEM is less of a risk of feeling those emotions. Amy Tan extends this claim by supporting a reasoning that some of these students were discouraged from English early on by their education or teachers.
