Training is
available for school wide adoption of P.E.P. The training is
aimed at getting students ready for the world of work, which is
actually an educational goal. The Proficiency in English Program
(PEP) comes out the Los Angeles Public Schools in the Watts-Compton
area. Administrators and teachers learned that many minority
students were failing standardized tests because of a basic ignorance
of how to speak and write standard English and its connection to
cultural differences. Through monthly assemblies students were taught
appropriate behavior, lessons and poetry. Teachers were trained to
expect students to use standard English both in speaking and
writing, (school talk) while also respecting diverse ways of speaking
away from school (home talk). They also worked school-wide in
exposing students to word development on a challenging level, as well
as words relating to careers. Calling this the “cash
language” or “language of the board room”, they
insisted that students speak and write in standard English, using
complete sentences orally and in writing. When performing poetry
or stories written in Black English it was made clear that the
selection was in that language. They instituted career days to
educate children in what they could do in the world of work and
oratorical contests to teach children how to perform in front of others
and to value the culture and history reflected in poetry, fables and
stories. Teaching strategies that work at all levels were
used by the teachers. They included a form of direct instruction
called structured practice, which teaches concepts and definitions
through a very specific kind of repetition, and daily oral language
which enriches and expands the minds of students to make the
understanding of new language their own. For example, through
structured practice students can learn exactly what a passport is
– a document that allows the bearer to travel to and from another
country. With daily oral language, the student learns how to use
the passport and can fully understand its implications beyond a mere
definition. Parental involvement was fostered and
developed. A parent support room was an integral part of the
school setting. The results were amazing
All children can benefit from P.E.P. and teachers trained in “the
P.E.P. way” stand ready to help you become a P.E.P. school. To
summarize this program, during staff development in P.E.P. you will be
trained in critical thinking skills, thematic teaching,
vocabulary expansion, African-American and other ethnic cultures
and history, core literature and ethnic literature, developing oral and
written language, English grammar and standard English usage,
self-esteem building techniques, instructional oratorical contests,
career education, instructional assemblies, increasing parent
involvement, and more. |