Education

Sonia Sotomayor: Someone to Talk About With ELLs

By Mary Ann Zehr — May 26, 2009 1 min read
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President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, is someone with whom English-language learners may be able to identify in classroom discussions about current events.

Sotomayor spoke more Spanish than English while growing up, according to news coverage by WABC-TV New York. CNN says her father, who died when she was 9, worked in a factory and didn’t speak English. Her parents moved from Puerto Rico to New York during World War II.

Politics K-12 reported today that Nancy Drew books helped her get hooked on reading and learning. School Law Blog provides information on her educational background and how she has ruled on education-related court cases.

Somewhere, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent must be having a parade or party to celebrate the nomination. And I expect teachers in classrooms with a lot of Spanish speakers are also talking about the nomination. President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme court, Sonia Sotomayor, spoke more Spanish than English while growing up.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Learning the Language blog.