Growing up in a low-income Mexican lifestyle proved to be difficult in my journey to become a successful student. Since I was a kid going into kindergarten, I understood the pain that my parents went through each day to set a better future for me. I knew that going to school was my only opportunity to give my parents and I a happier life. I started school late because of my late birthday and my mom’s excessive worry that I was not ready for school yet. Even though neither me nor my parents knew how to speak English, I felt the sudden urge to fulfill my dream of obtaining an education. I knew that I had to start somewhere to fulfill that dream no matter the ‘impossible’ obstacles I had to overcome.
My first day of school in the country has always been a day to remember. After somehow filling out the registration papers in English 2 weeks earlier, the day had come for me to leave the house into the big world.
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I lived in an apartment the size of a box with the foundation falling apart every minute. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. with my newly bought shoes (that seemed to have cost a fortune for my parents) and into a brand new school uniform. My dad had left the house to go work at 5:00 a.m., so my mom had to take me to the infamous bus stop. Even though a second grader was kidnapped at the bus stop last year, that did not seem to stop the other parents from abandoning their children. Luckily, I have the most overprotective mother, so she happily waited until the bus picked me up. I remembered she appealing told me, “go make me proud son” right before the bus
In Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring, Angela Valenzuela investigates immigrant and Mexican American experiences in education. Valenzuela mentions differences in high schools between U.S born youth and immigrants such as how immigrants she interviewed seemed to achieve in school as they feel privileged to achieve secondary education. However, she found that her study provided evidence of student failure due to schools subtracting resources from these youths. Both are plagued by stereotypes of lacking intellectual and linguistic traits along with the fear of losing their culture. As a Mexican American with many family members who immigrated to the U.S to pursue a higher education, I have experience with Valenzuela’s
Growing up, the biggest challenge I faced was being a first generation Latina student. My family came from an extremely rural neighborhood in Guanajuato, Mexico called La Sandia. Both my parents achieved up to 5th-grade education in their hometowns. They decided to sacrifice their lives in Mexico to provide a better life for their family and then decided to migrate to the U.S to achieve what many people consider the American dream.
It was the summer of 1944 a year that would change my life. The dream I was having was abruptly interrupted by the loud voice of my mom yelling “Amante wake up!” Today was the day we were moving from Venice Italy to the great city of New York. There had been many bombing throughout Italy and we decided to pack up and live the American dream. I had been waiting for this day for years I had seen pictures and heard about America’s beauty but I couldn’t wait to see it in real life. The whole Dinardo family was excited to go, including me and my little sister Angelina. Angelina was only 8 years old. We’re seven years apart. She had golden blonde hair the color of honey and freckles dotted across her face. My dad walked excitedly into my room telling me that
Throughout her education, her parents have always supported her. Unlike the Filipina American youth, in the article, “We Don’t’ Sleep Around Like White Girls Do,” who have limited freedom and higher expectations, Monica tells me that she is so grateful for her parents because they give her the freedom to do whatever she wants. She wants to do immigration law, not because her parents persuaded her, in fact, they tell her that if that is not what she want to do, then she should not do it. Her parents also approved for her to attend University of California, Irvine. Since she has lived in a little town almost all her life, she wanted to go far, explore, and experience a different environment, and UCI happened to be the farthest college from her home. Monica highlights that she wants to get her parents out their current situation. She pursues a higher education to receive a degree because that is the only thing she can do to help her parents. Monica’s parents are field workers. When I asked her why did she think she went as far as she did in school, she responds, “I always saw the struggle with my parents…I know what is like to live in Mexico…the hardships of coming here and the sacrifices my parents did for me.” Even though Monica was little when she lived in Mexico, she noticed the economic hardships her family has faced. Therefore, she feels the responsibility to pursue a higher education and provide her parents a better life. Monica demonstrates an example of a dual frame of reference because her motivation to improve is due to her experiences living in Mexico. When I asked her, if she ever wanted to go back to Mexico, she replied, “I would do it but to do something for the community…it bothers me how here [we are constantly upgrading] and you go over there and everything is the same.” According to Professor Feliciano, the concept of dual frame of reference is based on the individual’s
As Tienda and Haskins (2011) noted, “Immigrant children are more likely than native children to face circumstances such as low family income, poor parental education, and language barriers that place them at risk for developmental delay and poor academic performance once they enter school” (p. 7). At the school where I teach, the circumstances holding back the immigrant family are clearly visible. A few years ago, I had a student in class whose family had recently immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Language barriers initially set him back followed by poor attendance because he was working nights to help support his family. As his English teacher, I felt ill-equipped to support his success. Many of the issues impacting his academic success were out of both his control and mine. Overall, schools, especially rural schools in Iowa, need to pay closer attention to the diverse lifestyles of their multicultural students and
The theme of education and undocumented students has been a key issue for many decades. Undocumented students are often deprived from higher education because of their migratory status. They not only have to face discrimination and fear of deportation, but also after high school, they have to face the crude reality that their dreams of success and educational achievement are far from becoming a reality due to their lack of opportunities. Many personal stories shared in William Perez and Douglas Richard’s book “Undocumented Latino College Students: Their Socioemotional and Academic Experiences.” Relate to their fears, difficult conditions, emotional challenges, limitations, and other circumstances that multiple undocumented students live daily
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
Growing up in a Mexican household where education isn’t a priority or important has been one of my major obstacles that I’ve had to overcome. Although my family’s culture believes that education isn’t necessary their experiences and lifestyles have influence and motivate my choices for my future. I come from a home where I have no role model or someone influential. I have no one to ask for advice for college or anything involve in school. In most homes, older siblings help their younger siblings with their homework or projects but in my house no one was able to provide me with any help. I grew up to be independent and to do anything school related on my own. My parents are both immigrants who didn’t get to finish elementary
Every person has an American Dream they want to pursue, achieve and live. Many people write down goals for themselves in order to get to their dream. Those never ending goals can range from academic to personal. As of today, I am living my dream. My American Dream is to become a nurse, travel to many places, have a family, and get more involved with God.
Valenzuela utilizes various compilations of research to construct her exceptional argument regarding the issue of subtractive schooling with regards to 2nd generational immigrant students. She thoroughly analyzes and assesses the multitude of differences between 1st generation and 2nd generation students and their affinity for education. She divides the topic into 3 categories and asserts how each one adds to the issue of inadequate education for Mexican/Mexican-American students in the US public school system. Her research is conducted at Seguin (pseudonym) High School in Houston, Texas. She examines the effects of substandard education in regards to the students and their academic performance. She uses quantitative and qualitative research
Being a Hispanic have impacted all my entire life; I lived 15 years of my life in Mexico I love being there because most part of my family live in Nuevo Laredo, I was cursing my last months of 8th grade and one day my mom told me that she was thinking about send me here to the U.S to start learn English; since I’m a U.S citizen and I didn't know the language of my country, I accepted. The most hard prove was live without having my mom at my side, since I live with my aunt now; when the days passed here in the U.S I started to depressed myself because I missed so much my house and all my family, one day in the middle of the night I call my mom crying and I told her that I really want go back to Mexico, but she didn’t take into account my desire my mom just explained me that it will be the best for my future and with the time I will be thankful with her for don’t let me go back. My mom, and my grandmother are the ones who motivates me to be a better student. Actually I’m in dual enrollment and I have taken AP classes; sometimes is hard for me talk, read or write in another language that the one I was accustomed but, every time I fail I get up and persist until I’m able to do what I want.
The American Dream, in my eyes, would be described as unrealistic. It's a notation put in people’s minds that an individual can achieve anything he or she sets his or her mind to do. Now the outlook is being perceived as pessimistic, then again, I believe “The American Dream” is overestimated. When I was a young child, I aspired to be a princess who lived in a castle with a handsome prince and live happily ever after; I aspired to be a princess until I was thirteen. Still, it was instantaneously disappointing when reality dawned upon me, I could never be a princess. Although it left me completely devastated, I soon realized, there’s a huge difference between dreams and reality.
When one thinks about Hispanics, all too often the image of a field full of migrant workers picking fruit or vegetables in the hot sun comes to mind. This has become the stereotypical picture of a people whose determination and character are as strong or stronger than that of the Polish, Jewish, Greek, or Italian who arrived in the United States in the early 1900's. Then, the center of the new beginning for each immigrant family was an education. An education was the "ladder by which the children of immigrants climbed out of poverty into the mainstream." (Calderon & Slavin, 2001, p. iv) That ideal has not changed, as the Hispanic population has grown in the United States to large numbers very quickly and with little fanfare. Now, the population of Hispanics in the United States has reached numbers that are finally drawing that attention of schools, state offices, the federal government, and the marketplace. As the new, largest minority, as well as the largest bilingual group, in the United States, Hispanics are finally being recognized as a group of people with the potential to greatly impact economic, social, and education reform. In this paper, several issues will be examined that relate to education: language barriers, poverty, cultural representation, and problem schools. Through an understanding of the Hispanic culture and the motivation behind the Hispanic population, the American education system will be able to overcome the natural hindrances of a diverse society.
When I was born, my family had just migrated to California from Mexico. In a new country, my father worked in landscaping earning less than $4 dollars an hour, while my mother relied on public transportation to take her newborn child to and from doctor visits. In the land of opportunity, my family struggled to put a roof over our heads. But never discouraged, my parents sought to achieve their goals and worked tirelessly to raise my younger brother and I. From a young age, I was taught the importance of education; this became a major catalyst in my life. My desire to excel academically was not for self-gain, but my way of contributing to my family’s goals and aspirations.
First of all, it is common to not have a college or high school education in an immigrant family. Due to the poor opportunities and circumstances in many Hispanic countries, most of its residents don’t study in order to work. Immigrant families sacrifice their education and well-being in order to translate their