When conducting this interview the interviewee was Karina. The theme that was explored throughout this interview was the theme of education. This interview was conducted on Friday, November 25th, 2016 at my house. The total length of this interview was 65 minutes. Karina is the only girl in her family of five including her parents and three brothers. When Karina first decided to immigrate to the United States, both of her parents were against it since they were preoccupied with the journey being extremely harsh for her. Karina is a first generation immigrant who immigrated to the United States at the age of 22 in 1989. She finished college in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico and graduated with a nursing degree. Karina would have never been able to complete …show more content…
In Mexico even with free education there is a lot of money needed in order to attend school. For that reason, Karina got lucky in being part of a middle class family because her family was able to afford all the necessary tools and uniforms that were required at her college. Even though, she was an average student in school she ended up getting her career as a nurse. She would have to go to school during the day and at night complete her service hours at a nearby clinic or hospital. Meaning that Karina would have to do most of her studying while she was in school. After graduating and receiving her degree Karina moved to Guadalajara to work at a clinic. Unfortunately, she was only able to work there for a year since her boss passed away and his wife decided to close the clinic right after his departure. That is when Karina and her friend Alma both ended up without a job. Alma mentions to Karina that they should move to the United States for a better future and better paying jobs. It took Karina a few days to decide what to do and she ended up deciding to move to the United States with her …show more content…
She decided to apply there because she was able to speak her native language without having to try so hard to make people happy with her English. At the factory Karina would have to work under some horrible conditions. The factory was always cold, there were mice walking around them while they worked and the employees had to stay late until they finished the shipment they were working on. This jobs are jobs that no Native American would want to work in because they are not only difficult jobs that require long hours of work but they are also under some harsh
Part Three of the book “Just Like Us” written by Helen Thorpe is comprised of illegal undocumented individuals residing in Denver Colorado. The individuals consist of a group of four Mexican young adults all with the dream of one day attending college and finally obtaining a legal status within the United States. In this portion of the readings, Yadira, Marisela, Clara, and Elissa are entering their senior year at their University and have defined the odds of successfully completing college while maintaining an illegal status. Helen Thorpe clearly demonstrates a passion in tracking individuals that are determined to become legal citizens within society; however, lack the proper advocacy and documentation to do so. Part Three of the book envelops the complexity of maintaining a legal status among society members through the lives of these four influential young ladies striving to achieve higher education in the
Often the change and transition to middle is a difficult one for students, so it is no surprise that a student of Juanita’s caliber would be having trouble as well. Her regular middle school teachers were not going above and beyond to make sure Juanita succeed, if anything it seemed as if Juanita was a burden to them. If it was not for the Ms. Issabelle’s effort, Juanita would have failed the 6th grade, and possibly fell through the cracks of the education system.
In Bettie’s analysis of Mexican-American and white girls, she finds that race, gender and class are extremely crucial in the outcomes and futures of these girls. The unmentioned and hidden effects of class, race, and gender provide the explanation for much of the inequality seen between the white middle-class girls and Mexican-American working-class girls. Much of this inequality is itself perpetuated within the school system, both by the faculty and students.
When they first arrived to the United States their only hopes were that they would have a better life and that there were better special education programs for Maribel to attend at Evers. Alma imagined that the buildings would look a lot nicer than they really were. The family was surprised that they could take things from the street that someone threw out of their house, but were in working condition. When they arrived they didn’t think that you would actually have to learn English to be able to communicate, but after going to stores and interacting with people they learned that they need to learn English if they want to live in America. They hoped that you could be able to afford anything in America by working, but based off of the money Arturo was making they learned that you can’t buy everyth...
The family member I interviewed is my mother, though she herself is not an immigrant, due to the circumstances of her upbringing, I thought she would relate more to Reyna Grande’s story than my father would. My mother has always shared stories of her upbringing with me and my siblings, she would often tell us stories of growing up in Hasidim from the ages of four to fifteen were like and how assimilating back into secular culture was like coming to a new country. Though I have heard the stories before and knew a majority of the answers to my questions I did find out some things I was not aware of. One of the major things I didn’t know before was that my mother had mostly spoken Yiddish in her childhood and coming back to secular culture a major challenge of that was overcoming a limited knowledge of the English language. And although she did come back to secular culture, knowing a fair amount of English due to the extreme censorship in Hasidim there was a large amount of words and concept she had never heard of before things like dinosaurs and science were completely foreign to her. I sat with my mother for well over and hour and we talked about these sort of things. In conclusion I came to terms with my own culture and feelings of disconnect with my Jewish heritage and
A. According to this article, the research question arises from adolescents of Mexican-origin and economic hardship families to learn why t...
The subject of this paper is Liz, a 52-year old, 1.5 generation female immigrant from Hong Kong. What this means is that she immigrated to the United States when she was a child, around 7-years old (Feliciano Lec. 1/4/2016). As a child of a family that consists of five siblings and two parents that did not speak any English prior to immigrating, the focus of this paper will be on the legal processes that the family went through to become legal immigrants and the various factors that aided in her path towards assimilation.
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
She learned to read and write at school, but that doesn't mean that other obstacles weren't thrown her way. “I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons”. Being the only daughter meant that she would be spending a lot of time to herself, she needed something to keep her occupied. Who knew that writing would be the answer. When she was in fifth grade and decided to share her plans for college with her father, he had said “Que bueno, mija”. The problem is that her father had envisioned another path for her. “What I didn't realize was that my father thought college was good for girls- for finding a husband”. Just imagine how hard it was for her to go against her father's wishes and continue to follow her true calling.
As a daughter of immigrants and being an immigrant myself, I knew I had to work hard to become somebody in life to prove that my parents’ struggles were worth every second. My journey began at the age of eight years old, I had to pick up everything and leave my life behind in El Salvador to begin a new one in California. The transition was not easy though what made it possible was learning English and being able to adapt. The idea to continue my education after high school involved my role models who planted in me the importance of education and encouraged me to go through the enrollment process; although there were financial challenges, I have found my way into college.
Thinking about a little girl purposefully drinking out of stagnate water, shows how determined people from other countries were to have the benefits we have here in America today. The severity of a young child almost killing herself in a desperate attempt to go to school, makes one realize how fortunate they really are. The hardships Junot’s mother went through inspired him to keep going when he was struggling with his writing. Because his mother was fortunate enough to come to America, he was able to become an accomplished writer in a free country. Junot’s mother aspired to be a nurse. “When the field hands were hurt or fell ill, she was the one who cared for them.”(Diaz 1), but of course living as an uneducated girl, in a third world country, on a farm, did not give her the right requirements. When the law was passed forcing children under 15 to go to school, she was filled with excitement. However her mother, Junot’s grandmother, was not pleased with this, and beat her everyday she went to school. Junot’s story is similar to that of my great-grandmothers. She never even thought about attending a college. If she would not have left Hungary she would not have went to school at all; in fact she may even have died, ending our family line. My great-grandmother came over to America as a laborer’s child, but was able to attend school, unlike if she would have stayed in Hungary. She too would have toiled in the fields even at
The goal of this research is to find out why the immigrant students have to face more challenges in the level of education they achieve, the high level poverty that they face in their daily lives and all the confusing networks they have around them which they have no clue of how to utilize it. Also, the research focusses on the fewer resources immigrant students have while achieving their goals. The research question is important as it does affect all immigrant students and their respective families and not limited just to the immigrant. I am sure many families move to a different country to achieve better education and to make a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones. These families come with so much hope and faith, but in return they are bombarded with so much confusing information that it’s very easy for them to get lost and give up. At last, children are the future and if from being they don’t have the correct resources then how will they achieve their goals.
Even though Yolanda has a more stable financial household her parents are just as demanding as Mari’s. They require Yolanda to stay focused on school so she can be able to attend college and achieve a high a paying career. Traditional ideas of ‘if you work hard enough you can achieve it’ are presented in the film. Expectations of family are high for Yolanda as she comes from an immigrant family. The need for Yolanda to succeed is crucial as it defines the American dream her parents want her to obtain. Yolanda is faced with an obligation to achieve the American dream her parents so hard worked for. Deviating from these expectations translates into an ungrateful daughter that does not care about what family thinks. Family, for most Latinos is the most important thing. Adding to this idea is being an immigrant; where family is the only thing we have, and know. Keeping the family together is one of the main points in Yolanda’s household; we can conclude that it might be more important than achieving the American dream.
My interview informant was a Hispanic/Latina woman named Blanca who now lives in Watkinsville, Georgia. She is 57 as of right now and migrated from Mexico to America when she was 30 years old with a valid visa. She left in the year of 1987 with her spouse who is also from Mexico to make a better life here. She comes from Ciudad. Victoria Tamaulipas, Mexico, and her husband immigrated first. She left with a college degree in accounting/business and so did her husband. She met her husband in Mexico when she was working at age 19 and got married at 23. Blanca has 4 daughters, and 3 are married and she has 5 grandchildren in total. Blanca has 6 sisters and 1 brother who live in Mexico. She works currently at H&R block and before that job she worked at
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.