Miguel's Education It is said that in Ecuador you can pay off your teachers or professor for good grades, or even for a degree. So my question is: how much do I owe you for the grade on this paper? Whoa Al, this is the United States of America! In this country we work hard to get a degree and good grades in school. Maybe that's why Miguel came to America, to get a good degree the right way, by learning. Maybe you are wondering at this point what this paper is about and who Miguel is. In this paper I will discuss the life of Miguel and the cultural differences between Ecuador and America by examining the interview I had with Miguel. Miguel is 23 years old, is from Ecuador, and lives in America adapting to our country the best he can. Miguel is also going to Oakland Community College and working on getting a degree in graphic design. Miguel has a lot of caring people trying to help him learn more about our culture. Miguel is also taking English as a Second Language at Oakland Community College. He tells me that he is doing well, and he understands almost everything his professors are helping him learn. Miguel is married to a woman from the United States who he met in Ecuador when she was there on her vacation. Miguel tells me that they fell in love at first sight. They were married in a beautiful beach wetting, and then he moved back to America with her. When Miguel left Ecuador, he left behind his parents, grandparents, 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Miguel really likes our country, despite the cold weather he has found in Michigan. After conducting my interview with Miguel, I have found many differences in our two different cultures. Some major cultural differences between the United States of America and Ecuador pertain to government, medical care, and religion. When Americans think of their government, they think of it as a well-designed and ethical way of running our country. We have the freedom of speech and many more constitutional rights; in Ecuador it's not the same. The last president treated people unfairly and then stole most of the country's money and fled to Brazil to stay out of prison. If a person was heard talking negatively about the president there would be severe consequences with people being beaten up or even killed.
In the essay of Mr.Gary Soto, we learn about his experiences about falling in love with someone of a different race. Ever since he was young, he would be lectured that marrying a Mexican women would be the best option for his life. Gary’s grandmother would always proclaim: “... the virtues of marrying a Mexican girl: first, she could cook,second, she acted like a woman, not a man, in her husband’s home” (pp.219). Being conditioned into the notion that all Mexican woman have been trained to be proper women, Mr. Soto set out on finding his brown eyed girl; however, what love had quite a different plan. This paper will cover three different themes Gary’s essay: The tone, the mindset of the character’s mindsets, and the overall message of the
The first article I have chosen is, “Juncture in the road: Chicano Studies Since: “El plan de Santa Barbara” by Ignacio M. Garcia. I have chosen this particular article for various reasons. One is because reading the first few paragraphs of the article stirred up many emotions within me. I found myself growing angry and once, again, repulsed by the United States discrimination system. The more knowledge I obtain on the United States, on its past and how it develops today, I can finally say that I resent everything it stands for and embarrassed being part of it. I would rather say that I am a country of one…myself. The second reason for choosing this article, was because it was an easy read for me as well as the topic being discussed was intriguing.
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
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
Enrique’s Journey is a book that I would never read for fun. It is completely different from most of the books I have read, and intrigued me because the story was about a boy. Most of the books I have read in school are about a girl who goes through many hardships, and difficulties but I felt I could relate more to this one because it is about a boy who struggles. While I may not have been left thousands of miles away by mother so she could send money back, it was great to see what life was like on the other side. In this paper I will be talking about the micro and macro cultures of Enrique’s town Tegucigalpa. The situation and context of the characters decision making and how they adapted.
I chose to compare the essays of Paulo Freire and Richard Rodriguez. Paulo Freire’s essay “The Banking concept of Education” talks of how education is mostly one sided and oppressive. He sees this as something that is detrimental to society’s future as a whole, and in his essay describes in detail how the “banking” concept is faltered. However, in Rodriguez’s essay “The Achievement of Desire” he is the model student that thrives in the kind of system that Freire was describing in “The Banking concept of Education”. Richard Rodriguez describes in “The Achievement of Desire” how his educational experience is a point of separation from the rest of the people and relationships around him. Though, this makes Rodriguez more connected and dependent upon his teachers for support and approval than his parents or peers. Both men write essays on their views on the benefits of education, and on the disadvantages of the current educational systems. I will be discussing the different points that both authors address by comparing one essay at a time. I will also be using outside sources to further examine what both authors were saying in each of their essays.
In “The Achievement of Desire,” Richard Rodriguez references Richard Hoggart’s book The Uses of Literacy in order to explain his experience and struggles as a student by comparing his story to Hoggart’s story. Rodriguez introduces Hoggart’s personal experience in order to justify his behavior at home and school. Rodriguez considers himself to be a “scholarship boy” because according to Hoggart, a “scholarship boy” is the student that is a good student but a bad son (518). At a young age, Rodriguez began to develop ideas and costume different from the ones his parents taught him; Rodriguez indifference to the Hispanic culture caused him to physically and mentally alienate from his family members (515). Hoggart did not have Mexican descendants but he still alienated himself from his family, as he believed he had to accustom to a life in school that did not match his life as a son (518).
In the novel “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henriquez, one of the most remarkable themes is the American dream of the Rivera family. Alma Rivera- one of the two main characters’s perspective in the novel’s first three chapters illustrate her and her family– the Mexican immigrants’ hopes for their new life in America. It is interesting to learn that the theme “American dream” in this book is one typical example of the immigrants who hold high hopes for a better life in America that they can leave everything of their old lifestyle behind. For Alma, the American dream is considered in terms of better education for Maribel- her daughter and better future for her family. The Rivera is one of many immigrant families who come to America because of a faith in good education for
As in the story: "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez, students of Julia de Burgos school were abused psychologically by a bad teacher named Blessington, which belittled and humiliated his telling students that would end in jail or as prostitutes; in the same way, the lack of pedagogy of these so-called teachers, contribute to the impoverishment of our educational system. For decades, it has been supposed that education is related to socioeconomic status determined by the level of income. It is common to hear, if you are rich, so it has can be an excellent education. This thought is deep within us and it could be very difficult to think in another way. With this we can deduce that any financial
Veronica and Antonio proves that there is no notion that a human can be illegal just because of their status in a country. We are all human beings who are living in dreams. The American dream. Even though we might have different status, we are all still equal because we are still humans. The uncovered potential found in this article. Both, Antonio and Veronica were known by their abilities in the education. Yet, we did not know because they were hiding for their status. Nevertheless, they continued to believe in the dream of educational opportunity which brought them better
Cavin, Aaron. "Blowout! Sal Castro & The Chicano Struggle For Educational Justice."Journal Of American Ethnic History 34.2 (2015): 127-128. America: History & Life. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
...se kids to me? You can’t communicate with them. Is there anybody here that can speak Spanish?” (Pg. 71) After seeing all that, all throughout his school years Francisco decides to drop out of high school because he felt that school was not worth it. Just like the title says I get nothing out of school. He leaves, but first he tells his teacher “Big deal! You call yourself a teacher! I can communicate in two languages. You can only communicate in one, who’s the teacher, teach? (Pg. 78) Francisco tells the teacher exactly how he feels toward teachers. There were teachers who judged him and ignored him, teachers who only used him, but never really cared about him. He at the end knew he had the power to help others and also had the resources. As Francisco continues his path, he finds out that the only way to become someone, and help his people is through good education.
Burns, Bradford E. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002.
This poem written by Francisco Alarcon describes the life of an illiterate man who finds himself signing away his freedom by placing his mark on a contract. He is unable to read the contract he is signing or even write his name. Being unable to read he leaves himself vulnerable to be taken advantage of and deceived. Alarcon, who was raised in a Hispanic community, was surrounded by illiteracy. Wanting to change the situation in which he was raised in he went to school to become a teacher and now focuses his efforts on eliminating illiteracy. This poem was written from the experience of watching those he cared about around him being taken advantage of because they were unable to read or write. "The X in My Name" shows the mistakes and ill consequences that illiteracy can bring upon those uneducated. It also sheds light onto how social structure and financial class play into illiteracy, and how detrimental illiteracy can be to those on the low end of the monetary spectrum. Though Alarcon only uses a few words it is easy to understand and see how the illiterate can be effortlessly be taken advantage of.
Ecuador is located in South America, on the Equator it also extends out to sea to the Galapagos Islands. The people of Ecuador speak Spanish, Quechua, and now English is starting to be part of the curriculum for students. Ecuador is the home to all my family, and possible the retirement place for my parents. This is all possible since Ecuador branched out of the Gran Colombia. Going even further into the past Ecuador did not just have one start on being what/where they are now. The history of Ecuador is said be divided into five different phases or eras: Pre-Colombian, The Conquest, The Colonial Period, The War of Independence and the Republican Era. These eras needed to happen so the place I call home could be what it is now. It also has gone through changed within the flag, which is used as a representation – or a symbol to show off were one is from. The people of the city also are the heart of it all, and with time they learn to adapt to new life and customs without losing the traditional ones. Ecuador has gone through many changes to get where it is now. The struggle has been hard for most but at the end the nations is a strong nation.