Bilingual Education Act (1968)

Imagine for whatever reason possible, a student had to go live in China. China is a great country to visit and maybe even live in as well. So this student has no previous knowledge of the Chinese language yet they’ll have to live in China and get educated. Let’s say in Chinese schools, they are not willing to take the time to help this student out by translating anything from Chinese to English. Every day until this student leaves China, they will have to sit in a classroom and try to understand everything that is going on. Will this student ever learn and get educated? Now imagine that but in the United States. A person comes to the United States from Mexico with no previous knowledge of English. How are they supposed to go to school and learn if they only hear the language being spoken but do not actually understand the language? This was how it was before 1968. Thanks to the Bilingual Act of 1968, the "Congress mandated the creation and funding of bilingual programs in public schools." This Congress recognized that "there are large and growing numbers of children and youth of limited-English proficiency, many of whom have a cultural heritage that differs from that of their English-proficient peers" and that these children were not learning. The act reads, “in order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth and to promote educational excellence, to assist State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations to build their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain programs of instruction for children and youth of limited English proficiency." Thanks to this act, students of mainly the first generation in the United States can be successful. They can speak their own language when asking questions, understand the material being taught, have academic achievement and still meet state standards. I have seen this first hand at Oak Terrace Elementary School in Highwood. Many of my extended family members have or are attending this school. Because of the many students that have parents whom do not speak English, Oak Terrace has a bilingual program. My cousins/nephews and nieces use the Spanish in their classroom and at the same time are taught in English. The bilingual programs not only help them, but also my aunts and uncles. They understand and can participate in their child’s learning. Something they maybe couldn’t have done if this act was not present. The integration of English and Spanish in a classroom not only helps the Mexican American students, but gives an advantage for those who already know English. At Oak Terrace, students who already know English get taught Spanish at a young age because it gets spoken in the classroom; making them bilingual. (Something that becomes very handy in the future.) By the time they get to high school, these students will have already been advanced in the language. The act of 1968 was one that is really useful and can only develop a student even more. Students who aren't from the United States and don’t have the advantage of English speaking parents can still have the same success as a person who is from United States and has English speaking parents. Maybe this act is also true in China, I don’t know. If it is, the student living there can feel much better : )

"Bilingual Education Act (1968)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2010. http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.

Bracero program

The bracero program was when Mexico agreed to send agricultural workers to the Southwest to work in the United States from 1947 to 1949. An estimated of 142,000 workers “provided a source of cheap, unorganized labor.” The workers were paid low wages, had terrible living conditions and their children received no education. This program was ended in 1964. While reading the article about the Bracero program, I was reminded of slavery. Slaves came here to work in the fields for very little money, had lived in horrible conditions and if they had children, they were not allowed to go to school. Slavery was an awful part of history and I don’t know if Mexicans were treated as badly as them. At the same time, both groups of people were only trying to better themselves. Blacks worked to buy their freedom while the Mexicans worked to get more than they had in Mexico. In Spanish class, we read Cajas de Corton (which means cardboard boxes) by Francisco Jiménez which is about a family who came to the United States from Mexico to work in agriculture. Each season had a different harvest so they would have to move to a different plantation each time. The boy recalls living in a home with mud floors and having mainly everything they owned in the car. The brother who was 16 wanted to go to school but couldn’t because he had to work with this mom and dad. The main character went to school not knowing English. He would be at school and not understand anything that was happening. What I read in the book, I connected to the bracero program.

"bracero program." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

The Chicano movement

The Chicano movement. Something I've never heard about and found interesting; let’s blog about it. The Chicano movement gave rise to itself in the 1960s when Latinos started to fight against discrimination and for equal opportunities in housing, employment and most importantly education in the United States. They formed groups compiled up of mainly students, individuals and adults each devoted to “better education and political representation, seek fairer wages, and fight discrimination.” The Chicanos really disliked how certain public schools segregated Mexican Americans from the others. Groups then would focus on how to make aware of this problem such as boycotting and having walk-outs. One of these groups that had a big influence was the League of United Latin American Citizens. Their goal was to “promote unity and demand rights as U.S. citizens.” When the 1970s came around, the Chicano movement became less noticeable, for it withdrew from its demonstrations. While reading this article, I thought about how similar the Chicanos were to the blacks when they were fought for their civil rights. The blacks also didn’t want segregation in schools and would protest to make it integrated. Just like blacks, Mexican Americans were looked down upon. The whole time I just kept thinking that blacks and Mexican Americans could switch places and they would have been treated the same. Both were working class, low income families; fighting to get equal opportunities in the United States.

"Chicano movement." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

Overview of Hispanics

When I was searching for my article, I didn’t know whether or not to type in ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino.’ I asked myself, do they mean the same thing? I know I’ve used both to describe myself but I never really knew what the difference was. I decided just to type in ‘Latino’ in the search box to see what came up; the first link: “Latinos in US society.” Upon clicking on it, I read in the second paragraph, “Known variously as Hispanics, Latinos, or Chicanos, people of Latino descent are generally defined as having ancestral roots in Mexico or Central or South America.” I thought, Good, that’s me. The article "Latinos in U.S. society" summarizes and draws a big picture of who Latinos are and how they came about in the United States. It goes back to the history with dates of the Spanish settlement and Mexican-American War. Then the article talks about the help the United States got from Latinos during the World War II which caused for Latinos to immigrate to the United States “in search of employment and higher wages than they could earn in their native land” More and more Latinos came and now wanted a place in the United States. They fought to get noticed and get equal rights-just like the Americans. That’s when it happened. I thought, Where have I seen this before? I answered my own question with the answer of the Civil Rights Movement. Just like blacks were a minority group living in the United States, Latinos were now also another minority group, wanting to get noticed. They formed LULAC a group that “labored to defend Latinos against all forms of discrimination.” NAACP…I thought. The article continues on to say how Latinos have progressed themselves to even get hired for government positions and prospered in the music world. Latinos have had such an impact on the United States, such as making some schools have bilingual classes And of course, which president doesn’t talk about the controversial issue of border control? Latinos have been part of daily life, whether it be the food, the language, the music, we see it everyday. And who knows, maybe the Latino group will end up being the majority after all. Like the article says, “With more and more Americans claiming a Latino heritage, Latinos in the United States are increasingly securing prominent roles in all aspects of society.” So whether I say I’m Hispanic or Latino, I mean the same thing. My parents are from Mexican roots which makes me a Mexican-American..(aka Hispanic/Latino).

"Latinos in U.S. society." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .

Research Topic

The topic circled was… HISPANICS. I chose to research Hispanics because not only am I Hispanic and can relate, but because sometimes I feel people forget why these people came in the first place. How did Hispanics get to the United States and why did they leave their previous country? What where they looking for and how did the Americans react? Today, Hispanics and the Hispanic culture have become part of everyday life; normal almost. It would be interesting to learn and see the ways the United States has changed and acted in response to this large group of people. Are Americans happy with this or are there just too many conflicts? I'm very proud of being a Hispanic and always willing to expand my knowledge.

State of Union Speech

I thought what was interesting after watching the State of Union speech was when President Obama said that colleges need to cut prices. That caught my attention seeing that we'll be heading off to college soon and those are the kind of things we'll be talking about and need to understand. "Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college" was something I really enjoyed. I also liked how Obama said the troops were coming home but aren't leaving suddenly; yet teaching troops in Afghanistan to defend their own country.

First Post Today

Going to put money in Sarah's Haiti jar...Help Haiti