This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, K-12 education, postsecondary educational attainment, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, environmental issues, Ethnic Studies at state and national levels. It also represents my digital footprint, of life and career, as a community-engaged scholar in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin.
Excellent, brief history in this 11:21-minute video on the birth of the KKK. It actually fronts an entire excellent series titled, "The Georgia Way of Life," that follows this on Youtube looks at the deep history of institutionalized racial prejudice and discrimination. I'm teaching a Foundations in Education Policy class this semester and so I'm really focused right now on origins.
Finding clear expression in strategy, here's the historic appeal of the Klan. They appealed to a broad spectrum of whites by widening their hatred beyond African Americans, to include Jews, Catholics, and immigrants (today, it's Mexicans, too, despite their decisive contributions to the re-building of Georgia in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, as well as their central role in the building of the Olympic Park in anticipation of the 1996 Olympic Games).
As we all know, they also appealed (and appeal) to sacred symbols of Christianity and the American flag while exploiting the public's fears against "the other."
The Klan was born on June, 1866 in Pulaski, TN. All should consider the implications today of this deep history.
-Angela c/s
The Georgia way of life -The birth of Stone mountain- part1
The Black Lives Matter movement offers a challenge to the church--and an opportunity.
- See more at: https://sojo.net/magazine/septemberoctober-2015/now-time-theology-thrive#sthash.vXpj3RYo.dpuf
I am a fan of Jim Wallis and Sojourners Magazine. Great recent piece on the Black Lives Matter movement and how it offers the church an opportunity to thrive and be relevant in the world, as opposed to silent and useless. Here's a great quote from within:
Theology happens when we offer our bodies in solidarity with the oppressed, disrupting systems that perpetuate oppression.
-Jorge Juan Rodriguez V, Union Theological Seminary.
As with Black Lives Matter and all of our movements—together with Pope Francis' call for a new kind of theology—they inspire a new theology that thrives and lives in the world, one that is messy, involved, and radical.
Higher reading exposure was 95% positively correlated with
neural activation in the left-sided parietal-temporal-occipital
association cortex, a “hub” region supporting semantic language
processing, controlling for household income. Hutton, J. S.,
Horowitz-Kraus, T., Mendelsohn, A. L., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K.
(2015). Home Reading Environment and Brain Activation in Preschool
Children Listening to Stories. Pediatrics, 136(3), 466-478.
Children growing up in homes with at least 20 books get 3
years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of
their parents’ education, occupation, and class. (Evans, M. D.,
Kelley, J., Sikora, J., & Treiman, D. J. (2010). Family scholarly
culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations.
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28(2), 171-197.)
80% of preschool and after-school programs serving low-income populations have no age-appropriate books for their children.
(Neuman, Susan B., et al. Access for All: Closing the Book Gap for
Children in Early Education. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association, 2001, p. 3. )
Glad to see the White House recognize the importance of growing our own teachers to address the diversity needs (or lack thereof) in the teaching ranks. It does so by highlighting GYO Illinois that has clearly moved the needle in this regard. There's a lot to know about this. I want to do a shout out to Dean Maureen Gillette who has been a true leader in this regard at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. This is at least a partial but nevertheless quite substantive approach to bringing in fresh recruits from our communities into the teaching ranks so that they can return to their communities (or communities that are similar to the ones from which they originate) in order to be teachers who are oftentimes more effective with our school demographic populations because of shared experiences, frames of references, and capacities in the languages, cultures, and dialects of their communities. This is a bright spot indeed for the direction that education reform can and should take. -Angela
Tuesday, 22 September 2015 05:02 | Written by Administrator
Illinois program to recruit and retain
diverse teachers honored for positive impact on Hispanic education;
featured in national report on the status of teacher diversity in U.S.
cities Stalemate in Springfield cuts off tuition support for GYO candidates pursuing college degrees
CHICAGO, IL – Fatima Salgado was inspired to pursue teaching when she
was a part-time tutor. Some of her students were struggling to learn
because they were not yet fluent in English. Fatima remembered having
difficulties in elementary school when she moved here to Logan Square
from Mexico and spent most of second grade without any bilingual
language supports.
Now a teacher candidate at Northeastern Illinois University, Fatima
is looking forward to teaching middle school math and science in Little
Village—the predominantly Latino community where she lives---when she
graduates in a couple years.
Paving the way for Latinos and other diverse candidates to become
teachers is what Grow Your Own Teachers was created to do. Despite
increased awareness of the positive impact and need for more teachers of
color, only 3.6 percent of public school teachers in Illinois are
Latino. Meanwhile, Latino and African American students now comprise the
majority in the state’s public schools.
This week, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for
Hispanics named t Spots in Hispanic Education.” As a Bright Spot,
Grow Your Own Teachers, will be part of a national online catalog that includes over 230 programs that invest in key education priorities for Hispanics.
“Our teachers are making a difference in classrooms across the
state,” says Grow Your Own Illinois Executive Director Kate VanWinkle.
“Our program is addressing achievement gaps at two critical junctures.
For our teacher candidates, we provide wraparound services that enable
them to persist in college and graduate. And for students of color in
Illinois public schools, we are training more high-quality teachers of
color who live and work in the same communities they do and who help
them reach their full potential.”
A new report, “The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education,”
highlights Grow Your Own Teachers as one of only eight state and local
programs in the nation that focus on both recruitment and retention of
minority teachers, and have proven results.
Since it was launched, Grow Your Own has graduated 108 teachers; 88
are currently classroom teachers. By recognizing GYO candidates as
untapped resources for their communities, the program addresses teacher
turnover, teacher-student cultural mismatch, faculty diversity and
stifled career opportunities for those living in poverty who wish to
become teachers.
Yet career prospects for GYO candidates in the pipeline are now
uncertain as Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislators are at loggerheads and
have yet to agree on a budget. Some GYO teacher candidates in Chicago
and downstate no longer have the funds to pay for college tuition and
are unable to continue their studies.
“This angers me because Grow Your Own works,” says GYO candidate
Fatima Salgado. “I’m battling for the money to stay in school and
finish. I don’t deserve this and my fellow GYO candidates don’t deserve
it. They’re worried. I’m worried, too.”
About Grow Your Own (GYO) Illinois
Grow Your Own Illinois advances the efforts of Grow Your Own Teachers
programs across the state to achieve equity, excellence and diversity
in the new teacher pipeline. GYO Illinois supports the education and
excellence of GYO teacher candidates and graduates; advocates for
policies that facilitate increasing the number of teachers of color; and
coordinates and aligns the work of innovative partnerships of
universities, community colleges, school districts and community
organizers that host GYO programs.
For more information, visit www.growyourownteachers.org
About the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics
The Initiative was established in 1990 to address the educational
disparities faced by the Hispanic community. The Initiative seeks to
leverage these Bright Spots to encourage collaboration between
stakeholders focused on similar issues in sharing data-driven
approaches, promising practices, peer advice, and effective
partnerships, ultimately resulting in increased support for the
educational attainment of the Hispanic community, from cradle-to-career.
To learn more about the Initiative and to view the Bright Spots in Hispanic Education national online catalog, visit www.ed.gov/HispanicInitiative.
Grow Your Own Teacher Graduation
Friday, 08 May 2015 01:11 | | |
From WIFR Rockford:
ROCKFORD (WIFR) – Some Rockford moms are getting a second chance at living their dream by educating our kids.
Three Rockford natives are now teachers through Rock Valley
College’s “Grow Your Own Teachers” Program. The program is geared
toward working adults with families who’ve always dreamed of teaching
our kids. This is the second graduating class from RVC’s program. The
graduates will soon work for District 205 as either elementary or
middle school science teachers.
“I would definitely say there were a lot of times where I wanted to
throw in the towel, but I just kept striving through and had very good
support between Grow Your Own and just kept going,” says graduate Kelly
Kloster.
The “Grow Your Own” program plans to start a dual enrollment program
with District 205 for high school students who want to become
teachers.
During the 12 years that I attended CPS, I encountered very few
minority teachers and no teachers with a Mexican background like me. I
always wished for one. I felt that a teacher who shared my background
would understand my heritage and would inspire me. Now, I can be that
teacher who has a positive influence on the children I teach.
By: Idalia Vasquez / February 4, 2015
Grow Your Own Teachers helps low-income people of color who have the
desire to become teachers earn a bachelor’s degree in Education—a goal
that would otherwise be almost impossible for them to achieve. Yet a
recent news article falls short by viewing the program as a conveyor
belt, and failing to capture what I and many other graduates felt by
becoming the first person in our family to graduate from a university
and get a job as a CPS teacher.
It also fails to capture how important it is for children in my
classroom to have a teacher who looks like them and who shares their
life experience. (“Illinois falls short in $20 million effort to develop
1,000 teachers,” Jan. 16, Chicago Tribune.)
I am a Hispanic female, born to Mexican immigrant, working parents. I
was born and raised in Chicago, one of five siblings. I attended four
different CPS elementary schools and, given the bad timing of my
parents’ divorce, graduated with a very low GPA from a low-performing,
low-income high school on the Northwest Side. I can count on one hand
how many of my fellow high school graduates went on to complete a
bachelor’s degree. With a lot of struggle, I earned an associate’s
degree from a community college, and at the age of 19, seven months
before receiving that degree, I gave birth to my first child.
While growing up, my parents constantly reminded me of the hardships
and poverty they endured in their small village in Guerrero, Mexico.
My mom is the oldest of eight siblings and completed school through 6th
grade. My father had to help my grandfather work the land and attended
school only up to 3rd grade. My parents would always tell me and my
siblings how important it was for us to take advantage of the
opportunities of this great country. Unfortunately, I was missing two
of the most important factors that impact college attendance: financial
support and, most importantly, informed guidance. I knew I was going
to graduate from a university one day but I had no idea how to make
that a reality. Crucial support to overcome hurdles
That’s where Grow Your Own Teachers
comes into play. By the age of 31, I had gone back to school at
Northeastern Illinois University. I was a part-time student and a
stay-at-home mother of two, studying for a degree in elementary
education. But it was a constant struggle, especially when it came to
math. Pre-algebra, for instance, was one of three math courses that I
had to pass before I was eligible to take college math--but it would not
earn me any credits toward graduation. I also struggled to pay for
books since my loan did not cover them and my husband’s income was
barely enough to cover the family expenses.
That same year, I was a parent volunteer at my son’s CPS preschool.
An assistant preschool teacher there told me about a program called Grow
Your Own Teachers that could help me. The program was for parent
volunteers and school paraprofessionals who wanted to get a degree in
elementary education at Northeastern Illinois, where I was already
enrolled. I applied and got in.
I became a full-time student, attending year-round. During the
summer, I took four classes—the maximum number of classes allowed. That
was difficult because my husband worked and my children were out of
school. On some occasions, my children would wait for me outside of my
classroom in the study area. The professor knew I was a mom and did
not object to my frequent breaks to check on my children. Other times,
Grow Your Own Teachers provided child care and I was able to focus in
the classroom.
Another hurdle was passing the Basic Skills Test. Now known as TAP
or the Test of Academic Proficiency, it is one of three state tests that
teachers have to pass before they can earn a teaching license. Grow
Your Own Teachers provided me with a math tutor and test workshops. I
finally passed the five-hour test on the second try.
Those were just a few of the many hurdles that Grow Your Own Teachers helped me to overcome.
After three and a half years, I graduated with honors from
Northeastern Illinois University. One of the best moments in my life was
having my mom watch me walk across the stage to receive my degree. Understanding heritage, inspiring students
Today, I am proud to say that I am a kindergarten teacher at a
low-income CPS school. Every day I go to my classroom ready to inspire
my students. Most of them are amazed that my background is similar to
theirs. For example, no one in our families has a college degree, our
parents do not speak English and they were born in another country. The
children get a kick out of the fact that I also secretly ate hot
Cheetos for breakfast when I was young because my parents left early
for work and they didn’t have time to make breakfast.
During the 12 years that I attended CPS, I encountered very few
minority teachers and no teachers with a Mexican background like me. I
always wished for one. I felt that a teacher who shared my background
would understand my heritage and would inspire me. Now, I can be that
teacher who has a positive influence on the children I teach. Our common
background provides me with tools and references that facilitate
making connections. The other day, I read Gary Soto’s “Too Many
Tamales” to my students and they were excited to learn that my family
also makes tamales for Christmas.
The hurdles that I had to overcome to earn my degree were few
compared to my fellow Grow Your Own members. Some of them are working
full-time or part-time and have been in the program and attending
classes part-time for more than five years. One woman told me how she
had to leave school temporarily to take care of a sick, elderly parent.
Some have to cut back on their own studies so they can earn extra
money to pay tuition for children who are starting college. I admire
their resilience. Most participants stick with the program, working and
studying hard and knowing that they will achieve their goal one day.
To them I say, “Keep trying, because earning a college degree is worth
it.”
So many people around me now see me as a role model—my children, my
family, my fellow Grow Your Own members, my students, my students’
parents, my para-professional colleagues. I am only one of the many
graduates who can inspire others like me.
It reminds me of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Even though
we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.” Idalia Vasquez is a 2013 graduate of the Grow Your Own program and a CPS teacher.
Investing in homegrown teachers has long-term payoff
Friday, 08 May 2015 01:27 | | |
From Crain's Chicago Business: By: JIMMY A. LUGO
If there's a sweet spot for a Chicago Public Schools principal, I'm
living it. For two years, I've had the good fortune to lead a
predominantly Latino elementary school in Humboldt Park, the
neighborhood where I grew up and that I have called home for much of my
life.
Students and families here know me. They know that I won't dismiss
their perspectives or circumstances. They recognize that I am committed
to safety and educational success.
As principal, I decided early on to invest in educators who are able
to immediately connect with my students. When I was a
principal-in-training, I noticed certain teachers stood out. They were
able to quickly relate to families and enlist them as partners in
educating children. They had high expectations and relevant lessons for
students. And their students often outperformed others.
These teachers were graduates of Grow Your Own Teachers, a statewide
program that recruits diverse candidates from low-income urban and
rural areas and prepares them to teach in public schools. When I landed
at my school—where more than 91 percent of students are Latino—I
inherited a few GYO teachers and I hired a couple more. These are
passionate, dedicated and culturally competent Latina teachers who
drive improvements in academic outcomes. The paradigm shift that occurs
when students can see themselves in their teachers has lifelong impact
and helps to positively mold communities.
GYO teachers tend to stay. Many of them grew up or live in the
neighborhoods where they teach; some have experience working at their
schools. Only one of my four GYO teachers has left. By contrast, more
than half of the teachers in Humboldt Park schools left their schools,
according to an analysis of 2008-12 data by Catalyst Chicago. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Yet despite the competitive advantage GYO teachers provide schools,
the program is on the chopping block, one of several programs that help
racially and economically diverse students earn college degrees and
enter professions that have been targeted by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Student
diversity is rising across Illinois; it's no longer just an issue for
Chicago and its suburbs.
Instead of writing it off, state lawmakers must give GYO the
resources it needs to create a solid pipeline of highly effective
teachers of color. Recently, the New York Times identified teacher
diversity and low retention of minority teachers as critical policy
issues across the country. GYO addresses both, yet in recent years only
$1.5 million was allocated, about half of what the program needs for
full operation and a pittance in the state's overall $91 billion
budget.
Districts even save hiring costs when GYO teachers help
lower turnover rates. Estimated at $20,000 per hire, that's already a
couple of million dollars saved, and more to come once those in the
pipeline graduate and land teaching jobs.
Critics of the program point to those who don't finish and drop out.
Yet GYO stacks up favorably against other higher education programs
that work with older students who are returning or have never attended
college.
It's time for Illinois to invest in growing the kind of teachers
that we all want. Take it from a homegrown principal whose path to an
education career included returning to college as an adult: Illinois
needs more homegrown teachers. Jimmy A. Lugo is principal of Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School.
Rachel Hall’s story could be one of sadness and tragedy.
She endured a troubled childhood in Columbus, Ohio. She’s been a
homeless mother. And in 2005, three weeks after her husband died, her
mother passed away too.
Hall has every reason to be a story of sadness and tragedy, but she refuses.
“I have no regrets,” she said. “I’m supposed to be here.”
“Here” is Northeastern Illinois University, where in 2012 Hall
reinvented her life to study elementary education. Now age 49, she is
two years away from earning her degree. Eventually, she wants to earn a
Ph.D. and teach the next generation of teachers, particularly in
minority communities.
“We need to empower African-American youths to do everything,” she
said. “You can become a teacher, you can do robotics. If children are
empowered and educated, they make better decisions.”
Hall already got a taste of that mission over the summer, when she
worked with Northeastern’s Grow Your Own Teachers program as part of an
Alumni Association Student Internship/Scholarship, one of four
scholarships she’s earned through the University in the past year alone.
“I hope my story will encourage others,” Hall said. “If I can’t be anything else, let me be an example that you can do this.”
Hall’s instructors have taken notice—and not just because she sits in the front of every class.
“I admire how Rachel has overcome some serious obstacles in pursuing
her education,” associate professor Durene Wheeler said. “As a
nontraditional student, she is a great role model for how determination
and purpose can take you far when the odds are stacked against you.”
Instructional coach Tamrya Walker teaches Common Core math at Westlake Middle School in Oakland.
A new report
on teacher diversity is urging urban school districts to put more
energy into ensuring that educators reflect the racial and ethnic
backgrounds of their students.
The study released Wednesday by the
Albert Shanker Institute shows a large diversity gap exists nationwide
between students and teachers, with 44.1 percent of all students
identified as minorities in 2012, compared to only 17.3 percent of
teachers. The gap is most dramatic for African-American and Latinos, the
report found.
It traced the changing demographics of
teacher and student populations over several years in nine cities –
including Los Angeles and San Francisco – and found a drop in the number
of African-American teachers and a growing Latino student population
that is outpacing the growth in the number of Latino teachers.
“Diversity is a key component to
equality and opportunity,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the
American Federation of Teachers and a member of the institute’s board of
directors. “Where there’s a diverse teaching workforce, all kids
thrive.”
The report found:
• The percentage of African-American
teachers has declined dramatically and teachers of color overall –
especially men – are under-represented in urban schools.
• The percentage of Latino teachers is
not keeping pace with the fast-growing Latino student population,
although it is increasing in some areas.
• The teacher-student diversity gap is greater in charter schools than in traditional district schools.
• The biggest obstacle to teacher
diversity nationwide is attrition, with teachers of color leaving
because they do not feel they have a voice in school decisions and they
feel that they lack autonomy.
• All students benefit when taught by
educators from diverse backgrounds because that helps prepare them for
success in a diverse world and can help to reduce stereotypes.
Los Angeles stood out in the report for
its high rate of growth in the number of Hispanic teachers between 2002
and 2012 when compared to the other eight cities: San Francisco, Boston,
Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Washington
DC. However, the report said more Hispanic teachers are needed to close
the diversity gap in Los Angeles.
The report recommends:
• The U.S. Department of Education
collect and report on the race and ethnicity of teachers in all public
schools as part of its Civil Rights Data Collection.
• States collect data from all public schools on the race and ethnicity of teachers, and make it available to the public.
• States review education-related laws
and policies related to their impacts on teacher diversity, with
amendments as needed to promote a more diverse teaching force.
• State and federal officials invest in high quality teacher education programs at historically black colleges and universities.
• Federal and state officials
provide incentives for partnerships between colleges of education,
school districts and charter networks to provide mentoring, support and
training in culturally responsive practices to all new teachers working
in high-poverty schools.
• Support for “grow your own” teacher
preparation programs and “career ladder” programs for teachers’ aides
seeking to become educators.
• Collaboration between teachers’ unions and school communities to develop strategic plans for teacher diversification.
• The inclusion of teacher diversity programs such as career ladders in union negotiations.
• The inclusion of teacher diversity in district accountability measures.
• Partnerships between districts and
colleges of education to increase the supply of well-qualified
African-American and Hispanic teachers prepared to work in city schools.
• The creation of programs to recruit and
support African-American and Hispanic teachers by districts, schools
and charter networks.
The report highlighted several recruitment and retention programs that could serve as models for others, including the Boston Teacher Residency, Grow Your Own Teachers, and Teach Tomorrow in Oakland.
Both the Los Angeles and San Francisco unified school districts offer
programs similar to the Boston program. That program consists of teacher
residents working with mentors in public schools for one year while
completing master’s degrees at the University of
Massachusetts-Boston then becoming full-time teachers after graduating
and making a commitment to stay for at least three years.
According to the report, the Los Angeles
district’s student population in 2011 was 70.7 percent Hispanic, 11
percent white, 10.2 percent African-American, 6.2 percent Asian, 0.5
percent Native American and 1.4 percent multiracial or “other.”
Meanwhile, its teachers were 42.9 percent white, 33.5 percent Hispanic,
10.5 percent African-American and 12.3 percent Asian.
Justo Avila, chief human resources
officer for Los Angeles Unified, said minorities now comprise about 60
percent of the district’s teaching force. And although the Latino
student population has grown to 74 percent this year, he said the
district does not believe its percentage of Latino teachers should be
that high, because its students need exposure to educators from a wide
variety of backgrounds.
“They need to see and hear perspectives
that are not just from Latino teachers,” he said. “They need to learn
tolerance and how to work with others across the nation and I think
having diversity helps you get there.”
Los Angeles Unified’s career ladder
program is helping to increase teacher diversity by supporting teachers’
assistants who want to become educators with tuition assistance and
preparation for prerequisite exams, said Debi Ignani, deputy chief human
resources officer. The district continues its support for them while
they are getting their education and then hires them when they graduate,
she said.
“When you look at it over time, these
individuals have the best retention in our district,” Ignani said. “They
grew up in our district. They work in our district. They’re going to
stay in our district.”
The district also offers its own
accredited two-year teacher preparation program largely for people who
live in the community. In addition, it provides an urban teacher
residency program in partnership with UCLA, and the California State
University campuses of Domingo Hills, Northridge and Los Angeles. The
program offers specialized teacher’s credential pathways in math,
science and special education through an apprenticeship model that gives
teacher residents the opportunity to “co-teach” with mentors for a year
while earning master’s degrees.
“They are our pipeline,” Avila said. “We
make sure that they’re supported. We offer a weeklong summer institute
where we deal with issues they’re going to be facing in the classroom.
If people are having trouble, we go out and help them in their first
year through a variety of strategies. Last year’s retention of
first-year teachers was 92 percent.”
San Francisco’s Teacher Residency program
supports new educators throughout their first two years on the job
after they earn a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco
or Stanford University at a reduced cost. The district also has one
staff member on its recruitment team focused on outreach to potential
African-American teachers, said district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe.
San Francisco’s student population in
2012 was 40.8 percent Asian, 25.9 percent Hispanic, 10.8 percent white,
9.5 percent African-American, 0.4 percent Native American and 12.5
percent multiracial or “other,” according to the report. However, its
teachers were 52.2 percent white, 27.1 percent Asian, 14.2 percent
Hispanic and 6 percent African-American.
“It is a priority to hire diverse,
skilled teachers to serve our students,” Blythe said. “Our proactive
recruitment strategies include hosting more of our own recruitment
events, partnering more deeply with local universities, and issuing
Early Offers of Employment to our top candidates, including candidates
of color.”
Although the report did not analyze
diversity in the Oakland district, it highlighted the Teach Tomorrow in
Oakland program for its success in recruiting teachers who reflect
students’ diversity. The program was created to fill district vacancies
with teachers who would be likely to stay, especially targeting those
who grew up in the area, said district spokesman Troy Flint.
“We do want to have a faculty that’s more
reflective of the experiences that our students have and a person’s
ethnic identity is often a big part of their personal experience,” he
said. “But, we just don’t have enough teachers period. So, it’s really
difficult to go one level deeper and focus on recruiting teachers of a
specific ethnicity or background when you can’t get teachers of any
kind.”
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This was our experience with our children, too. We lived in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an absolutely beautiful city that is today a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It left us with indelible impressions and memories and it was a hugely positive boost to our family's sense of identity, our sense of Mexicanidad or Mexican-ness. Not that we didn't already have a sense of this, but rather that it is an identity like any other with many dimensions, historical depth, and personal meaning. I was able to locate my familia for example in the mountainous, rural state of Guerrero and have been a changed person ever since.
So even for us adults, Mexico is potentially a transformative place. You do have to be careful about "hot spots" like many parts along the U.S.-Mexico border where you should not go; but there are other places like Guanajuato that are pretty much as safe as they have ever been—not unlike any big city you might visit in the U.S. There are a whole lot of places like that, too, including Mexico City itself and tourist places along the coast, so you have to do your research.
Go to the actual link to see all the nice photos that accompany this piece.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, I’ve spent five months with my kids in Mexico.
This should be the first giveaway that you need to be wary: Mexico sucks
you in. You keep coming back for longer and longer each time!
Why exactly? What is the onda down in Mexico, and why should you think twice before exposing your children to its alluring culture? Let’s see…
1. Vendors will treat your children as if they were the most special
customers they’ve ever had. They’ll give them thousands of smiles,
samples of fruit…they’ll even call them Reina and Precioso. It will spoil them to death.
Photo: Laura Bernhein
2. I warn you: Mexican children are the friendliest, most charming
creatures in the whole wide world. Your kids will make so many friends
they’ll want to come back to Mexico year after year…
My kids having lunch at the market in Coyoacan, Mexico City. Photo: Laura Bernhein
3. Or even worse: Your kids will start speaking fluent Spanish way before you do!
Photo: Laura Bernhein
4. You know little about Mexico’s iconic artist Frida Kahlo. What if
your kids fall in love with her and you have to start studying her
incredible life and art? Nah, you’re too old for that.
8. Helping newborn turtles on their first journey to the ocean, and
celebrating together once they finally make it to the water? Mmm…not
inspirational enough.
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Photo: Laura Bernhein
9. You worry that after jumping into the fresh, cool water of the cenotes on a hot day, they’ll be so over the neighborhood pool back home…
10. Tons of festivities with people dancing in the streets day and
night, wearing colorful handmade costumes and celebrating ancient
traditions? No thanks, it’ll be too noisy for your kids.
11. You’re afraid Mexico’s vibrant colors will hurt your children’s
eyes. And what if they want to paint your house turquoise or hot pink
when you get home?
15. And what about the skeletons and skulls you’ll see all around the country? Yes, you know they’re part of Día de Muertos, a rich cultural tradition…but your little angels will have nightmares for years!
16. And if the skeletons don’t do it, seeing these giant puppets — mojigangas
— dancing in Oaxacan parades and inviting everyone to join the party
will guarantee you a couple of hours of your kids screaming from fear…
17. Did you know Mexican markets are full of candy, toys, and piñatas? Your kids will find the experience too fun and they won’t ever want to go back to the grocery store with you…
Coyoacan Market, Mexico City Photo: Laura Bernhein
18. Five men representing the four cardinal points and the
connection between Earth and Sky, flying around a 90ft pole in a mystic
ancient ceremony? Too profound for you, you’ll have to pass.
Voladores de Papantla, Cholula, Puebla. Photo: Larry1732
19. What if you’re simply walking around and encounter a sight like
this? Everyone knows children have a hard time dealing with fairytale
moments!
20. Overall, the streets of Mexican towns and cities are full of
color, stimulation, and magical moments. If you don’t want your kids to
grow up thinking the world is such a special, wonderful place…don’t ever
go to Mexico!
I focus on prejudice and discrimination in my class tomorrow. I think I'll give my students this Heterosexual Questionnaire developed by UT Professor Dr. Martin Rochlin. Maybe others will find it useful, too. -Angela
Please answer the following questions as honestly as possible.
What do you think caused your heterosexuality?
When and how did you first decide you were heterosexual?
Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?
Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a fear of others of the same sex?
If you have never slept with a member of your own sex, is it possible that you might be gay if you tried it?
If heterosexuality is normal, why are so many mental patients heterosexual?
Why do you heterosexual people try to seduce others into your lifestyle?
Why do you flaunt your heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet?
The great majority of child molesters are heterosexual. Do you consider
it safe to expose your children to heterosexual teachers?
With all the societal support that marriage receives, the divorce rate
is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among
heterosexual people?
Why are heterosexual people so promiscuous?
Would you want your children to be heterosexual, knowing the problems
they would face, such as heartbreak, disease, and divorce?
Explain to the group that, when gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are
beginning to 'come out,' they are often asked questions that are nearly
impossible to answer. In order to help participants understand the
heterosexist bias* in our culture, you will ask them to grapple with
these same questions in regard to heterosexuality.
Say that you will give them each a handout.
They will break up into groups of four or five and try to come up with
answers. Say that you want them to try to answer each question as well
as to react to the questions as a whole. Irrespective of each participant's sexual orientation, everyone should attempt to answer as though he/she is heterosexual.
After about 10 minutes, ask everyone to reassemble in the large group. Ask the participants the Discussion Questions below.
Discussion Questions:
Did you find the questions hard to answer? Were some harder than others? Which? What, specifically, was so difficult?
How did the questions make you feel?
What does it say about our society that gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are asked similar questions?
What can you do in the future if you hear someone asking such questions?
* Heterosexist bias, or heterosexism, is the assumption that everyone
is, or ought to be, heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the only
'normal,' right, and moral way to be and that, therefore, anyone with a
different sexual orientation is 'abnormal,' wrong, and immoral.
*Created by Martin Rochlin, Ph.D., January 1977, and adapted for use here.
Austin is becoming increasingly inaccessible to low-income families even though it is where they work due to unabated development and policies that make Austin as stated herein, "one of most gentrifying cities in the country." A colleague at UT told me yesterday that if she didn't watch the evening, local news, she wouldn't know that she lives in Texas, meaning that declining numbers of Latinos in an historically Latino place like Texas, is odd and cruel. Crossing my mind is Boulder, Colorado, and how that city also priced out the poor, making it a very white, upper class place, too—even if the working poor descend daily upon it as they do in Austin—to prop up its service-sector, under belly.Our community leadership nevertheless courageously continues to advocate for a living wage, affordable housing, quality schools, a low-interest debt fund that will allow our Latino and African American community members (also getting gentrified out to the margins) to start and expand non-profits, as well for establishing cooperatives and small businesses. It is politically convenient for some to say that change is inevitable when policy in all instances reflects current constellations of power, and thusly, the priorities, interests, and the political will (or not) that attach to them. I am reminded this morning of a play performed in 2006 by Teatro Vivo, a local theater group titled, Rosita's Jalapeño Kitchen that through humor, addresses the impact of gentrification of East Austin. I encourage you to read my brief review since it provides an insider's community look at the price exacted by gentrification. -Angela
A new study backs up what Austinites already know to be true: Austin is one of most gentrifying cities in the country.
“Gentrification in America Report,” an in-depth study conducted by Governing
magazine, ranked Austin eighth in the nation in gentrification rate
between 2000 and 2010. Gentrification rate was determined through an
analysis of Census tract data: tracts that were in their metro areas’
bottom 40 percent of median household income and median home value in
2000, but are now in the area’s top third in home value and percentage
of adults with bachelor’s degrees, are considered to be gentrified.
The study found the 39.7 percent of Austin’s eligible Census tracts
gentrified last decade, a higher percentage than New York City, San
Francisco, Chicago and most other American cities. Portland, a city
often compared to Austin, tops the list, and Austin is preceded only by
Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Seattle, Virginia Beach, Atlanta and
Denver. Elsewhere in Texas, Fort Worth cracked the list’s top 20 at
number 17, while Houston was listed 22nd and San Antonio 37th.
Austin’s gentrification rate makes the top ten despite the study
stopping in 2010, just before the peak of Austin’s current population
boom. In the U.S. Census Bureau’s reports for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012,
Austin ranked number one in the nation in growth rate – and remains at
number two in the most recent report. Population growth, when coupled
with the kind of economic growth Austin has also seen in the past few
years, produces the gentrification that Governing analyzed.
Unsurprisingly, Governing’s map of gentrifying neighborhoods
highlights mostly Census tracts in East and South Austin. The most
striking case is Census Tract 8.03, which is bordered by I-35 to the
west, E Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, the MetroRail
train tracks to the east and E 12th Street to the south – the
residential heart of East Austin. Since 2000, home values in this
neighborhood have increased by a whopping 205 percent, while the number
of adults with bachelor’s degrees jumped from 10 percent to 49 percent. Governing highlights a reality this neighborhood and many
others have witnessed as gentrification increases: the displacement of
residents of color, and the unequal distribution of economic success.
“Neighborhoods gentrifying since 2000 recorded population increases and
became whiter,” the report notes, with gentrifying tracts seeing a drop
in the poverty rate and the white population increase by an average of
4.3 percent. By contrast, low income neighborhoods outside of
gentrification zones lost population, increased in poverty rate by an
average of 6.7 percent and became less white.
Gentrification in Austin has followed this pattern. As the Austin American-Statesman highlighted in a recent in-depth look
at the city’s racial and economic divides that remain intact from the
segregation era, while Austin’s population grew by more than 20 percent
during the period covered by the Governing study, its black
population fell by more than 5 percent. As home values soar, Austin’s
minority populations have been pushed into more concentrated areas
further from the city’s core or, often, outside the city entirely, to
suburbs like Pflugerville. Austin is ninth out of the 100 largest metro
areas in the nation in terms of income segregation. The University of Texas recently found that of the 10 fastest growing American cities in the last decade, Austin was the only one with a declining black population.
This all suggests that Austin is feeling the effects of
gentrification as much or more so than any city in the country, and that
the city must reckon with how to deal with these effects. That’s
difficult in a climate of unprecedented economic growth, where proposals
to increase affordability – like a city ordinance to help housing
choice voucher holders move into higher opportunity, less segregated
neighborhoods – are met with vociferous opposition.
If Governing conducts a follow-up study in the next decade,
and if Austin continues on its current trajectory, it will not be a
surprise to see the city even higher on the list.
Excellent, current information on Latino demographics. Internally, such as with what we are seeing in Austin, Texas, hundreds upon hundreds of Latinos, mostly Mexican Americans and Mexicans, are getting displaced. Austin's numbers of immigrants are declining but not solely because of the macro-level factors implied here but because of the rampant pace of gentrification. Here is a good article on this such that a declining representation of the Latino demographic in cities like Austin must also take micro-level factors into account.
As
immigration from Latin America slows, the immigrant share among each of
the nation’s 14 largest Hispanic origin groups is in decline, according
to a new Pew Research Center analysis
of U.S. Census Bureau data. Overall, the share of the Hispanic
population that is foreign born has decreased from 40% in 2000 to 35% in
2013.
The foreign-born share of Salvadorans fell from 76% in 2000 to 59% in
2013 – the largest percentage point decline of any of the six largest
Hispanic origin groups. Dominicans, Guatemalans and Colombians all had
decreases of over 13 percentage points in their foreign-born shares over
the same period. Mexicans, the nation’s largest Hispanic origin group,
also saw a decline, though it was only 8 percentage points since 2000.
Despite falling immigrant shares across all Latino origin groups, fast
Latino population growth has led to continued growth in the number of
Latino immigrants (though growth has slowed in recent years). Among all
Latinos, there were 14.1 million immigrants in 2000. By 2005, that
number reached 16.8 million, and by 2013, there were 19 million Latino
immigrants in the U.S. The same pattern is present among all major
Latino origin groups, though for three – Ecuadorians, Mexicans and
Nicaraguans – the number of immigrants has declined since 2010.
The nation’s Latino population is its largest minority group, numbering
more than 53 million, or 17.1% of the U.S. population, in 2013. It is
also diverse in a number of ways. While Mexicans are by far the largest
origin group at 34.6 million (making up 64.1% of all U.S. Latinos), the
nation’s Latinos trace their roots to every part of Latin America.
Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Latino origin group and represent
about 9.5% of all U.S. Latinos. Beyond these two groups, no other makes
up more than 5% of the U.S. Latino population. Cubans and Salvadorans,
the two next largest groups, each make up just under 4% of the Latino
population, with populations of about 2 million each.
The report and its accompanying statistical profiles provide detailed
geographic, demographic and economic characteristics for each of the
nation’s 14 largest Hispanic origin groups: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans,
Salvadorans, Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans, Colombians, Spaniards,
Hondurans, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Argentineans, Nicaraguans and
Venezuelans.
I am very happy to share the latest issue of Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR)Voices in Urban Education journal titled, Beautiful
Accents: Empowering and Supporting English Learners through School and Community Partnerships. It focuses on the
stories of strong community partnerships that have helped schools and
districts empower and engage a broad range of children often narrowly labeled
as “English learners.” Recognizing that the
heritage language and cultural background of English Language Learners are an
asset willsupport their learning
and development in culturally responsive ways that go far beyond language
acquisition.
UT Professor Dr. Emilio Zamora, UT doctoral student, Brenda Rubio, and I have a piece in this special issue titled, "Academia Cuauhtli and the Eagle: Danza Mexica and the Epistemology of the Circle"that is based on our fourth-grade, Academia Cuauhtli Saturday Academy with the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and City of Austin Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
Many thanks to AISR, especially Margaret Balch-Gonzalez and Ruth López for this opportunity to contribute and share our story. We hope that it, as with the other issues, signals important directions for educational reform and transformation.
