Keeping The Torch Lit

The schools were overcrowded, students were malnourished, and “the federal government neglected to provide Native children with even the most basic necessities in the schools where they resided.” (32) This chapter also discussed the assimilation process. “Government schools taught students to be ashamed of their names, their tribal languages, and even family surnames derived from tribal language.” (29) The next chapters speak of the homesickness many students felt because of the assimilation policies keeping children from returning home on breaks and of the diseases that spread rapidly throughout the schools such as tuberculosis and trachoma. Through the use of letters between students and parents, Child paints a portrait of the emotional hardships families faced from being separated with little

I am an 18-year-old student currently residing in Indiana. I’ve been living here with my family for the past eleven or so years, ever since we moved in 2004 from California, my birthplace. My parents both originate from Central America. My mother is from El Salvador and my father is from Mexico, so I’m a mix of Salvadorian, Mexican, and American. I was homeschooled by my parents for most of my adolescent life, mainly by my mother during my infant years. As I grew up my father took charge of my education from kindergarten to middle school. When it came time for highschool, I decided to attend a public school. My first endeavour in the public education system was with an online school known as INCA(Indiana Connection Academy). I eventually found

Education, or the lack thereof, has always been something that plagued my immediate family. I come from a background of immigrant parents—hard-working, yet unable to acquire academic achievements. My father did not graduate out of high school in Vietnam because he was drafted into the Vietnam War and escaped as a refugee thereafter. My mother, on the other hand, graduated from high school but was not able to pursue higher education due to the burdens she had working and raising me as a child.

As the warm sun sluggishly dips below the horizon, the harsh, pale light of my desk lamp takes full responsibility for illuminating the slowly-shrinking collection of schoolwork. The piles of assignments collect in a stack beside by bed, each one masterfully designed from a combination of the material on the syllabus, personal tips from the teacher, and a collection of the teacher’s beliefs. The papers rest upon the old oak bookshelf containing monochromatic prints of esteemed relatives, each with their own lessons and beliefs learned through difficult life decisions. Although these stories don’t have a due date like my homework, every one of my family’s stories has lessons which are just as important, but are at risk of being lost forever, and as Amanda Hayes, author of Splintered Literacies states, “the weakness of oral cultures is that they can die in a generation” (Hayes 104).

Leaving home at the age of 18, loving on my own, figuring how to become an adult, and moving out to college, there were many things being thrown at me in which I was not fully prepared for them. Moving out at 18 is normal for any high school graduate in The United States. Being a Mexican American women it was more than just the net step to life , but a huge accomplishment. Being ascribed into a poor family increased the desire to move forward. My parents did not want me to follow their footsteps into the world of low waged labor, they wanted more. Growing up all I heard from teachers and family members was to go to college. For many it’s the normal thing for a high school graduate to do. For me it was more than socialization it was the path

It's a regular Tuesday morning, just like any other. A Hispanic mother is called to the school for a meeting for a consultation about her son’s performance. While in the meeting, the principal tells her that her child is in the 2nd grade, but is very behind. He adds the fact that her child does not understand the language the teacher speaks, and consequently, is not learning. The mother feels helpless since she cannot help him by reason of not understanding the language either. Hence, this is the difficult reality for numerous Hispanic families.

Being born of 2 immigrant parents, who work menial jobs and have no education has always had its weight on me. Neither one of my parents are high school graduates and no one in my family has obtained a collegiate education. I have been able to experience first hand how difficult a life with no education is. I recall other students sharing how their parents provided aid with their homework and read to them, knowing I did not get to experience that made me gloomy. I had no other choice but to learn everything on my own and then attempt to teach my parents. This peculiar lifestyle has pushed me harder in academics and has given me a genuine appreciation for the value of an education.

married and have a family at a young age, but it was not her fault that her husband became

Luis thought he wasn’t wanted in school, and he didn’t want to get involved in school no matter how many schools he went to. All he really needed was a mentor to understand him and help get through his struggle. “.. she offered quips and comments about me not attending school” (Luis 133)

In his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, Richard Rodriguez describes how his educational journey changed his life, particularly resulting in a cultural and emotional separation from his parents. In the essay, Rodriguez writes, “If, because of my schooling, I had grown culturally separated from my parents, my education finally had given me the ways of speaking and caring about the fact” (355). Rodriguez’s unique understanding of his family and education fundamentally alters his interactions with them, which influences his ways of speaking and caring about this separation throughout various stages of his education. These unique understandings are exhibited through specific dialogues

One’s family’s history, culture and environmental factors can influence a great deal of who they are. In fact, all three of these factors have influenced a great deal of the young woman I am today. To begin with, I am an African-American woman of Haitian descent. My family immigrated from Haiti years before I was born seeking a better life. I grew up in a close-knit family that worked odd jobs to reach ends meet. I remember fondly, my mother, a single mother working three jobs struggling to put food on the table, clothes on me and my three sibling’s backs, and electricity in the house. My mother never had time to rest, enjoy her day or spend time with me or my siblings. We often took cold showers, and had many hungry nights. Due to the amount

Our education system is perhaps one of the most complex institutions in the United States. Students are taught to be their most authentic selves but yet are told to think a certain way. In reality, students really don’t have the freedom to be their genuine identity. Our society tells us that a typical student speaks the language, excels in all areas of study, and loves to read. Children who do not fit this mold are often at a disadvantage and do not attain the same acceptance. In the essay, “Achievement of Desire” Richard Rodriguez was a first generation immigrant from Mexico. His parents spoke little English, and had no education. Automatically, his family is an outcast. Throughout Rodriguez’s schooling career he learned to fit the perfect mold of the “typical” American student. He finds himself to be in an internal struggle between social versus family isolation, authenticity and finding his place in the American society.

When I was child, I read the newspapers, magazines, and books to my mother while she cooked dinner. Some of my best days were spent learning together new words, stories, histories, and current events especially from my country, Peru, and Latin America. Until something changed my life: my mother attended school up to third grade. Since then, I helped her to increase her knowledge and I also have wanted to be a Spanish and Latin American history teacher at the community college level. To do this, I need a master degree. My skills in understanding the Spanish language fluently, my background in working for and with the Latino community, and cultural upbringing have thoroughly prepared me for the UCLA’s master program in Latin American Studies.

Growing up, people realize that around the time of reaching a mature state, education has affected their personal family life in one way or the other. With that being said, in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, Richard Rodriguez headed towards a path where he was unconsciously distancing himself from his family and becoming much more independent than he had expected. Rodriguez gives the reader a sentimental idea of the two contrary lives he had growing up, the life he had as a child, and the life he has as an educated man. He continued believing in his aspiration of how benefits of education can remarkably outweigh the past struggles of both his family and himself. Like Rodriguez, I also, in the past, found some form of solitude

I chose Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of child development to reflect on my stages of development. In the microsystem of Bronfenbrenner’s model, my early childhood family structure included my uncle, his wife and their five children. I went to live with my uncle after my mother passed away. By middle childhood, my uncle and his wife migrated to the United Sates and I went to live with one of his daughters( Erica) and her two children. They became my construct of what a family represent. Although I was welcomed in Erica’s family, I felt as if I did not belong in their family. The only place I felt accepted was at school. The classroom represented a place where I expressed my feelings without being ignored or judged by my peers. Also, I had very observant and understanding teachers who had the best of my interest. I had one teacher , Mr. Francis, who believed that I was capable of improving academically. At the end of his class, he noted in my report card that I had potential to be academically competent, however, I needed to settle down and apply myself to learning. His comments motivated me to do my best throughout elementary school. During elementary school, I maintained healthy relationships with my peers. There were never any reports of misconduct of any misunderstanding amongst my peers. In fact, interactions with them thought me how to engage in fair play, wait my turn, build trust and explore my environment. In exploring my environment, I