Overcoming Obstacles Of First Generation Students In The Classroom

The article “Motivating Firs-Generation Students For Academic Success and College Completion” by Tanjula Petty describes the additional challenges first generation students have to overcome while attending college. A well-heeled diversity and world of opportunities are a few of the positive outcomes of attending college. According to Tanjula Petty (2014), “Yet, the most cited and widely used definition for first- generation students is someone whose parents has not completed a college degree”. Students whose parents did not acquire a college degree, have a lack of support at home. Their family members are not equipped to provide information required for college difficulties students may have. They lack knowledge and resources that students that students with college-educated parents have. The article states that these students are less psychologically prepared for college. Many low-income families do not understand the benefits of graduating from college. First generation students spend more time working and less time studying unlike their classmates. (Petty 2014) Coming from low-income families, many of these students have to divide their time between college and working. Leading students to prioritize money before school. Many work full time while going to school. Working more hours than studying can potentially harm students ' success.

Sociologists have been studying the effects of education on Latino Americans and to their findings there are physical and conceptual issues which include: language barriers, issues with educators and peers which cause issues within their identity development and ultimately creating this separation of cultures which can effect Latino Americans success in school. While there are other factors that may be

In chapter 9 of the book Black Ants and Buddhists it talks about the different situations that families and teachers may encounter inside and outside a classroom setting. One of the situations that it talks about in this chapter is about different types of families and their origins. Talking to students about their families it might be challenging because as a future teacher we might not know what is their situation or who is taking care of them. For instance, last year when I worked in a school I told a student that his mom and dad would be so proud to see that he had made a 100 in the test. I noticed that he was upset when I told him that, he later on told me that he lives with his grandma, I felt bad for the entire day because I didn’t

Growing up in a Latino household is hard. My parents only spoke Spanish therefore my first language was Spanish. For the first few years of my life this was not really a problem, I enjoyed life as any normal little girl would. I got to talk to all of my cousins and all of the neighbor’s children. It wasn’t until I got to school that it became real that I was going to learn English. Don’t get me wrong I always knew I had to learn English my parents always talked to me about school and helped me as much as they could. It was also around this same time where I started to understand that it was not only hard for me it was hard for them as well. My parents had to live in this country not knowing the main language spoken.

First generation college students are those who are seeking to be the first in their family to earn a degree, according to UCLA. First- generation students can come from low, middle, or high income families without a history of going to college. Families of first generation students can either be supportive of the students plan for a high education or make them feel family pressure to enter the workforce right after high school like they did. First generation students often do not know their options regarding higher education and have fears about going to college and it’s cost. Currently, 42% of UC undergraduates are first generation.

Study conducted by Hicks (2006), compared educational barriers of first-generation to non-first-generation students; first-generation students had dissimilar expectations of college, poorer academic abilities, lack of social preparation, lack of self-esteem, and more financial constraints (Hicks, 2003; Thayer, 2000).

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Undocumented students come from all over the world, not just Mexico, or Spanish speaking countries as many close-minded people believe. It is sad how when someone sees a Hispanic/Latino student they automatically think they are undocumented and are from Mexico. That is not always the case. There are Hispanic/Latino students in the United States that are documented. The reason why many parents risk their life to come here to the United States as an immigrant is because they want a better future for their kids. Even when they have children in their native country, they try their best to bring them to the United States along with them as young children so they are able to get a better education and life. For their kids to be able to receive and have a life that will be a million times better than the one they would have if they stayed in their native country. Every day I am grateful for the risk my mother took for me. For giving me the chance to grow up in a country where I know I am getting a better education. Where I was taught English as my second language and have mastered it just as much as Spanish that is my native language. The United States is where I feel like I am home. Although at times I had the fear of being deported, or have racial comments said to, this is still home. Mexico is only a country where I was born at, raised for the first two years of

The transition is different for a first generation immigrant at a high school level. There are many factors that come into play that make this transition difficult for the immigrants. In recent times, schools all over the country are very diverse, population wise. They have to deal with a new environment, unknown to them. They also have to learn to adapt, and learn a new language, which is a whole new challenge all on its' own. Bullying followed by discrimination are some of the biggest issues first generation immigrants face during their high school education.

A first-generation college student is the first person in a family to attend college or any type of secondary education. This title “first-generation college student” has created a stigma for so many students making their time in college more difficult than someone who has come from a family of college graduates. First-generation college students often find themselves lost and without the edge of students who come from parents and/or siblings who went to college.

They are aware of stereotypes therefore, they think that they will not be seen of the same way as others. As mentions Cofer for many Latinos “life is a constant struggle against the misconceptions perpetuated by the myth of the Latina” (p. 247). This can cause them to be embarrassed or afraid to accept who are Latino. Also, this causes devaluation of its culture, fear of speaking in Spanish and care for their behavior in public. Although I see this is not an impediment to overcome stereotypes, because are already many Latinos who have achieved be successful people in various fields. Because language, way of dressing or ethnic group does not define a person as good or bad, as successful or loser. Finally, if we work all with effort we can to achieve greater equity in

Latino immigrants have always had many obstacles when coming into the United States, the difference between the American and the Latin cultures is what has caused a huge hurdle that immigrants have found hard to overpass. This obstacle has caused many generations to go through cultural assimilation. Mize et al. (2012) explain that cultural assimilation is the adaptation of immigrants to unfamiliar cultural patterns, which include language and the value systems of other cultures. In order for immigrants to be successful in another country, which is not of their origin; they need to learn how to assimilate to their new homes. Immigrants have learned that they need to adapt in order to get to experience new opportunities and also to learn from new cultures that are not theirs (Mize et al., 2012). Immigrants have learned that they are not leaving behind their own believes and norms, but mixing their norms, this gives them the opportunity to create and mix their culture with the new. Cultural assimilation can be hard to achieve because in one hand it is important to change in order to live within a different culture, but on the other hand it is important for a person to maintain their identity regardless of where they live. At times immigrants find it difficult to achieve a balance and for many families it is a struggle over generations. There are different levels of assimilation, some immigrants come to the

When Hispanics enter into the American mainstream, their main assimilation obstacle is acquiring the English language. Their native language is Spanish, so when they come to the United states they are are faced with many struggles as to finding jobs in which would allow them to only speak Spanish. They would have to learn the American language in order to succeed and communicate with others who only speak English. Once they have learned English, everything becomes easier and more accessible. Many first generation Hispanics don’t make much of an effort to acquire the language as opposed to second and third generation Hispanics. First generations Hispanics prefer to hold on to their roots and would avoid assimilating through language.

Scholars take tremendous amounts of AP classes, participate in various extracurricular activities, and aim for high standardized test scores to increase their chances of admittance by a prestigious university. Time was to be managed carefully.

My parents are both first generation American immigrants who came from low income households in India. Although they were not guaranteed much, they seized all opportunities presented to them and worked strenuously to maintain a financially stable household. However, they are also faced with the tasks of contributing to my family in India and providing for my sister’s college education. Furthering my own college education will place an enormous burden on my parents, stretching our finances ever thinner.