Dual existence

The question for this blog to answer is: Have you observed "dual existence" and how do you create a classroom in which "dual existence" is dissolved? First I must point out that my wife and I are adopting a Mexican girl and have been in the process for 11 years. Our daughter has lived with us here since she was 2 months old, she is now 11. There is a store in Rutherford county that is near our house in which I experienced dual existence most clearly. My daughter and I used to visit that store so often that both my kids called it the "little store". Each time my daughter and I went to the store they would ask if my daughter was of mixed ethnic origin and I would remind them that she was Mexican. One day we were the only ones in the store and we were ready to pay for our ice cream and the clerk asked us if we were in a hurry and we said no. She then walked out the door and slammed the door shut. There was a Mexican man walking into the parking lot and she proceeded to cuss the man out in English and slam the door in his face preventing him from entering. Calmly she then took our money and told me that she didn't want to serve any non-English speaking people. We walked outside and proceeded to pick the man up in my pickup and take him to his house. When we arrived at his house I asked what he wanted at the store and he said, "I only wanted a coke to drink because it's hot outside today." After hearing this my daughter and I went back to the store and she went in and bought the man a coke and we took it to him. The clerk never asked my daughter anything or acted rude to my daughter.

My students also exhibit dual existence in that the school is multi-ethnic but the groups very seldom interact in a positive manner. Most of my Hispanic students want to return to Mexico after finishing school because they see a lack of respect and work ethic in many of my American students, whereas my American students respect the work ethic of many of my Hispanic students. Many of the students from the three major ethnic groups don't want to understand the others' cultures or don't have enough opportunities to appreciate different cultures.

To dissolve this "dual existence" we, as teachers, have a responsibility to create opportunities for cultural appreciation and breaking down of stereotypes formed by all groups in a given class or situation. This can be done by connecting with our students and providing class time to celebrate our differences and find similarities in culture. We must also foster the realization amongst our students that while we are different we share the same dreams and hopes fro the future.

Antonio and Delfino #3

This blog might be better entitled Down Memory Lane except for the fact that this is a reflective blog for my YOED 6020 class. As I read chapter 6, I couldn't help visualize Tijuana andthe places mentioned in the book that I have seen. Avenida Revolución is the place that I first realized that my Spanish was book spanish when I had to interpret for my mom, mother-in-law, father-in -law, wife, adoptive daughter, and myself during a shopping break in the first of our many adoption trips. The Tijuana Cultural Center was a stop on our second adoption trip in 1997 where I wanted but couldn't afford maps from each Mexican state. I've driven through Cartonlandia and Colonia Libertad on my adoption adventure. The Border wall built between the U.S. and Tijuana was fascinating to me. The wall extends out into the Pacific about 100 yards and then there's no man's land along the coast that is patrolled by U.S Border Patrol helicopter. I have seen the T.V. maquiladoras all in a row Sanyo, Sony, RCA wher some people work first shift at one factory then work second shift at another. Avenida Revolución is just as described on page 165 in the book with motels are upstairs, legitimate shops are at street level and strip bars are below street level and they are all mixed together along the street. The Gigante Supermarket is like a Mexican Big Lots with groceries. You can get anything there trust me I spent 4 hours at Gigante with my wife, my daughter, and my daughter's birth mother waiting for a ride back to Tijuana after a court visit after a hurricane. ( it's a story for another time.)
I think that the situation in Atolinga is a worst situation because the houses built will continue to serve as motivation for future generations of Mexicans to try to cross the border and not all of the dreams of a better life are realized. The crossings are getting more difficult and with the economic situation here the pressure on the hispanic is greater. Whether they are being blamed for the situation or being lumped together and accused of being illegals or drug dealers the pressure of dreams unfulfilled can be depressing. The presssure to make the home town better is also resource-consuming for the successful Hispanics who realize the dream. Having those standing reminders for future generations is the saddest part of the immigration situation and it's why we have people going with coyotes through the desert and dying by the thousands to try to reach for a dream.

Antonio and Delfino #2

As a read about the Moran brothers I felt as if the author had been there living with them. His attention to detail makes the stories very believable. Velvet paintings of matadors were in our living room when I was a child in the 70's. The story of the Moran brothers made me want to go out and buy some velvet paintings and put them up in my house today. I have seen those street artisans in Mexico during my travels and the stories of the velvet artists demonstrated to me the wonton abuse of the Mexican people by American entreprenuers and consumers. If we,the consumers, heard stories like this more often, we might reconsider our wreckless spending to fulfill selfish wants. I believe that the Moran brothers demonstrate what money can do to people and the problems that it causes. Don't take this condemnation of consumer want, to be an excuse for the artists' failure to make wise money decisions. However, they were surviving on what they were making before the boom and, based on my knowledge of the street artisans, would have been much happier doing that than the life of a person chasing money for happiness. The story of Diez is interesting in that I have known people who have used coyotes to get here. I've had students tell me their own "coyote stories" and they mirror Diez's story. The average coyote charges 2000 dollars per attempt not per success, thus some people come here with nothing, not due to robbery but due to the fees for crossing. I once saw a boy in Nuevo Laredo swim the river and sit on the US side of the river until the Broder Patrol came. Then he swam back to the Mexican side of the river. When I asked a Mexican friend why the boy did this he told me that the boy was a distraction and that a crossing was occuring at the same time somewhere else along the river. If the story of Diez interests you, you may want to read Jorge Ramos's book Dying to Cross or Ruben Martinez's Crossing Over a Mexican Migrant Tale.
The cultural differences introduced through the velvet paintings bring to mind the idea of how to deal with those diffences in the ESL classroom. My view of cultural differences is that from Day 1 in my class I always explain to my students that we all have a culture. Differences in culture don't make one culture or person wrong just different. We all make decisions based on our cultural and moral experiences. The decisions of others are based on their experiences. Those differences in experience should not be judged on our experiences but appreciated for their difference to ours. This doesn't mean that you can't disagree but you shouldn't judge them as wrong.

Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream

Due to my travels in Mexico both as an adoptive parent of a Mexican girl and as an interpreter for mission trips, I can easily visualize these stories. I have seen kids just like Antonio and Delfino and these stories are all too real to me. My wife and I started an adoption 11 years ago of a baby girl from Mexico and we tried to do it the Mexican way but have now had to resort to the American judicial system for closure. The system in Mexico does not function unless you have money and thus for people like Antonio and Delfino there are no alternatives but to immigrate legally or illegally. According to INS prior to 9/11 the wait to come legally to the US from Mexico was 11 years that's a long time to starve. The so-called "Americanization" is a nice way to say imperialism for the sake of the US citizens. Until we invest in private job- creating industry in Latin America the flow of economic refugees will continue. We must fix the immigration system not with an amnesty but with an open-mind to all suggestions. A guest worker program whereby the workers can be tracked makes the most sense. We must also level the diplomatic playing field so that immigrants from all countries are treated equally. By having a guest worker program we can also better educate the families of those workers while not americanizing everyone. Delfino is following his dream to be somebody just as everyone born here follows. Mr. Bermúndez is an example of the Quijote that exists in the human spirit not only the immigrant spirit. He believes that because of the fact that he has worked hard to make a better life for himself that he can change the system in Mexico which is set to maintain the social structure with little or no upward mobility. Mr. Robles, unfortunately, sounds more like an American in his reference to Mexicans than a Mexican referring to his fellow countrymen. Mr. Robles, like many Americans, fails to see that everyone regardless of race or origin needs the same things from society. Mr. Robles has tried to bring the Mexican methods of government to the US and use them on his own countrymen.However, in the US we have checks and balances that they lack in Mexico. To solve the immigration problems we must first show the immigrant population that they are valued for who they are, not what they can do. Then we must learn work ethic from the immigrants in order to make ourselves better, and we must invest in their countries not their governments.

Hi My name is Jeff. I am currently pursuing a M.Ed. with a concentration in ESL. I will be placing my musings about a book that I am currently reading entitled Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream. Please fell free to read the book and my comments. Also please take time to comment about my musings as I hope that they will be helpful and inspiring to you.