I am really excited to be
invited to be a guest blogger for Latina Ed Tech Educator. It is not an old cliché
but it is certainly a reality that being a Hispanic Educator in the U.S. offers
a different perspective for educational settings. As teachers, we strive to
create a learning environment where all students feel free to express and learn
from each other’s identities. There is inherent passion in being a Latina
educator in the United States. We have faced the challenges, some of us have
grown up poor and we see education as the only way to improve our lives. We are
passionate about education and helping English Language Learners and students
of poverty because we were once there. As a second language learner, many
Latina educators know what it feels like to sit in a classroom where you
understand half of what is being taught; we know what it is like to be among
people who make fun of you because you don’t speak English well or because you
have an accent; and we also know what it is like to live in a place where you
always try to fit in. In the movie Stand and Deliver
with Edward James Olmos, the main character states that we, Latinos in the
U.S., have to work twice as hard. We need to speak English well but we also
need to speak Spanish well and we need to fit within two cultures. He ends his
statement by saying: “It is exhausting!”
When I was a professor at
the School for Foreign Students in
Mexico City at the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (UNAM), I had a student that considered himself to be a
Chicano. He was born in the
United States in a Mexican family who always talked to him about the wonders of
having Mexican roots. His family had idealized their Mexican roots therefore
this student’s dream was to go live in Mexico for a few months to discover his
roots. After a few weeks in Mexico City he was devastated. He confided in me
that he was distraught and disappointed. People in Mexico City were cruel to
him. He looked Mexican but his Spanish was broken. People were rude to him and continuously
made fun of his lack of fluency skills in Spanish.
As a Latina educator, I
advocate for teachers to go beyond the stereotypes and the popular culture and
traditions of a specific place. If we advocate a multicultural approach to
education we need to step beyond the clichés. It is our responsibility to offer
an honest perspective of the current state of the culture that we will be
teaching in the classroom. Even though it is true that Hispanics eat tacos,
listen to Mariachi music, and dance a lot, it is important to take a broader
look at who we are in order to avoid stereotypes.
Adriana Castillo
Educator
