Chicano Education Case Study

Chicano Educational History: A Legacy of Inequality In 1994, California Governor Pete Wilson and Proposition 187 catalyzed the current anti-immigrant sentiment. They fueled federal legislation aimed at cutting the numbers of both legal and undocumented immigrants and at reducing immigrants' access to social services and society. Often times employers have favored immigrants as a source of cheap labor for an expanding capitalist economy, while significant parts of the population have objected to immigration in general or to the entry of certain groups because of their supposed racial, ethnic and cultural characteristics. The history of the racialized educational theory and its practices from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s, legitimized

The historical inquiry into the education of Chicanos becomes more important once it is realized that before the 1960s it was basically nonexist. The segregation of Mexican children in the schools, unlike the case of blacks, was based not on constitutional or state statutes but on school board regulations, customs, and practice. Although language barriers rationale was used to establish the "Mexican" schools, racial antipathy was the underlying motive. Also, the history of the Lemon Grove case is known as the first successful desegregation court case in the United States. There still is little information on the reasons leading to the filing of these cases, on the legal strategies used by Chicano lawyers and on the contextual factors influencing their choices. This article provided really thoughtful background information clearly identifying what is known and what has been studied. Also, giving a very clear indication about where the gaps are, what information is still missing and what is not being talked

Thus, bilingual-bicultural programs are seen by Chicano educators as a major breakthrough in the ethnic rigidity of the controlling white supremacy nation whose preference has long been towards a presumed monocultural middle-class American student. In order to understand bilingual-bicultural education properly one has to look at it in the framework of the cultural experiences of the Chicanos. Important to note that chicano experiences may be polarized and reflect different philosophies of education. The evaluation of bilingual-bicultural programs should take into account the expectations of Chicano educators and see program developments from their standpoint. This article is relevant to my paper because it provides a more progressive perspective since it focuses on the social recognition, respect, and self-determination that Chicanos are receiving. The Chicano bilingual bicultural education is still not perfect and is met with resistance, but it is a symbol of intellectual freedom and a promise of a better