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Made In America Chapter Summaries

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Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools by Dr. Laurie Olsen (1997) is an excellent book for all educators of multicultural students. The book focuses on immigrant students, who sometimes take a back-burner to other multicultural students in the education system, and discusses the unique challenges these students face in American public schools. Made in America is a collection of interviews and observations that Olsen conducted for her doctoral dissertation. Dr. Laurie Olsen is an independent consultant, the Director of the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL), and previously served as director of California Tomorrow. Dr. Olsen has dedicated 50 years researching, writing, and advocating for immigrant and ELLs students in America. The new preface for Made in America, added in 2008, states that Dr. Olsen would be more of an activist today than just a researcher when she wrote the book. She would advocate more for immigrant students and English …show more content…

However, immigrant students are required to have sufficient mastery of the language to do well in high school. All of their classes, besides language learning classes, are taught wholly in English in the majority of high schools across America. As Dr. Olsen points out, “a student cannot learn social studies, math, and science if they cannot understand the language of the teacher or … the textbook” (Olsen, 1997, pg. 94). She goes on to state that learning English can take up to seven years, and that for students to truly master the language, they need “instruction and support in their home language” (Olsen, 1997, pg. 94). Several researchers agree; they point out that teaching students solely in English is detrimental, and that having a better understanding of students’ culture/language will greatly increase learning (García, Arias, Harris Murri, & Serna, 2010; McMillan & Rivers,

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561 Words | 3 Pages

America Afire has a total of fourteen chapters. Takes place in Washington D.C in a presidential election in the 1800s this election conserved the revolution of the American Republic with the constitution still being new during the election. Weisberger also delivers many interesting and revealing previews of life in the Republic of Constitutional Convention through the excruciating choices made, lengthens from third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson. The chapter of America Afire begins in the Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. Here Weisberger examines the cause of growth in the first party system in the United States; James Madison had explained the Republican Party and the Federalist Party differences about winning

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Through this example, McGray builds credibility for his arguments towards his audience of American legislators who may feel shocked and ashamed due to the absence of general world’s knowledge of the American students. Subsequently, if American legislators accept the existence of this problem, it will encourage them to promptly make changes. Christina tale is remarkably symbolic for the reason that it is the first key the author provides to intentionally engage American legislators into the reading and encourage them to incorporate multicultural studies in the American education. McGray uses Christina’s tale as a sample to provide to American legislators the actual state of the American education. Even though anecdotes are not considered scientific proofs, they still dominate people’s thinking due to the fact that they have a convincing appeal that relates people on a more personal level.

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1780 Words | 8 Pages

Because of this lack of English education, we fail to assimilate the students to be functioning members of the United States. The way we are able to assimilate students is to create better programs for students who are learning English; that way, when it is time to enter the workforce, they will be able to understand what it takes to move ahead in this country. The article states that “Good bilingual immersion programs provide such an environment by giving English speakers and English learners ample opportunities to interact in and out of the classroom.” Assimilation relies on the need to acquire the social and psychological features of a group. Most Latino students in schools today hold a very small grasp on our language and our social system, which is partly due to the rampant segregation.

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654 Words | 3 Pages

English proficiency is something the authors place an emphasis on, for language is a great factor in terms of assimilating into a brand new culture. Elina will explain the concept of assimilation, which is “a multigenerational process by which the “characteristics of members of immigrant groups and host societies come to resemble one another”” (Fraga et al. 2016, p. 330). With the concept of assimilation tackled, Danny Barocio will explain the different types of assimilation – cultural, structural, and marital (10 minutes), which will help the class gain a better understanding of the question that is posed at hand: Is assimilation necessary in order to achieve the “Americano dream”? There is almost (arguably) a consensus that the American dream is becoming “harder to achieve” (Fraga et al. 2016, p. 331) with each passing day, however, there are people that believe assimilation is the key to achieving this dream.

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706 Words | 3 Pages

“Precious Knowledge” is a documentary about the Mexican-American Studies Program offered to highschool students in Tucson, Arizona (2011). This documentary follows students enrolled in the Mexican-American Studies Program offered at Tucson Magnet High School: Crystal, Pricilla, and Gilbert; as well as the teachers of the Mexican-American Studies courses: Curtis Acosta and Jose Gonzalez. The students and teachers are interviewed throughout the documentary and explain how they are impacted by the program and their activism to keep the program is demonstrated. This film features individuals who opposed the program, such as superintendent Tom Horne and incoming superintendent John Huppenthal. They believed that ethnic studies were racist, promoted

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438 Words | 2 Pages

But even when they didn’t learn English themselves, their children grew up speaking it. Thousands of first-generation Americans still strive to learn English, but others face reduced educational and career opportunities because they have not mastered this basic skill they need to get ahead. According to the 1990 census, 40 percent of the Hispanics born in the United States do not graduate from high school, and the Department of Education says that a lack of proficiency in English is an important factor in the drop-out rate. People and agencies that favor providing services only in foreign languages want to help people who do not speak English, but they may be doing these people a disservice by condemning them to a linguistic ghetto from which they cannot easily escape.

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631 Words | 3 Pages

The application of an intersectional analysis will help me demonstrate the intersections that stood in the way of this individuals’ success like: identity establishment, social classes, gender roles, and racial discrimination. By understanding the experience of Panchito and his family, I can have a better insight of how to effectively engage and motivate students that I might have in my classroom who are like Panchito and struggle with their literacy abilities. The intersections that stand in the way of success for immigrant youth can be challenging to overcome. However with the proper support and guidance, these hurdles can be surpassed. “For immigrant adolescence, the stresses associated with developing a sense of identity are accompanied and aggravated by the challenges of existing and growing up in disparate cultures.”

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906 Words | 4 Pages

According to Census Bureau reports, 63 percent of immigrants who arrived prior to 1980 had high English-speaking ability in 2012, while only 6 percent did not speak English at all. In relation to its publication date, in the essay, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, the author represents immigrants as having “limited” or “broken” English by using her mother, a chinese immigrant, as an example to symbolize the limitations of immigrants in America and the challenges they have to face in order to be accepted. The representation of immigrants having “limited” or “broken” English can be identified within the text as the author uses her mother as an example to represent these said immigrants. In the first two sections of the essay, the author describes a

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Several well validated studies have affirmed the idea that minority students feel ostracized when their race, creed, sex, or religion is not represented in the classroom. That isolation can prove harmful to students morale, esteem, and ability to function effectively in classrooms. As a multiethnic individual, Gloshanda Lawyer made a detailed case for installing a multicultural secondary education. In, “The Dangers of Separating Social Justice From Multicultural Education,” Lawyer provides a personal narrative of the multicultural education in Lawyer’s own life enriched her experience in school. It helps individuals strive to be, “agents of change,” that can contribute positively to society (Lawyer,

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553 Words | 3 Pages

In addition to learning another language the students will also learn about the culture behind that language. This will have a positive impact on them because they will learn about the way they live the food and many other factors that will help contribute to the understanding of the people they learn about. Also learning their culture will also open the doors to new and possibly exiting experiences. While it opens the doors to new and possibly exiting experiences it will also allow the youth to acquire new knowledge, such as my own experience has proven. As stated in paragraph one some people negate their contribution to teaching in multiple languages because of americanism, but isn't that one of the reasons on why america was build to let people have the freedom to choose their own culture religion etc.

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385 Words | 2 Pages

Jay Mathews believes that high school students who are attempting to learn a foreign language are not at any kind of advantage. Despite what is told to students, such as it “enhances academic skills and encourages a sense of the wider world,” starting to learn a new language at the high school level is not beneficial as many would like. Throughout the piece, he focuses on everything that our education system is doing wrong while mentioning a system that has had proven success rates. Without specifically saying Mathews gives a blueprint to what would need to be done to make learning a foreign language successful. For many years, Europe has implemented learning English in their schools.

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488 Words | 2 Pages

There are many classes U.S. students are required to take such as language arts, mathematics, history, and science but, foreign language classes is not one of them. Therefore, U.S. students are not required to learn a second language other than English in schools. This has gone on for many years in schools but, learning a second language is helpful for many reasons. That is why U.S. students should be required to learn another language other than English to help them in the future.

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1742 Words | 7 Pages

The American School System Gets an ‘F’ “Government schooling… kills the family by monopolizing the best times of childhood and by teaching disrespect for home and parents.” This quote from author, former schoolteacher, and prominent advocate for education reform, John Taylor Gatto, encapsulates a facet of the struggle children face when they go to school, especially if they are the children of immigrants. American schools place a heavy emphasis on competition, on English fluency, and on assimilation. Moreover, children spend a significant portion of their lives at school, absorbing the standardized information and values that make Americans, American; what schools decide to value, they make their students value as well. And all too often,

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1129 Words | 5 Pages

The Education of Immigrant Children Introduction Each year there are a numerous circumstances immigrant children face in order to get the proper education they need. Researchers have recognized the importance of children education and have found a three-pronged approach on how to handle this issue by removing barriers and provide funds to postsecondary schools that will lead children to be successful in the future, improve ECE participation rates among immigrant children, and having parental and family involvement to help their kids more to give them a better understanding in school. The Problem According to researchers, immigrant children in school are affected in several ways, some ways that later on in the future they might not

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1757 Words | 8 Pages

Although school seems difficult and hard to us native English speakers, it’s a whole other world for some families. Families that do not speak English have an entirely different struggle that may be hard to relate to. Parents have to go through the tiresome endeavor of helping their child enter school, children have to learn a new language, and families who have a child with a disability have to go through those challenges and then some more to learn how to help their children get the best education possible. In the end, all these families want is for their children to do well in order to help them on their path to success. Children whose first language is not English experience a tedious task that native English speakers do not have to do,

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