The state of Latinx education: A fast-growing future workforce, systemic barriers, and la lucha by Rupen Fofaria

Media Reflection by Megan Gavrillen Group 4

This article by Fofaria discusses the state of education in my state of NC through the lens of Latinx immigrants.  

Currently in her senior year at UNCG, Celeste Cervantes shares her experiences as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in the US.  Citing factors such as vast differences between the schools in Mexico and in the United States, the language barrier, and the lack of communication between her parents and her school, she says she was lucky to achieve her goals because caring adults and teachers were able to guide her.  She acknowledges that other classmates were not as lucky.  In particular, she recounts a young man who pretended to struggle with English so that he could be assigned “easier” curriculum through ESL status.

According to the article, one in six children through age 17 in North Carolina is Hispanic, and while “more than half of all North Carolina high school graduates enroll in postsecondary….less than 40% among our Hispanic graduates.” 

This module’s readings highlight patterns of marginalization among immigrants in the education system.  The focus on high-stakes testing, which requires academic language proficiency, and reform initiatives which often “ignore and avoid engaging new immigrant students” are some of the obstacles outlined (Suarez-Orozco, 2011, p. 313).  The separation “experienced by immigrant-origin language learners… results in unequal resources, lowered expectations, and insufficient exposure to high-level academic content and critical-thinking skills” (Suarez-Orozco, 2011, p. 317). 

Another interviewee in the article, Carlos Ramirez, shares that as a student in California, he felt like “ my language … was erased and … we were taught to be less than.”  The perspectives in this article correlate with the “othered” position outlined in our reading (Vigil, 2002, as cited in Suarez-Orozco, 2011, p. 317).  This “erasing” also connects to the exploration of transnational identities in the module.

Suárez-Orozco, M. M., Darbes, T., Dias, S. I., & Sutin, M. (2011). Migrations and schooling. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40, 311-328.