Miguel Chavez

Aaron Benedetti
UWP 1
February 22, 2017
The Discourse Community of Latinos in School
There are a multitude of different types of discourse communities that many different
people are a part of. Everyone is a part of a discourse community whether they know it or not.
Some are born into one and others grow up in one and are absorbed into it. Out of the many
different discourse communities that I am a part of, one of them is a latino/hispanic discourse
community in which families from any spanish speaking community immigrates to the United
States and their children are either born there or they are also brought over with their parents
and the difficulty the children have with their education as they grow up. Those children have to
learn a language they are unfamiliar with as well as immersing themselves in a new culture
while also growing up in areas they are unfamiliar with. Some latino/hispanic students have it
easy and grow up getting the education they deserve while others have a rough time and
struggle for multiple reasons. Gee describes a discourse as, ... a sort of identity kit which
comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act, talk, and often
write, so as to take on a particular role that others will recognize(Gee). Although latinos are
allowed to get an education here in the United States, they should not be devalued and get an
inferior education than others just because of a language barrier and wrong assessment of their
skills.
Many latino students are mistreated or are not treated the same way as others
regardless of their educations. For latino students that immigrated to the United States, they
may have had some sort of education in other subjects like math. However, coming to the
United States latino students are treated differently. People assume they have little to no
education and are out into low level classes. For example, they can be put into a low-level math
class that doesnt accurately gauge their skills. In a statement by Moschkovich, he stated,
When I asked them (in Spanish) if they were having a problem, they told me they had already
studied this material the previous year in their native country. They also said that they felt
discouraged because in their view they were falling behind by repeating material they already
knew(Moschkovich). Latino students are treated as having a small amount of intelligence. The
students in this example could have been put into a class that better matched their skills but are
denied that chance. Schools assume that latino students are not intelligent because some
speak English with an accent or some dont speak English at all and therefore are placed in
classes that dont match their skills. Those students should have had their skills assessed
before being placed in a class and not because they dont know English or their English is bad.
This example is not an isolated incident but reflects a common situation in which English-
language learners receive differential treatment because of inappropriate assessment of their
skills (Losey 1995). If that school, actually took the time to assess their skills, they would have
been in a good start for their education path with no time wasted. Latino students are assessed
like this solely because of their English proficiency and that alone. In other words, because
these latino students are English learners, that is the sole reason why they are placed in the
wrong classes. Latino students could possibly be ahead of other students in certain areas like
math. Assessing based on English proficiency does do latino students justice. There are many
ways to assess a latino students skills. Moschkovich had this to say as an option For example,
written placement tests can be supplemented by other sources of information, such as
interviews with the students.
But there are some instances where English proficiency is ignored and latino students are
placed in classes equally as others. I somewhat fell into that category when I started school. I
grew up speaking primarily spanish however I was exposed to English since birth. Whether it
was through television or because of the neighborhood I lived in, I was able to learn English with
minimal effort and it eventually became my primary language. But in my first day of school, I
couldnt speak much English, but I understood it more than I could speak it. But just after a
week or so I was able to speak it just through my previous exposure and because I was picking
it up from other students. I was fortunate enough to not be placed in a lower level class and
learn to speak English with no difficulty. However, despite me catching on quickly, I still started
with the language difficulty most latino students had. It may have not been as long as other
latinos but it was still there. My first day of class was hard since I couldnt follow directions. I was
angering the teacher because she thought I was ignoring her on purpose but I just didnt
understand her.
Another reason latino students had difficulty getting an education is because of how their
culture is treated by other people, specifically white people. For example, many teachers are
white and a majority of texts that are taught in schools are written by white authors. Which
means it is very unlikely that a latino student, will see a text, written by a latino. Throughout my
school career, I never read a text written by a latino author. This would mean that schools are
devaluing latino culture whether a student is from Mexico or Peru. Martin makes a mention of
Lopez on what the effects of doing this are. She says silencing the cultural background of
Latino students is a form of academic violence which may lead students to feel their culture is
deficit (qtd. in Martin 124). Basically what she is saying is that by only exposing latino students
to white texts, they will feel that their culture is inferior. What Martin wants suggests is, It's
important to remember that a localized approach to education; using a student's own
background knowledge, such as that in ethnographic community writing, personal histories, etc.,
are some of the most effective means of bridging the gap from secondary school to the larger
world-views of the academy(Martin). So keeping in mind that a student could come from a
different background, teaching them with that in mind could help teach latinos or any ethnicity
more efficiently.
I interviewed one of my friends, David, and asked him about his experiences going to
school here in the United States. He was one of the first people I wanted to ask because he
grew up under different conditions compared to me. He was born in Mexico, so he had to go
through the struggle of crossing the border when he was young and he still had not started
school either. So he was just a clueless child and had other circumstances to go through. He
was going to a country he knew nothing about and, worst of all, he couldnt speak the language.
I was exposed to English at a young age, so I was able to understand and make sense of
English quickly, but my friend David was not in the same situation as me. He had to go through
the struggle of trying to learn English all on his own since his parents didnt know English either,
so they couldnt help him either. The only way he was able to learn was practicing it, being
exposed to it, and just by going to school and picking it up from there. One of the things David
told me was that math, PE or any other that did not require the use of speaking or writing in
English, he was able to understand. Math came naturally to him and was not difficult for him to
study. The only thing he was not able to do was writing and speaking English. He had to work
several times harder as other kids to try and catch up with them due to his inefficiency and
unfamiliarity with the language. However that was the only obstacle that was holding David
back. He told me that once he was able to grasp English, he started to do better in school. He
told me that somewhere around 4th to 6th grade was when he was able to fully grasp the
language. After he got past that language barrier, he was under the same conditions as
everyone else and just had to keep up with or stay at the same pace as everyone else. However
there were other advantages of being on the same level as everyone else. David explained to
me that after putting in all that work just to catch up to everyone else, he was then able to use
his experience from catching up and apply that experience to actually get ahead of everyone so
he didnt have to struggle if that time ever came. His hardships made him work harder and it
paid off for him. His experiences were difficult for him and had to work hard to understand
English like many other latino students. What I can get from this is that latinos that are not able
to speak english are actually able to push themselves to do better than other students who can
speak english. Like David, many other latino students had to put in more effort to keep up with
kids. In other words, Latino students just dont understand how to talk and how to act. They
dont understand how to use their identity kit when speaking English.
I then interviewed another friend of mine who was in a similar situation as my friend
David but still ended up having completely different circumstances as well as other issues in
addition to the ones that my friend David had. His name is Juan and he also had to cross the
border like David. Despite being in almost the same situation as David, there was one gleaming
difference that became a mountain of an obstacle for him to climb. I wont go into to much detail
since this is Davids personal life but he was able to get his papers and became a citizen of the
United States and didnt have to worry about deported. Juan did not have papers, so he was still
an immigrant and his parents still did not their green card yet. As a result, Juan and his family
were constantly living in fear of getting deported and that hindered his education because he
could not solely keep his mind in school. He explained to me different scenarios of how this was
an issue for him. After he was comfortable with the English language, he did not want to
participate in discussions or bring any attention to him because he did not want anyone to find
out that he was an immigrant and whenever there was group work or a presentation, he would
start to get anxious and paranoid. He was afraid his accent would be a dead giveaway and he
would also be embarrassed to speak because of his accent. He was not able to work well and
that his education would be impeded. He was no longer able to focus and instead kept his guard
up. There may have been no reason to be, but one could never be too sure and that's what
Juan kept thinking, one could never be too sure. Another situation he gave me was he was
afraid to be out in public because he feared he would be found out. He felt his appearance and
accent were a dead giveaway he was an immigrant. So he didnt socialize much with anybody
and that resulted in him not having many friends. He would immediately go home after school
and not socialize with anybody. That meant he would have to do homework assignments all by
himself. His parents never received a proper education either to help him. He could not socialize
with other kids and didnt know how to either. Not only that, the other students could be
assuming he is unintelligent and not want to work with him. But all that went away when DACA
was passed by Obama. Hugo Lopez explains DACA as such, the program provides temporary
relief from deportation and a two-year work permit to qualifying young adults ages 15 to 30 who
were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Despite DACA not being a pathway to citizenship,
it gave relief to Juan since he no longer had to worry about being deported for a certain amount
of time and not only that, he could apply for DACA to extend his benefits. With DACA, Juan was
then able to relax and focus more on his education for a short time.
A final issue that many latinos faced is working in the fields to help support their families
while also going to school. This was difficult for many latinos as it made it harder for them to get
an education and added more pressure. Latinos parents want their kids to get an education but
in most cases, Some latinos even thought about dropping out of school to work and support
their families, in fact some did end up doing this. Supporting families was a burden that made
many latino students question whether an education was worth it. NFWM had to say this about
youths working in the fields, youth and young adults will continue to toil in our fields, while
endangering their health and well being. Latino students put themselves in danger by working
in the fields and harm their body just so they can scrape up some money to live by. Then after
work, they would have to focus on their studies. If only their parents work, they would not have
enough money to have a place to live or for food and clothes. To add on to that, college is
expensive and many latino students are aiming for that That leaves almost no free time except
on the weekends. A friend in High School told me about his experience of working in the fields
and going to school and how it was very difficult since he couldnt do homework until he was
finished working, which left him tired. The one thing I remember him saying was he wanted to
give up on school because it was too much work for him to manage while also working which
resulted in him sleeping less. Latino students basically have to grow up faster than others and
make tough decisions that affect their lives.
Latino students in general have to focus on other things and not just school itself. Latino
students struggle because they cant completely immerse themselves in their studies meaning
they have to work even harder. Whether it is a language barrier or work, Latinos struggle,
because they cannot solely focus on school and only on school.
 Works Cited
Gee, James Paul. Journal of Education. 1st ed. Vol. 171. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Ser. 1989.
Literacy, Discourse, And Linguistics: Introduction. Web.
Hugo Lopez Manuel, Mark, and Jens Krogstad. "5 Facts about the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals Program." Pew Research Center. N.p., 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 07 Mar.
2017.
Losey, Kay M. Mexican American Students and Classroom Interaction: An Overview and
Critique. Review of Educational Research 65, no. 3 (1995): 283318
Martin, Bruce J. "The Counterpublic Writing Experience of Houston Latino University
Students." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Moschkovich, Judit N. Understanding the Needs of Latino Students in Reform-Oriented
Mathematics Classrooms. Changing the Faces of Mathematics: Perspectives on Latinos
(March 1999): 5-12.
NFWM-YAYA Staff. "Children in the Fields -." National Farm Worker Ministry. N.p., n.d. Web.
07 Mar. 2017.
David. Personal interview. 3 February 2017.
Juan. Personal interview. 3 February 2017