BACKGROUND
Sex: male
Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Born in: Southern California
Parents born in: Mexico
I'm
a second language learner, so many of my negative
experiences and prejudices were based on this situation. My
first teacher was a monolingual Anglo female who happened to
be very nice, but didn’t know how to modify assignments
for me. At the time, I felt like it would take me years and
years to learn English. It felt like all the teachers were
going to kind of brush me aside and smile while doing it, so
as not to hurt my feelings. Not only were we unable to
communicate, but all the classroom and homework assignments
were the same as those of my fellow classmates. I was also
graded with the same criteria as the other students so
naturally; my self-esteem went down hill. I immediately
built a barrier trying to further distance myself from
educators.
My sixth grade teacher instantly broke down this prejudice I
had of "American teachers". I knew more English by then. I
know it was easier for her to help me adapt, but she had
this was of looking into my eyes and letting me know that
she cared, and that she was going to do anything in her
power to help me become as successful as possible. Mrs.
Bailey played a huge role in the breakdown of this
prejudice.
I'm
a second language learner, so many of my negative
experiences and prejudices were based on this situation. My
first teacher was a monolingual Anglo female who happened to
be very nice, but didn’t know how to modify assignments
for me. At the time, I felt like it would take me years and
years to learn English. It felt like all the teachers were
going to kind of brush me aside and smile while doing it, so
as not to hurt my feelings. Not only were we unable to
communicate, but all the classroom and homework assignments
were the same as those of my fellow classmates. I was also
graded with the same criteria as the other students so
naturally; my self-esteem went down hill. I immediately
built a barrier trying to further distance myself from
educators.