Editor's Introduction In the fall o...

Editor's Introduction

In the fall of 1954 the parents of a six-year-old stripling in a small south Texas town were worried. Aware that Brown v Board had made segregation illegal they nonetheless worried about in what way their eldest child would be received in the first grade. They had taken all of the precautions that pair loving parents could take. They had sent the young child to a preschool (rare in the early fifties) and made indisputable that the child was bilingual in English and Spanish. These parents triped for the American Dream-to them this meant equality of treatment. They wanted their child to achieve his highest potential. Living in a typical working class Mexican American neighborhood, their child had prolonged been surrounded by Spanish-speaking neighbors. The maternal grandparents lived across the highway and they spoke only Spanish. The parents spoke Spanish in the family but since they also spoke English they made trustworthy that both languages were used equally. The arise was a good mix of English and Spanish and a extremely bilingual child. Their intentions were well placed.

However, as the beginning of the drill year approached, they worried nevertheless. They worried about whether the child would be allowed to take down first grade. Although already six years old-fashioned (soon to be seven), it was not unusual for a Mexican American child to be placed in a special classroom reserv for children learning English. This special classroom was called the "pre-primer." It did not matter that a child may already be English proficient. It pretended that all Mexican American children were levy through the experience in this community. It was the scheme used to teach English to scholars now known as English language learners. In 1954 they were known simply as "the Mexican kids." The parents worried because they feared that "pre-primer" could become their child's grade for the nearest few years. Therefore, delaying record into first grade might show to be a difficult barrier later forward Like most parents, all they in plain english desired was for their son to get by heart an education.

I remember this experience vividly because I was that child. I remember my mother walking me to denomination on the first day and registering me I was placed in the dreaded "pre-primer." In other words I had made it into the cluster needing to learn English. My mother voiced her opposition to this placement (in English), and pointed revealed that I was already English proficient. unless this carried no weight with the principal. "All of our Mexican children journey through "pre-primer," he said. "Let's take a wait and view attitude," he told her. My mother had no choice. She left me there to "learn English."

That evening when my father turn backed from work he was naturally angry. I can not describe the frustration that he felt Suffice it to say that it was a real good thing that the principal lived in a different neighborhood. My father viewed the principal's actions as a blatant form of discrimination-something he had witnessed many times before. no other than this time it was happening to his son As a World War II veteran and fifth-generation Mexican American he would not stand for it. Had he not just fought a world war in order to sustain our freedoms and rights? He had go [i]or[/i] come backed from the South Pacific and joined the American GI Forum, working with Dr Hector P Garcia to insure equal rights for all Americans. Without sacrificing our heritage language, the two of my parents had taught English to all six of their children. He could not understand for what cause [i]or[/i] reason the school would do something for a like reason obviously wrong. After all, his child was bilingual!

My parents discussed the situation and decided to encounter the school. They approached the principal several times with no apparent end My mother continued to go on to the school everyday for athwart six weeks and would have highly interesting discussions and conversations (all in English), with the principal. They talked about the fact that I was by and by going to be seven years aged and that not going to first grade might have negative inferences later in my educational life. She continued to reinforce what she and my father had agreed with She kept insisting that I was bilingual-equally proficient in English and Spanish. She argued firmly for me to be evaluated. Allowing me to remain in "pre-primer" with the other 75 or in this way children "learning English" was causing me irreparable harm. a children were actually held in "pre-primer" for sum of two units or three years, thus delaying the start of first grade until the age of eight or nine. The principal would listen intently and assure her that my situation was being "look into."

In mid-October I was taken to the principal's office and given a battery of examples I had no idea with what intent I was being tested. All I knew was that I was having a fairly miserable time in "pre-primer." We all sat in altercations and never really got to interact with our teacher. If undivided tried to interact with other scholars most of whom were completely Spanish speaking, he was admonished or unruffled paddled for speaking Spanish. Although it was excessively difficult for me, I kept quiet earnestly of the time. When I did interact it was usually in the part of helping a classmate with his English. Today we call this "practice companion tutoring" or perhaps even "peer mentoring." In 1954 it was called "speaking Spanish" and it carried a monstrous penalty for those of us with small rear extreme points Although I did not prepare paddled very often due mainly to my English skills, I in no degree forgot the times that I did and therefore identified unruffled more strongly with my Spanish-speaking friends.