Mexican. What are the first things that come to your mind when you hear the word “Mexican”?
Maybe you think of delicious Mexican food. (or Americanized Mexican food) Maybe you think of the radio stations you always skip. Or the cheap goods and night clubs in
Let us examine the results that came up first and most often when I searched the internet about Mexicans:
First was the issue of crossing the border.
Despite our hard economic times, the NY Times recently published an article saying that the majority of Mexicans in Mexico would rather be in our country, if they had the chance. Most say they would be willing to do it illegally.
Some U.S. citizens are grateful for or at least tolerant of the Mexicans who enter our country illegally, because they perform labors that (they think) American citizens would not perform.
Several recent news articles, however, refute that point, saying that many jobs considered to be occupied predominantly by illegal persons are actually half-occupied by American citizens, and that in the face of the current job crisis, the illegal aliens are taking jobs away from legal citizens.
Some people are quite angry about this point, as demonstrated by this t-shirt.
Beyond the border/labor issue, Mexicans are also in the news for the Swine flu.
This youtube video recognizes the ridiculous and blatant racism showed by some political leaders in saying that swine flu is coming to the U.S. via illegal aliens, and is actually a bio-terrorist plot.
This youtube video shows another reason for having Mexico in the news: drug cartels.
Or how about the issue of illegal immigrants driving without a license?
To say nothing of the issue this is in politics (at least, before health care stole the headlines). This youtube video shows some of the issues in creating amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Accurate or not, compassionate or otherwise, these are the images of the Mexican culture that are being displayed in U.S. media. And these images influence teachers and students. The images that these artifacts display do not capture many of the positive attributes of this cultural minority.
The taco bell symbol suggests that Mexican food is good and cheap
The running family on a traffic sign near the Mexico/California border suggests that Mexicans have little respect for our country's laws (as they are entering illegally and then running across the middle of the road)
The photo of Mexican laborers shows that these are a hard working people. They are humble and willing to do less-desirable jobs. However, some would say that they are "stealing" these jobs from legal citizens.
The photo of the t-shirt blatantly displays the message that Mexicans are taking over our country, are harmful, and are not welcome.
The youtube videos display a variety of messages about this ethnicity. That they are unclean (swine flu), that they are a danger to our society (bringing drugs into the country), that they do not respect our laws (driving without a license) and that you could be their next victim (having to pay for a car wreck because they don't have insurance), that they don't speak our language, and that they usurp our resources (access to education, etc.)
I found nothing in the media about Mexicans who do enter the United States legally. I found nothing praising how warm, friendly, spiritual, and family-oriented they are. Instead, I found a lot of messages that induce one to be scared and defensive, wanting to protect oneself. Thus, when trying to assimilate into our society, their cultural capital is rather low.
I speculate that a child from this cultural group would have to overcome the deficit theory in order to succeed. Teachers may already imagine that the child's education was lacking while she was in Mexico and that she has been behind since entering the United States. Teachers may assume that the child doesn't know English, or at least that her parents won't know English well-enough to help their child at home. The teacher already has lowered academic expectations for the student based on these assumptions. This child might be treated warily as students (and teachers) may respond with passive racism, already judging her by their preconceived notions. If so, then this may turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The child also may be kept aloof socially because of (assumed or real) language barriers. Others may assume that she entered the country illegally and thus has no respect for our laws and customs. We may assume that the child doesn't want to assimilate into our the majority culture (resistance theory), and prefers to try to live as if she were in Mexico despite being in the United States.
A teacher must be aware of how cultural groups are represented in the media, curriculum, and policy in order to understand and help her students. The teacher needs to make sure that the school does not engage in institutionalized racism, by promoting certain stereotypes of groups or giving special attention to certain groups. The teacher needs to be aware of the images in the media so that she can be aware of the potential for these images to affect how she and the other students treat members of the minority culture(s). Instead of assuming that everyone knows the protocol in the culture of power, the teacher can take inventory, assess needs, and then teach these principles so that everyone knows the etiquette necessary to succeed. She can take it upon herself to show the positive aspects of this culture that the media does not emphasize. She can invite parents of her students to come in and speak about their country and culture. She can read children's literature that discusses the culture aloud to her students. They can discuss these issues as a class. Also, as a teacher becomes more informed about other cultures, her sense of teacher efficacy increases, and she knows that she is prepared to teach all her students, no matter their background. Being culturally informed is part of a teacher's stewardship. Public schools are the great unifier, and we all know that teachers have the biggest influence on one's experience in school. Thus, an informed, impartial teacher is a multi-cultural student's best link to becoming acculturated successfully. This is our responsibility.
