(1992). International Holidays and Observances. A Resource Guide for English-as-a-Second-Language Teachers.
Teachers in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Program of Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Services have recognized the need to foster intercultural awareness and understanding as well as language learning in their classrooms. Discussion of cultural traditions and holiday celebrations in the countries of origin of Central Pennsylvania ESL students may be one way to foster appreciation of diversity and recognition of common experiences and values on the part of these students. This booklet uses holidays and traditional observances in five countries (Eritrea, India, Mexico, Russia, and Vietnam) as instructional material for ESL classes. Each section begins with a fact sheet and map, giving basic information on population, geography, and major holidays; those described in this booklet are marked with an asterisk. Information on holiday celebrations was obtained primarily from current ESL students. Teachers may use the lessons as a springboard to encourage discussion and… [PDF]
(1966). UNDERSTANDING THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN IN TODAY'S CULTURE. SAN DIEGO PROJECT–ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT.
THE CLASSIFICATION, MEXICAN-AMERICAN, IS EXTREMELY BROAD AND INCLUDES ALL PEOPLES OF HISPANIC DESCENT. WHILE SOME MEXICAN-AMERICANS HAVE BEEN RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE BEFORE THE NATION WAS FORMED, OTHERS HAVE MIGRATED OR ILLEGALLY CROSSED THE BORDER ONLY RECENTLY. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE RESIDE WITHIN METROPOLITAN AREAS AND REMAIN CULTURALLY APART FROM ANGLO-AMERICA. FREQUENTLY, EDUCATORS CHARGED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TEACHING THESE MEXICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN HAVE FAILED TO UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THIS MINORITY GROUP. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE IS TO ASSIST THOSE EDUCATORS IN GAINING SOME INSIGHT INTO THIS PROBLEM. THE GUIDE IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE UNITS AS FOLLOWS–(1) A HISTORY OF MEXICO AND THE MEXICAN AMERICANS FROM THE PRE-COLUMBIAN ERA TO THE PRESENT, (2) FAMOUS MEXICANS IN EARLY CALIFORNIA HISTORY, (3) MEXICAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES, (4) THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY INCLUDING THE FAMILY, HOUSING, EDUCATION,… [PDF]
(1983). The Occupational Prestige of Women Immigrants: A Comparison of Cubans and Mexicans. Paper Number 5.009.
This paper analyzes the occupational prestige of United States female labor force participants who were born in Cuba or Mexico, and who were at least 25 years old at the time of their immigration between 1945 and 1970. The age limitation, combined with schooling, provides a proxy for social class and for complete socialization into the home culture. Data are drawn from a 1/100 1970 Public Use Sample, corrected for allocation. The dependent variable is \NORC,\ or Hodge-Siegel-Rossi prestige scores, for 1970 Census occupational codes. Independent variables include age, U.S. experience, residence in the South, vocational training, weeks worked, completed schooling, and high school/college completion. Predicted prestige scores, controlled for social class, narrow the prestige score gap between Cuban and Mexican women, but increase the gap between immigrant men and women. The data suggest that the social mobility process for female immigrants may differ from that for males, partly…
(1969). Texas Migrant Labor. Annual Report, 1969.
Among the responsibilities of the Good Neighbor Commission of Texas are (1) a survey of conditions and (2) a study of problems related to migrant labor in Texas. This annual report of the 1969 migrant scene shows the results of that survey and study. Beginning with an overview of Texas migrant labor, which goes back several years and includes a current map of travel patterns, the report takes up Texas agricultural and migrant labor. Migrant programs are cited with descriptions of their goals and funding agencies. The Migrant Farm Labor Center in Hope, Arkansas, is described as an example of a full-service center, for the benefit of the migrant farm worker and his family. Information on alien labor and immigration is presented next and touches on legal and illegal commuting. Current developments are discussed in terms of migrant child education, adult migrant education, migrant teacher preparation, bilingual education, housing, health, border industrialization in Mexico, and migrant… [PDF]
(1992). The Employment Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement: Recommendations and Background Studies. Special Report No. 33.
This publication presents results of a year-long research program initiated by the National Commission for Employment Policy to research and discuss the employment effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It contains the letter to the President in which the Commission endorses NAFTA because of its positive employment-creating effects and makes recommendations on worker adjustment assistance programs that address the adverse employment effects of NAFTA and on migrant and seasonal farmworker programs that address the short-term increases in Mexican immigration likely to result from NAFTA. Three commission-sponsored studies are appended. "A U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement: Sectoral Employment Effects and Regional/Occupational Employment Realignments in the United States" (Robert Stern and others) reports a study to estimate changes in employment that will be required across sectors, occupations, and locations within the U.S. economy. Sectoral effects and… [PDF]
(1993). Mexican Immigrants in High Schools: Meeting Their Needs. ERIC Digest.
Immigration to the United States from Mexico has a long history and has been increasing in recent years. Immigrant students, especially those who arrive as adolescents and those whose families are migrant agricultural workers, have special educational needs. Mexican immigrant students have varied educational backgrounds, but most need to learn English. Many lack literacy skills in Spanish, or have numerous absences and transfers because of family migration patterns. Secondary schools usually respond to these problems with three types of programs: (1) intensive English for Speakers of Other Languages classes; (2) bilingual programs that teach courses in the native language as students learn English; and (3) newcomer programs that provide transition courses to facilitate students' academic and cultural adjustment. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses, but quality of instruction in all of them is hampered by students' varying English proficiency and academic skills and by a… [PDF]
(1994). Walking Stars: Stories of Magic and Power.
This book contains memoirs about growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California, as well as stories that the author's parents told him about their childhoods and village life in Mexico. In a preface and introductory stories, the immigrant explains how his family culture sustained him during bad experiences in school, and describes how, as an adult, he rediscovered the truth of his parents' stories. Those tales of bravery and self-discovery are set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and immigration to the United States. All involve young people overcoming physical, emotional, and psychological barriers during times of great stress. The children and adolescents in these stories discover truths about spirituality and magic, stand up to bullies on the first day of school, assist during childbirth, fight witches and the real-life oppressors of their village, and achieve great feats of skill and courage. The message is that young people have the power to…
(1978). Southwest Border Education Assistance. Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Regional and Community Development of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, 95th Congress, 2nd Session on S. 2997, A Bill to Provide Financial Assistance for School Construction to Local Educational Agencies Educating Large Numbers of Immigrant Children Born in Mexico (May 16, 1978).
A hearing was held to consider S.2997, a bill which would provide financial assistance for school construction to local educational agencies educating large numbers of immigrant children born in Mexico. In opening remarks, Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Texas, explained that 58,000 Mexicans immigrated to the US in 1977; towns along the American border, the area with the lowest per capita income in the US today, felt severe impacts from increased school enrollments. The bill would authorize $45 million for emergency assistance; to be eligible, a school district must have a minimum enrollment of 7 percent Mexican alien children, with at least 20 such children enrolled. The bill would allow $1,000 per child. Witnesses included Tom Anderson of the Texas Education Agency and three school superintendents: Raul A. Besteiro, Jr., Brownsville, Texas; Gonzalo Garza, Eagle Pass, Texas; James K. Clark, Nogales, Arizona. Cris Aldrete of the Southwest Regional Border Commission also made a statement…. [PDF]
(1998). From Indians to Chicanos: The Dynamics of Mexican-American Culture. Second Edition.
With large-scale immigration in the last 20 years and a high birth rate, Chicanos now comprise the second-largest minority in the United States. This ethnohistorical account attempts to unravel the multiple heritages and influences shaping Chicanos from pre-Columbian Mexico to present-day United States. The book focuses on questions of land, labor, and wealth, especially as they involved struggles with Europeans and their descendants that transformed indigenous peoples into peasants. As people's relationship to the land changed and control over their labor shifted, the peasants were further displaced and became migrants and immigrants. A model of sociocultural change that focuses on class, culture, color, contact, conflict, and change is used as a framework to understand the structure and evolutionary transformation of the social order in each of four stages: the pre-Columbian period (30,000 B.C. to 1519 A.D.), the Spanish colonial era (1521-1821), Mexican independence and…
(1994). Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8. NCTE Bibliography Series.
Serving as a resource for K-8 teachers who wish to offer children books that reflect the cultural diversity of American society, this book presents annotations of nearly 400 books (published between 1990 and 1992) about African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans/Latinos, and Native Americans. The annotated bibliography also lists books involving people and countries in Africa, Asia, South and Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as relevant books set in Mexico, Canada, or England. Also included are works that focus on interracial and intercultural topics, issues, and relationships. The book groups the entries according to 15 genres or themes: (1) Poetry and Verse; (2) the Arts; (3) Ceremonies and Celebrations; (4) People to Know and Places To Go; (5) Concepts and Other Useful Information; (6) Biography: Individuals Who Made a Difference; (7) History: The Way We Were; (8) Immigrants and Immigration: Coming to America; (9) Folktales, Myths, and Legends: Old and New;… [PDF]
(1997). One Nation, Many Peoples: Immigration in the United States. A Resource Book.
This resource book provides historical summaries, primary source documents, reproducible activities, creative project suggestions and research ideas on the study of immigration to the United States. The book is divided into eight units that correspond to eight geographic regions: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Each of the 8 units also contains information, report topics, and project ideas specific to that immigrant group. Each unit opens with a section of teacher instructions, followed by pages that are written for students and may be duplicated at the teacher's discretion for their use. These pages include: (1) \Why They Came to America\ providing a historical summary about the featured group; (2) \In Their Own Words\ including primary source materials from and about that group; (3) \We Change-Traditions Remain\ explaining the history and meanings behind some of the…
(1966). THE ADVERSE-EFFECT POLICY FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOR.
THE BASIC PHILOSOPHY UNDERLYING THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN WORKER IMPORTATIONS INTO THE UNITED STATES FOR AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT IS THAT EMPLOYMENT OF SUCH WORKERS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED IF IT WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON DOMESTIC WORKERS. THE \ADVERSE-EFFECT\ POLICY HAS BEEN FOLLOWED SINCE THE ENACTMENT OF PUBLIC LAW 78 IN 1951 WHICH GOVERNED THE ENTRY OF MEXICAN NATIONALS INTO ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO FOR SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT. THE TERM \ADVERSE-EFFECT\ HAS NOT BEEN SPECIFICALLY DEFINED. RATHER THE CONCEPT HAS EVOLVED AS POLICIES HAVE DEVELOPED AND ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO COPE WITH SPECIFIC SITUATIONS. THE LEGAL BASES FOR TAKING ADVERSE-EFFECT ACTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THE POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR HAS DEVELOPED ARE DISCUSSED. THE ADVERSE-EFFECT CONCEPT DEVELOPED THROUGH APPLICATIONS IN 1953, 1956, AND 1958 WHEN EMPLOYERS OF MEXICAN NATIONALS HAD TO INCREASE THEIR WAGES TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DOMESTIC LABOR. IN 1959, SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR JUDGING… [PDF]
(2001). The Transnationalization of Families: Immigrant Separations & Reunifications.
This study examined how children experienced immigrant separations when families migrated in a stepwise fashion. The study offers evidence that separation between children and one or both parents during the migratory process is common to a majority of immigrant children. Data came from the Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study, which focused on parent and child interviews that examined respondents' backgrounds and included a follow-up child interview about the separation and reunification experience. Participants were recent immigrants from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Participating youths ranged in age from 9-14 years at the beginning of the study. The vast majority of the children had been separated from one or both parents during the migration process. Chinese families tended to migrate as a unit, while Haitian and Central Americans experienced the most family disruption during migration. Separation from the mother only occurred… [PDF]
(1993). Quien Soy Yo?/All about Me. Learning through Cultural Diversity and the Arts.
The curriculum presented here contains three units designed to help Mexican-American migrant students understand and value the richness of their culture, experiences, and family. Unit 1, "My Roots," examines the different components of a culture, and presents aspects of the Aztec civilization and culture. Activities include hearing a poem in Nahuatl, the original Aztec language, art activities involving pre-Columbian designs, reading and acting out Aztec myths, learning about Aztec religion and its role in Aztec culture, and reading and writing activities concerning Cortes and the Spanish conquest of Mexico. This unit contains many drawings suitable for coloring or tracing. Unit 2, "My Family," covers the roles and responsibilities of family members, traditional versus modern family, and immigration and the migrant experience. Activities include diagramming families; writing about a favorite relative, family traditions and values, and student's own or family's… [PDF]
(1976). Implications of Change in Mexican American Families.
The Mexican American bilateral extended family system was a part of the cultural heritage from Mexico or Spain and a family system developed as a social and cultural response to the cultural isolation and frontier environment of the Borderlands. As a social system, it mobilized members to work the land, protect family members and property against Indian raids, provide settlers for new settlements, carry out religious ceremonies and rituals, socialize the children, care for the aged, the sick, and the orphans, settle disputes, and provide leadership for the social group. Under the impact of either urban or rural poverty, the system collapsed, or at least suffered serious modifications. Where it did survive, it gave its members enhanced survival capabilities and strengthened their competitive situation. It also facilitated urbanization and industrialization. Among the middle and landowning classes, it facilitated the transfer of capital and personnel from agriculture into business and…