Jose Vargas defines himself as an American in Define American (IRIS). Slavery, Indian Removal Act, genocide, internment, concentration camps, and other oppressive, traumatic, and indignant acts are historical realities of American history. Now as an award-winning journalist (New Yorker reporter) and film director, Jose explains his life as an undocumented immigrant. He is an advocate in trying to help Americans understand "the most controversial and least understood issue in America." Vargas explains: "Not all undocumented people are from Mexico. Not everybody that is undocumented is Mexican...One million of the 11 million undocumented people in this country are from Asia; about 800,000 from South America; and 300,00 from Europe. (Sixty-five percent of people undocumented-without papers- have been here for more than 10 years.)"
The immigrant journey has been passed down to all American families. Most of Americans are from immigrant families (Andrea Guerrero).
"We are a nation of immigrants" (Andrea Guerrero). Jose articulates eloquently and pragmatically helps us realize that the immigration issue is a complex one of human drama and humanism (undocumented immigrants is a civil offense not a criminal one. Actions are illegal; not people.
Vargas approached TIME magazine to write Not Legal Not Leaving front cover story of why I have not been deported yet?
"Time does not erase the principle behind what the U.S. did", as the reporter admits.
Jose Antonio Vargas shares his story and perspectives on immigration on TED Talks.
See also Andrea Guerrero: Immigration Reform (TED TALKS)
Dr. Baca:The Use of Native Languages in the Classroom
Effective teaching for linguistically diverse students is effective teaching for all students, because ALL students, whether tapped as ESL, ELL, BILINGUAL, are all linguistically diverse!
As more culturally appropriate materials and resources become part of the mainstream, it becomes teachers’ responsibility in incorporating, augmenting, and adapting the standard curriculum. Baca reminds us:
Kids of different ethnic backgrounds” learn better from a constructivist point of reference when content “is based more on diverse views in addition to just mono-cultural views of life and reality. It really matters for I think two reasons. One of them is that learning is culturally mediated, so if something is tied to your life and your experience, you’re able to integrate it and make sense of it and comprehend it a lot quicker and easier and build your knowledge base. You’re socially constructing your knowledge, and it fits in with your prior experience. I think that the other is just more common sense. In terms of the cultural relevance of the material, it’s so basic to effective understanding and learning (para 8).
As culturally responsive teachers, it is a given that our textbooks and teaching materials represent an inherent dominant culture bias. We help make it relevant to the students we teach.