Equity Literacy Project
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INTRODUCTION
Contributor: Tiffany Marquise Jones
In the current climate, immigration has become a politicized and polarizing topic. And often it is because of the discourse around immigration in the media that discrimination is circulated and taken up in other institutions. That being said, education is one site that has been (consciously and subconsciously) marked as responsible for promoting and achieving assimilation of American language, culture, and ideologies. Of course, this is not a direct mandate of pedagogical practices for language instruction – or even for other subjects. However, American attitudes around standardization and English-only ideologies often breed discrimination and marginalization both inside and outside of the classroom. As such, L2 English learners are often at the mercy of negative (language) attitudes and misinformed teaching practices that result in languagelessness and statelessness (see Language). The classroom which should be deemed a safe space becomes a hostile learning environment where L2 learners struggle to achieve and operate in a middle-space between their home country and the new country’s ideal. Thus, this section will seek to outline the discussion around (im)migration and the ways in which histories and processes around the subjects make their ways in the classroom as well as how teachers can achieve a more equitable praxis. [to be revised by author at a later date]
Student Voices
Undocumented Children in Schools
Imagine having to worry if your parents will be home when you get home from school because of immigration status issues. Some families in the United States are dealing with this every day. In the United States, immigration has become a growing issue that to some is more important than others. A lot of the time, many people are not really informed about what some of these families have to go through and will right away make assumptions. I am concerned about this topic because I have noticed that there is a lack of opportunities in schools for undocumented children. Also, I have a cousin that is personally affected in schools and education by her documentation status. The way the media covers undocumented children also contributes to a misperception of their struggles and what they have to go through. Immigrant children usually have different opportunities than people who are not undocumented. Starting from elementary school, there were other children that, without being aware, were discriminatory towards children that were not white. I can vividly remember my sister telling me that one of her friends was going to have a birthday party, and almost everyone that was white in her class was invited to the party but she was told by her friend that since she was Mexican she wasn’t sure if her mom would be okay with that. From that young age, she was already being discriminated against in her classroom, making it an uncomfortable feeling. Also, in high school, not officiall