Narrative
My father liked them separate, one there,
one here (allá y aquí), as if aware . . .
until my tongue (mi lengua) learned to run
where his stumbled. And still the heart was one. . .
he stood outside mis versos, half in fear
of words he loved but wanted not to hear. (Espaillat 1998)
At a recent Poetry Out Loud recitation contest, Armon, one of my daring sixth grade students, chose to recite Rhina Espailat's poem "Bilingual/Bilingüe" at our school-wide contest. When he initially selected the poem, I asked him if the Spanish words would be difficult for him to pronounce. He indicated a few of the words might be hard, but that he liked the poem so much he would practice a lot. Fortunately, I had Juan Carlos my only Puerto Rican student -newly transferred- in my class. I asked Juan Carlos if he would help Armon correctly pronounce the Spanish words in the poem. This collaboration proved very fruitful. During the contest, in a crowded auditorium, Armon stepped to the microphone to recite the poem; students were drop dead silent. He awed the crowd with his recitation and interpretation of a bilingual poem. Prior to the contest, I would not have predicted a bilingual poem would resonate with students. The judges liked his recitation as well. Armon took first place honors. Juan Carlos became less shy and more confident to use his bilingual skills in subsequent writing assignments. This act of encouraging the recitation of a bilingual poem was transforming. I told myself that I need to provide more opportunities to use Spanish and learn about the richness of Latino culture.
Why teach a predominately African-American class about Latin American culture? First, because the School District of Philadelphia's curriculum requires teaching about diverse cultures. In particular, the sixth grade social studies curriculum covers the Western Hemisphere which includes the history, geography and culture of people from Latin America and the Caribbean. Second, Spanish is not offered at my school or at many Philadelphia middle schools. In high school Spanish and other world languages are offered. However, it is important that students are exposed to other languages before they attend high school. Third, giving the trend of more Latino families moving into West Philadelphia, it can be expected that my school will have a steady growth of Spanish first language speaking students. "The Latino Philadelphia Report" compiled by The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, indicated that Dominicans are slowly but steadily settling in West Philadelphia.( The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 14 June 2007) Fourth, from exploring the connections between Latinos and African Americans, my students may discover they are influenced by the same kinds of music, dances, playing of games, dressing and speech patterns. Last, my students may discover how Latin-Americans and African Americans common experiences draw them closer together. For example, how did the experience of housing, employment and educational discrimination of Puerto Ricans and Africans Americans give rise to the hip-hop culture? (Flores 62)
As a part of its reform policy and the federal No Child Left Behind mandate, the School District of Philadelphia has its own Children Achieving -High Expectation agenda. Accordingly, the district promotes the infusion of multi-cultural studies within the curriculum. The specific multicultural competency goal indicates that a Philadelphia graduate should demonstrate knowledge of his and her own cultural background and that of others. The methods to reach this goal include but is not limited to using linguistic skills to communicate in a multilingual, global society; working cooperatively with others across cultural backgrounds; promoting conflict resolutions; recognizing and challenging injustices caused by bias and historical exclusion. (Thorton 2004)
There exist some tensions in meeting the school districts' policies, goals and methods of promoting multi-cultural studies. First, many schools in Philadelphia are racially isolated. Second, teachers often superficially teach about culture without making deeper connections or inquiries into the role language and cultural play in students' lives. The international heritage lesson in which students bring in a special dish is an example of this superficial approach. Third, it is challenging in our environment to improve students' multilingual skills. My school, like other racially isolated middle schools or K-8 schools, has no world language teachers. If students are not exposed to world languages at an early age it makes it more difficult for them to learn a new language in high school. Fourth, using multi-cultural studies can present challenges for teachers, who often form our views about other cultures through stereotypes. Finally, using the arts to promote cultural understand is becoming increasingly more difficult. With budget pressures and core curriculum time constraints, art programs are being reduced.
This unit builds on my longstanding interest in using art, and finding ways to collaborate with people outside my school to improve students' learning. What follows are some methods to address the challenges of providing multi-cultural instructions while working in a racially isolated school settings and still addressing school district's standards.
Pen Pal Exchange
Encouraging my students to appreciate the complexity of multiculturalism through a pen- pal exchange with the Marín School provides an immediacy that should be very useful. During this proposed exchange my students will learn about Latin-Caribbean students' interests and values. Because the Marín School is within travel distance students will have an opportunity to meet in person. Other precedents exist for using pen-pal programs to promote cultural understanding. Michelle Lemkuhl describes a bilingual pen-pal program between students in Tucson, Arizona and an inner-city school in Toledo, Ohio, and she notes that those involved in this program improved their reading and writing skills and gained more knowledge about their city and state. (Lemkuhl 5 July 2007)
Partnerships
I believe in the value of partnerships. Last year, my students wrote a mini-musical in collaboration with the Prince Music Theaters' Rainbow Connection program. This program provides the opportunity for middle school students to write a musical performed by a multi-cultural group of teens. My students composed a musical about cultural adaptation. The muse for the musical came from my students' inquiry projects about Chinese culture. Building upon this experience, I plan to use lessons about Latin and African American cultural connections as seed ideas for a new musical my students will compose with the Rainbow Connection. I may also collaborate with the Philadelphia Art and Education Partnership, and other Latino arts organizations. Furthermore, my students will be able to elicit feedback from students at the Marín School, and invite them to view the musical at the Prince Music Theater's performance festival.
Addressing Stereotypes
I have noticed that students often embrace stereotypes gleaned from popular magazines, television shows, and music videos. In his article "Drums of Resistance Hybridization, Cultural Imperialism, and Caribbean Popular Culture in the Classroom," Kirwin Shaffer refers to these forces as the Coca-Cola-ization effect. I plan to teach my students to appreciate the impact popular culture plays in shaping values. Furthermore, I want to try to dispel stereotypes by helping them understand the context that give rise to certain Latin-Caribbean forms of self-expression. I want, as Shaffer suggests, to avoid the "video-tourist" approach when teaching about Caribbean culture. (Shaffer 146).
Using the Arts
In my view, the arts provide an effective means for students to understand culture and themselves. According to the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, Program Assessment Report 2002-2005, when students participate in arts based learning projects; there is a noted improvement in literacy skills, critical thinking and student learning outcomes (Leach et al, 19). I believe arts in general and studying Latin American music, dance and literature in particular will provide students with a means of seeing connections between Latin-Caribbean and African American cultures.
I have found that dance provides a way for students to communicate their feelings. Salsa and merengue are the major dance styles students will explore. These styles derive from Afro-Cuban traditions. Salsa is a Spanish word for sauce, which connotes its ingredients are "mixed up." Salsa which typically dominates Latin dance clubs in Philadelphia is closely associated with Puerto Ricans. Salsa moves follow a core rhythm that lasts for two measures of four beats each. The basic step typically uses three steps each measure. Merengue is a dance style mainly attributed to the Dominican Republic. This dance style has distinct African roots and is very similar to Haiti's "meringue." Merengue is a two-step beat that uses lots of hip movement and requires partners to bend their knees slightly left and right. (Morales 7, 21, 56-57) This kinesthetic approach to learning about culture should appeal to my students. Ultimately, by using the Latin music, dance and literature students will be motivated to read, research and critically write about their world.
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