Cesar Chavez and My Students
As I began my research, our seminar leader prompted me to look for commonalities between my students and Cesar Chavez. This is exactly what I want them to be reminded of when they go out and interview prominent Hispanics in our community. I want them to see that they have many things in common with these people, and that they too can achieve whatever these role models have. From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to focus on a prominent Hispanic as a role model, someone who is famous and may be somewhat familiar to the students, with whom I can model the biographer's craft. Students should be able to see themselves in our subject and demonstrate genuine interest in the person. These students have too few opportunities to see themselves in our curriculum. In ELA, there are a few short stories such as "Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto in the anthology. Additionally, they may learn that they are descendents of the Maya or Aztecs in social studies. In studying Cesar Chavez's story, students will be able to identify the many connections that they have with him.
First, and foremost, my students have a pride in their heritage, just as Cesar did. As recent immigrants or migrants to our country, they proudly refer to themselves as Dominicans or Mejicanos, display their flags on book bags and shirts, and proudly tell about the time that they spend with their families going to stores, watching movies, and playing games. Cesar came from a very close family. He attributes this to the fact that his parents were "middle-aged" 14 when they married. They were affectionate and did everything together – work and play. Together, the family worked on the farm, each having a job to do from collecting eggs to making tortillas. His father would spend evenings making toy cars for the children.
The Spanish language is another common factor. My students are all native Spanish speakers. They have grown up in families in which their parents know only the Spanish language. Although they have come to this area, there are many signs in Spanish and people who speak the language. There is a pride in that they feel. Cesar also shared this pride. He stated, "Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers." 15 This pride often comes at a price. In both Cesar and my students' cases, schools pose an issue. Cesar's name was changed by a teacher when he entered school from Cesario (after his grandfather) to Cesar. He was also often scolded and hit (corporal punishment was allowed at the time) for using Spanish. Although my students are not scolded for using their native language, some teachers outside of our transitional bilingual program often complain about the students speaking with each other in Spanish.
Facing prejudicial acts and comments is something that they also share with Cesar. As our school population has changed with the transition to a magnet science school, there is evidence of fewer comments from other students against our students. However, we still see anti-immigrant sentiment in the news and in our local area due to a lack of understanding and fear. Cesar also experienced multiple acts of discrimination beginning in his school where he once had to wear a sign that stated, "I am a clown. I speak Spanish." 16 At times he was physically punished for speaking Spanish.
Coming from families living in poverty is another commonality between my students and Cesar Chavez. All of my students receive free or reduced cost lunch. Mostly all of them have parents who are working more than one job to make ends meet. One parent may work during the day while the other works in the evening. Still others have both parents working, and they go to a neighbor or relative when they return from school. They live in small apartments or share rented homes with other families. Most have difficulty meeting basic needs and have very few funds for things such as field trips or materials for projects.
Movement is another factor in common between them. Most of my students are immigrants from Latin America or migrants from Puerto Rico. There are a few students that have been born in the United States yet have moved back and forth from the USA to Mexico. After losing their family ranch, Cesar and his family became migrant farm workers and spent many years moving from one farm to the next to find work.
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