NCLB PAPER

Sylvia P.

Blog Contribution

This essay will examine the ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ and how it has been a major instrument in the decline of the United States educational system.  In addition, the act has created a condition in the country, allowing other nations to surpass us in educating its citizenry in Mathematics, Science, Technology, and general literacy.*  According to Gene Gloeckner (Gloechner, 1991),  the United States can not compete in science fields with other nations.   According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States, the country the strongest stand alone nation, ranked 8^th out of 15 countries on a 5^th grade science achievement test; and depressingly, by the 9^th grade, students in the United States ranked 15^th out of 16 countries rated.*  Another researcher, Prof. Schmidt (New Educator, 2000) stated,  in science, American fourth grade outperformed all other countries except South Korea  but by the eighth grade, U.S. students barely scored above the international average in science, and in math they only outperform a handful of nations.  Scores for 12^th graders were dismal.  The above statements are indicative of an educational decline as children ascend through the grade levels, which is a result of No Child Left Behind Act.  The above results of student performance in the upper grades demonstrate a serious problem with the school system, which has a negative effect on the students.  We must look at these results critically, and pose serious questions about US educational policy, which in turn we must carefully analyze these questions to find a solution. 

The first question I would pose, is there a connection to the No Child Left Behind Act with the high dropout rate in the United States?  According to author Barbara Pytel (Pytel, 2006) during her interview of five hundred high school dropouts, between the ages 16-25 , many reasons were attributed to there lack of interest in learning .   The mixed statistics (as the interviewees were allowed to give more than one answer) revealed 47% said classes were not interesting, 43% had poor attendance, 45% schooling prior to high school did not prepare them for the course work, 69% were not motivated to work hard, 35% were failing, 32% “left to get a job”, 25% left to become parents, 22% left to take care of a relative.  Of those five hundred students interviewed, two-third said, “they would have tried harder if more was expected from them” (Pytel, 2006).  When I see statistics of this nature, I being to wonder, how could such numbers be allowed, a red flag goes up, more questions comes to my mind.  The first  and most important question, why is this happening within the most powerful country?  Or a better question,  how could this be happening in the United States of America?

 

A very interesting study,  “New Study Offers Reality Check:  No Child Left Behind is Increasing Dropout Rates”, described the relationship between dropout rates, minorities, and NCLB.  Researchers at Rice University and University of Texas-Austin (2008) made a suggestion to what the No Child Left Behind Act should be before presenting their findings, “Bush might want to more correctly rename ‘No Child Left Behind’ to ‘Let’s Leave a Lot More Children Behind’ “.  The study concluded, the Texas’ public school accountability system -- which is the model for the national No Child Left Behind Act -- directly contributes to lower graduation rates especially for minorities.  It also concluded, teachers and administrators, within the Texas educational system, are rewarded when minority students drop out; as the schools do not make any efforts to retain the students.  The attitudes of the schools were, “why retain students that make it impossible to comply with NCLB Act (McSpadden-McNeil, 2008).

 

In conclusion,  the accountability system stressed by No Child Left Behind Act,  make teachers the victims; as the teachers are forced to comply with the government’s high-stake accountability requirements. These requirements lead to enormous pressures which feed the high dropout rate among students from poor high school in urban areas (McSpadden-McNeil, 2008).  Furthermore, Professor McSpadden-McNeil  (McSpadden-McNeil, 2008) also stated,  if the test scores don’t raise in a school, the principal could lose his/her job, and/or the schools could lose funding or even be closed.  This study provides an insight into how the ‘quantitative’ No Child Left Behind Act, in which the numerical results alone determine a school’s future,  cause more harm than good.  A ‘qualitative’ approach works best.  To provide a personal example,  my son (a high school dropout) attends Columbia University, he left as the ‘quantitative’ public school system could not harness his potential.  However, he has to work extremely hard to keep up with his peers, especially the international students.  His in-school mentor is from the Ivory Coast in Africa, his descriptions of the educational system, in a war torn land, seem to be more ‘qualitative’ in approach.  His school day started at 7am and ended at 6pm, with no summer vacations in between.  Upon winning a lottery for an educational visa and only four years of residency in the US, he learned English in LaGuardia Community College, excelled and became accepted at Columbia University.  He attributes this quick progress to the quality of education he receive back home.   

 

 

REFERENCES:

The Daily Galaxy: News from Planet Earth & Beyond(February 15, 2008 )New Study Offers Reality Check: No Child Left Behind is Increasing Dropout Rates, referenced from:

http://www.dailygalax.com/my_weblog/2008/02/new-study-offer.html

Gene Gloeckner (Spring 1991);The Integration of Science, Technology, and Mathematics Myth or Dreams ? , referenced from:http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v2n2/gloeckner.html

New Educator colloege of education (Fall, 2000)referenced from:

 (http://www.msu.edu/neweducator/Falloo/Timss.htm

Barbara Pytel: (November 4, 2006), Dropouts Give Reasons: referenced from:

http://educationalissues.suite.101.com/print_article.cfm/dropouts_give_reasons

 

Biography

I was born in 1945, in the small eastern European country called Romania. My mother’s parents were from Czechoslovakia and my father’s family was from Hungary. In the house we spoke Hungarian but when my parents did not want my older brother and me to understand they conversed in German or Rumanian.
In 1949, when I was four years old, we escaped from Romania in the middle of the night, walking through three feet of snow over the border to Hungary. My parents did not want to live under the Communist regime, who came as liberators and stayed as conquerors, this after Hitler disseminated the country and all of us who were Jewish! From Hungary we went to Austria where we became Christians in order to immigrate to Argentina—Argentina was not friendly to Jews—but that is where my parents chose to go. That was where my father’s brother lived. The first year we moved a few times and I attended different schools. We finally settled in Buenos Aires.
In High School, after failing frequently in my classes I decided to quit school and turn my “Part Time” job into a “Full Time” work, promising my parents that I would finish school. By the way, diagnosed with ADD, under doctor’s care and medication, I finally fulfilled my promise to my parents and got my GED in the United States when I was 50 years old.
At the tender age of 18, knowing a little of “British” English, my work life started in the United States as a “Counter Girl” in a fast food chain. How I managed to survive, I often wonder! That this country, this people, so different, was a culture shock! To these you must add all my shame, my shame of my scholastic failure, and the shame brought on a feeling of no self-worth!
How I managed to “Step-up-the-ladder”, from a “Counter Girl’ to a lowly position in a Bank, was a stroke of good fortune! A New York Unemployment counselor sent me on an interview to a Bank. But because of prejudice, I wasn’t hired! I was considered as a Puerto Rican (below the salt). This was America?
Finally, a position (higher only to a cleaning man), was mine. I filed cancelled checks – from this, through more, but better menial jobs, rote jobs, some self taught English and working for lower than scale wages; I climbed the ladder (going nowhere). I was still scared, scared that I would be found out that I had lied about my High School Diploma (nonexistent), scared that I could not compete, scared most of all that I was not accepted because I was thought of as a “Puerto Rican” There were other jobs, other disappointments … I was Jewish … I was a foreigner … I was … I was unacceptable as bright as I have been told I was … this did not help how I felt about myself. It was only when I became involved with the Girl Scouts that I began to feel “good” about myself. They did not think of me as a “second class citizen”. They liked me for me. I was not all those awful things I had been told that kept me apart. I was blossoming.
But… and this is what has brought me to today… Chase Bank, where I worked in the accounting department, had an “on site” program with Cornell University, for women employees (…the result of a discriminatory lawsuit against Chase, many years earlier) gave me my first taste of Academia! For me, and the others in the program, it was like a parched person with a long awaited drink of water! I was starting a new beginning!
Hoorah for the chance to learn – me, in the eyes of the world, a lowly uneducated foreigner with a Spanish accent, me, Veronica with ADD, with no self esteem was learning! And this wasn’t for my parents. It was for me, for my self-worth.
Today, as a result of being mislabeled, misjudged and mistreated, today, my self-fulfillment is in teaching, empathizing with those children and adults whose background cultures, languages and religions do not fall into “The Norm” (whatever the “Norm” is)
I was not the “norm” – How I was unaccepted in society has made me more and more cognizant of how teaching must deal with the ever increasing problem of multiculturalism. Today there is only one world – A world of many diverse cultures and backgrounds which, for peace, must be recognized and respected!

Family Background.

My cultural heritage is a blend of two cultures under the same umbrella (race).  My father was born on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad and Tobago in the British West Indies, off the Venezuelan coast.  He was raised in the city of Port of Spain. My father spoke a little about his life when he was growing up, but what I really do remember him telling me was about the people of his homeland.  The many ethnic groups of Trinidad and Tobago my father spoke of living there on the same island.   There were the Africans, Indians, Venezuelans, Spaniards, French Creoles, Portuguese, Chinese, Britons, Lebanese (I remember the Lebanese because of Danny Thomas), Syrians, Caribs, and Italians.  I can see him pointing on the globe (giving us history lessons) showing which country each group came from.  I recall the stories about the fun he and his brothers had after school, swimming in the Caribbean Sea.  As a young man he worked in the Sugar Cane field cutting down the sugar canes with a machete (the same machete he brought with him to this country).   At that time, agricultural products such as sugar and cocoa influenced the economy.  My father came to this country in 1928, applied and received his Naturalized Certificate of Citizenship on July 5, 1932 (nice date to become a citizen of your new country July 5).  My father was a hard working man.  He worked as a taxi driver and part-time radio and television repairman. My father learned how to repair radios and televisions from a mail order course (the on-line course of the 1950s), he even build a television set which we watched in the kitchen on the worktable he also build.  As a taxi driver, he worked long hours, 6 days a week. I remember him leaving early in the morning before I awoke for school and coming home in the evening after the family (My mother and brother and I) ate dinner, which was at 6:00 everyday.  Sunday was his day off, which made it the best day for the family, not only was Daddy home and we started the day with breakfast and all the fixings fresh orange juice, toast with butter, we did things as a family.  We did Sunday day trips to Manhattan or one of the five boroughs.  We went to the museums, parks, Coney Island and if it was a holiday we went to see the parade for that holiday.

Now let me speak to you of the wonderful woman who give birth to my older brother and me.  My mother was born in Sumter, South Carolina in 1912 was the daughter of a well-known Baptist minister.  She graduated from Morris College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and had a professional state certificate for teaching the First Grade.   My grandfather had acres of land in two counties.  I remember going south during summer school vacation and picking cotton and other crops that was grown on his farm.  I also remember seeing the WHITES ONLY and COLORED ONLY

water fountains and going to the COLORED SECTION of the only movie house.  I don’t know when my mother came to New York and I don’t know when my father and mother meet and fall in love but I was told that my father went to my mother's home. Hometown and asked her father for her hand in marriage.   My parents cared for my brother and myself very well, I did not know how poor we were, my brother and I didn’t want for anything.   I had all the latest fashions, from the poodle skirt to pleated shirt, I even had cashmere sweater sets, but this was because both my mother and her sister (who also graduated from Morris College) worked as domestic help, cleaning homes of those who could afford to paid for such help.  This was because there weren’t a lot of one room schoolhouse for colored children in the North.  My father and mother wanted both of their children to have a trade; my father wanted me to go to nursing school and my bother to go into the electronic field.  I can’t remember them ever speaking to us about going to college.  Maybe this was because they can’t afford to send us.  But the encouragement and education we received from them was more valuable than anything I received anywhere.  Those

history lessons my father gave me, broadened my perspectives about life.  The lessons about the WHITES ONLY signs from my mother taught me how to tolerate ignorance.  

 When I look at my family history I see   (nothing but) Strong Bloodlines.  African and American Indian, I can’t help to be so very proud of my Heritage.

Empowering Minority College Students for the Workforce

Best practices in training on diversity
“Empowering minority college students for the workforce”

Transcript

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone. I would like to thank you for tuning in to this pod cast segment entitled “Empowering minority college students for the workforce”. This is the first segment in the Best Practices in Training on Diversity Series. Today’s segment is dear to my heart because I used to work as a Graduate Assistant for Diversity and Multicultural Services in career services at Fordham University. My main responsibility was to research and identify private, corporate companies, not-for-profit organizations and programs seeking to diversify their workplaces and promote these opportunities to the multicultural student population.

HOW DIVERSE IS THE WORKFORCE?

It was predicted that in the United States between 1985 and 2000, 85 per cent of entry-level employees to the workforce would be ‘women, minorities and immigrants’. African-Americans currently comprise 10.1 per cent of the United States' 112.4 million employed workforce. However, the same group has less than 10 percent in managerial and technical positions. (Clements & Jones, 2006) Recently, however, Barrack Obama, an African-American man have been elected to the highest office in the United States.
New Trend in the U.S. Population
By 2050, the U.S. population is expected to increase in great numbers and minority groups will make up nearly half of the population of54%. This is an expected population of 235.7 million of the 439 total populations in the United States. The workforce of working adults would consist of 55% minorities by 2050. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008) With these growing numbers, being a minority would have to take on a new meaning.

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Diversity is about everyone. It is not about separating groups of people, but bringing people together to achieve the goals of the corporate organization. This is achieved when individuals have the opportunity to fairly demonstrate their unique strengths and contributions. The competition within all organizations today is to find talented and skilled workers. Diversity is important for recruiters because it provides a rich pool of applicants that can bring in new ideas, points of views and resources. With the mixture of different people and ideas, conflict is bound to arise; however when managed correctly it can actually become what is called “ creative abrasion”, where opposing viewpoints compliment each other. Mike Bagshaw, in his article entitled “Is diversity diverse? A positive training approach” discussed the four C’s of working with diversity to have effective immediate change in employees. In summary it is about eliminating assumptions and unprofessional conduct to having respect. (Bagshaw, 2004)

“Utilizing common denominators to empower yourself as a minority in the work place.”

The need for affinity groups, mentors, networking and professional associations. (Expanded on Audio version. Add lib.)

Vision/Future

What can be done to take diversity career initiatives to the next level on predominately white colleges and universities? I would like to offer the following recommendations.

Create a Diversity Leadership Luncheon Summit to be held during the spring semester in April. The purpose of the Diversity Leadership Luncheon Summit is to be the launching pad of university students into the workforce for the upcoming summer. The event would include an interactive workshop and presentation from a dynamic facilitator (invited guest who can be an author etc.) to stretch students to another level. The duration of the event should be no longer than three hours.
Advisory Board for Diversity Initiatives This would be a board consisting of about five to seven professionals among diverse industries such as Business/ Finance, Education, Social services, Arts/Entertainment, Communications and Media, Health/Sciences, and Technology. Preferably participants would be successful university alumni or supporters who believe in the mission and vision of diversity initiatives. The benefit for the advisor is an invitation to special diversity functions, and the Diversity Leadership Luncheon, with the personal satisfaction of making a difference. The benefit to the students is a committed resource and network of individuals from various industries and etc.

Partnership with Office of Multicultural Affairs-Create a workshop that is career and diversity related that could be presented on campus to build a bridge and relationship between both departments.

References
Bagshaw, M. (2004). Is diversity diverse? A positive training approach. Industrial and Commercial Training, 36, 153-157.
Clements, P., & Jones, J. (2006). The diversity-training handbook: A practical guide to understanding and changing attitudes (2nd ed.). London, England & Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Limited.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2008, August 14, 2008). An older and more diverse nation by mid-century [Press release]. Retrieved from www.census.gov

Positive Impacts of Imigration

Welcome to the multicultural hour, were I my self Amber Pina, a professor of multiculturalism at New York University, occupy this hour to discuss Multiculturalism and the spiral effects that it has on learners and educators. Today I’m going to play around with a bit of a different format; one of my current student Karen D’lahoz will be interviewing me as part of her final project. During this interview I reveal some of the most transforming changes that happened as a result of my family’s migration to the United States from the Dominican Republic. I will also reflect on my cultural heritage and the cultural marriage of values that happens to every immigrant during the transitional period of their migration.
Karen: How old were you, when you and your family migrated to the United States?
Amber: I was nine years old, turning ten on December 11, 1990. We migrated in June of 1990, to Clifton, New Jersey. My family consists of both set of parents, two brothers and myself.
Karen: What grade were you in?
Amber: I was entering the six grade that coming September.
Karen: Were your parent’s college graduates?
Amber: My parents were both college graduates. My father was a lawyer, with a successful private practice in the heart of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. My mother, who had also attained a law degree, was a judge for the civil court, in Santo Domingo.
Karen: In the Dominican Republic were you in private school or public school?
Amber: Private School, my brothers and I were in a private catholic school?
Karen: Can you describe how was your life growing up in the Dominican Republic?
Amber: My life growing up in the Dominican Republic was very colorful. My parents kept us very busy as children, with after school activities. My scheduled was filled with ballet classes for six years, swimming classes for five, art classes and I took after school English courses at the Dominico English institute. Education was very important for both of my parents. I’m filled with fond memories of my childhood back home, my brothers and I use to be very close. Our weekends were often spend at the beach house, and family vacations were very present during my childhood.
Karen: Your story it’s different than the immigrations stories that we have become so familiar with, you know the one’s of hardship and struggles, filled with the illusion of coming to the land of opportunity, to conquer the American dream. Your story is different your parents had created a comfortable life for you and your brothers. Your parents were both successful in their profession, what was the motive for the migration to the U.S? What were your parents trying to achieve or expect from this move?
Amber: The main reason for the move was that there was a new government taking over, you see the Dominican Republic is a third world country, anytime there is a shift in government, the new government brings in new individuals to work to fill different positions, which meant my mother would be left without employment. Without my mothers income we would not be able to keep our current lifestyle, so my parents decided that in the U.S. we would have better opportunities. My parent’s expectations varied, I truly believe that my parents were not fully aware of the changes that we would endure as a family in the years to come.
Karen: In your opinion what was one of the first obstacle that your parents faced in the United States as immigrants?
Amber: The first and hardest obstacle that my parents faced was their status shift. They were respected professionals back home; here in the United States their education was useless. Unless they returned to school all over again their degrees were worth nothing, and with three kids to support in a new country, school was not an option. This was very difficult on both of my parents, but especially on my father. I believe his ego could not handle it, to work in a factory making pennies, to endure discrimination it was too much for him. The devaluation of my father’s persona, was something he could not come to terms with. He felt was too smart for these factory jobs and working like a dog, after living a life of fancy cars and beach houses he could not come to terms with this new found reality. I believe that my mother also suffered from this status shift, but since my father could not endure it, she suffered in silence. My father is a very proud man, he could not perceive that his wife was working at a local McDonald’s, which led to fights between my parents, were my father would often put my mother down and eventually it ended with divorce.
Karen: How did this migration affect you?
Amber: I remember the day I left, like it was yesterday. I didn’t want to come to the U.S., as a family we had vacation in the U.S. many times. I like my life in Santo Domingo, and I love my country and my people. This migration has affected me in so many ways first as a girl, to enter a new school system, with no friends. I remembered being ridicule for my clothes, and also feeling puzzled because my clothes were trendy in Santo Domingo; but not good enough for the U.S. I always remembered this moment, and I like to call it the beginning of my individuality. This is were I understood I’m in new territory and they are different ways of doing things, and that is also were I became an observer. I observed everything and everyone. Second as a teenager, I was not allowed to do half of the things my American girlfriends were doing. The Dominican Republic is controlled by Catholicism; I was raised as a Catholic. My father was extremely strict; I had to find ways to introduce my parents to the new culture. This was extremely difficult, my parents wanted to keep things exactly how they were back home, but this proof to be impossible. They had placed their children in a new culture, yet wanted them to stay true to the old one. As woman it still affects me to this present day, I have come across numerous outdated beliefs that don’t serve me anymore. This move also taught me the power of conditioning, and that one has to stay very aware to be able to stay true to who you are.
Karen: Did you encountered any changes in your parent’s interest in your education?
Amber: Oh yes, their interest in my education diminished. They had very little involvement in my education due to the language barrier. My parents were to busy working odd end jobs to attend after school meetings with teachers, they also stop checking my report card.
Karen: What impact did this have in your education?
Amber: Looking back, it did. In high school, I did the minimum to get by. I never joined any after school program or played sports. Instead, I started working my freshman year; once I started to make my own money education became secondary to me. If my parents were more involve in my education and more supportive, I would have probably graduated with numerous scholarships. It was difficult because I could not speak to my parents about my education, because they did not understand. I got my information from my peers and made decisions regarding my education with no guidance.
Karen: What about any of those after school activity that you were part of in the Dominican Republic did you maintain them here?
Amber: My mother till this day carries huge regret for not being able to keep me in dancing. I really loved dancing, but we didn’t have the money or the knowledge of how to find a dancing school back then. My after school activity became cooking diner for my father and my brothers. Due to the fact that my mother worked nights, and I was the girl of the house cooking duties failed on my shoulders. Now I can see that those afternoon spend in my kitchen, served me as an informal way of learning a new skill. I can proudly say that I’m a good cook, and my cooking has evolve through out the years, to what I like to call multicultural cooking. I stated cooking traditional Dominican dishes, and through out the years I have added dishes from various cultures.
Karen: As an educator and a parent what tips can you give to immigrant parents that can enhanced their children education?
Amber: It’s not hard, be present in school activities. If there is a language barrier, one can ask for translators the school will be more than happy to provide one. If a parent can not make it to parent conference due to a schedule conflict, ask for a phone appointment, or send a written notice to reschedule for a better time. Ask your child to translate what their learning, and ask them to teach you things, such as how to properly pronounce a word or use the computer. Ask questions, a parent’s involvement has great positive impact in our children’s education.
Karen: You speak of a marriage of values, can you please explain this?
Amber: A marriage of values is something that every immigrant deals with. As daily interaction begins to happen with another culture, one is exposed to a new culture that consists of new values. The more interaction that an individual encounters with a new culture, the faster a marriage between values starts to take place. Immigrants often come to the realization that their old cultural values are no longer serving them while involve in a new experience. This realization leads to both the old value being replaced by new ones, or a marriage of an old value and a new value. For example, I was raised as a catholic, that value has now been replaced with spirituality. I no longer considered my self a catholic, but yet I still practice some catholic traditions like celebrating Christmas. This what I refer to as marriage of values, is a compromised an immigrant is faced with in a daily basis.
Karen: Well, now one last question, before time is up?
Amber: Sure.
Karen: What are some cultural aspects that the Dominican Republic is known for?
Amber: Well we are an island in the Caribbean; we are known to be happy laid back people. Funny, but the first university in the world was first founded in the Dominican Republic, and education is very important for my people. My country is mainly known for tourism, and white sand beaches. To me is more than a white sand beach, it represents the beginning of a journey. The beginning of this immigrant woman; that sits in front of you; and the end of that shelter catholic girl. I use to wonder who I would be, if we had never moved. I no longer wonder, I’m grateful for all the different perspectives my cultural background has offered me.
This is the end of our show I hope that you have enjoyed it. I would like to live you with a bit of advice for all the immigrant learners and educators that are listening, stay flexible, never rigid. Make room for new ideas, perspectives and values and observe how full your life becomes full of moments one never thought possible. For the immigrant parents that are listening, please embrace positive characteristics of different cultures, not only those this support the growth of your child, it also keeps you as a parent an active learner.
References:
Gollinick and Chinn: Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, eight edition.

My Cultural Heritage History

My cultural heritage history starts in a little town called Belsito, in the region of Calabria, located in Southern Italy. The year is 1929 and the fascists regime has ruled in Italy since 1922. My great grandfather and great grandmother on my mother’s side, Serafina and Vincent, are struggling to make ends meet. Serafina is a homemaker and Vincent works as an ironworker in the city of Cosenza. Unfortunately, taxes are being raised and the new government is becoming less attractive to Serafina and Vincent. Both have family members that have immigrated to the United States, which they know as “the Land of Opportunity.” In October of 1922, Serafina and Vincent decide to move to America with their three sons.
My great grandparents on my mother’s side moved to the United States from Calabria in 1922. Calabria is a region located South of Naples, better known for its location at the “toe” of the Italian peninsula. Calabria officially became part of Italy when the country was unified in 1861. Shortly after, the Italian government began to raise taxes and forbid people to use the land they depended on. When the Fascist regime took control in 1922, many people supported the regime, while others fled the country (Il Circolo Calabrese). My great grandparents chose to leave because they believed better opportunities existed for them in the United States, especially financial opportunities. Today, Calabria is known for its beautiful beaches and coastline, which has caused a steady increase in tourism over the years. Like my great grandparents, many of the people in Calabria worked the land or hand manual labor jobs in the biggest nearby city. When my great grandparents moved to the United States, they had relatives that had already moved to North America, to places such as Chicago and Philadelphia in the United States, and Toronto in Canada. When they arrived in the United States, they settled in a predominantly Italian section of Northeast Philadelphia where some of their relatives had immigrated to previously. Serafina and Vincent had three sons when they moved and then had one more son and two daughters, one of whom would be my grandmother, in Philadelphia. Serafina stayed at home with the children and did not pursue any type of work. Vincent became a full time postal worker and helped in his brother’s butcher shop. Neither my great grandmother or grandfather attended any type of schooling, nor did they learn English. They moved to a predominantly Italian neighborhood and never had to learn English or were presented with the opportunity to do so.
My great grandparents had six children. None of them attended school past the sixth grade and all of them worked in manual labor jobs or joined the military. Occupations they held included barber, butcher, stone mason, shoemaker, crop picker, factory worker, seamstress and sailor in the Navy. My grandmother’s main role in the family was to take care of her brothers, which included cooking, cleaning, laundry, and maintaining the house. She also worked as a seamstress in a factory during the Great Depression and helped in her brother’s barber shop. In 1951, she met and married my grandfather and in 1954, my mother was born. My grandfather was also from Calabria and moved to the United States in 1925. His parents both passed away shortly after his arrival. They, too, settled in Philadelphia. My mother was an only child, born and raised in Philadelphia. She was the first in her family to attend high school, graduate from college, and receive a Master’s degree.
My father’s grandparents lived in Naples, Italy. Like Calabria, Naples also became part of Italy in 1861 as part of the Italian unification. It is located in Southern Italy, along the Eastern coast. Although the people of Naples did not rebel against Italian fascism prior to World War II, they were the first to rise up against German military occupation during World War II. Naples is famously known as the traditional home of pizza, which is where it originated. Both of my great grandparents were from Naples, where they lived down the street from each other. They both moved to the United States in 1927 with their families. Their families also had relatives in the United States and thought they could better achieve financial security if they left Italy and moved to the United States. Both of my great grandparents moved to New York and left shortly after to reside permanently in Elizabeth, New Jersey. My father’s grandmother was a seamstress and his grandfather worked for Exxon. When they arrived in the United States, my great grandfather could not find work because of his status as an immigrant. In order to sound more “American,” he removed the last vowel from his last name. My grandmother was one of four children, one of whom became a politician in Elizabeth. My father’s great aunts and uncles were more educated and his mother and father were both highly educated. Many of his aunts and uncles, including his mother and father, graduated from high school and went on to college. While some of them did have blue collar jobs, most of them did go to school and received an education. My father’s family still resides in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Knowing and understand one’s own cultural heritage is an important aspect in defining and developing our identities. The culture that we were raised in forms a large part of our identities and influences who we are and who we become. By understanding our culture, we are able to form better understandings of ourselves. In the classroom, it is essential that we, as educators, understand the cultural history of our students. Not only can this knowledge help us to better understand our students, but we can also use this knowledge to create a curriculum that is culturally relevant and meaningful for the students.



Works Cited
Tarantin, Jack. Personal interview. 22 Nov. 2008.
Il Circolo Calabrese. 22 Nov. 2008. Retrieved from http://www.circolocalabrese.org/
Naples. 22 Nov. 2008. Retrieved from www.italyguides.it/us/napoli/naples.htm

The Hours Movie Review

“I am living a life I have no wish to live…how did this happen?” (Virginia Woolf, played by Nicole Kidman, in The Hours Motion Picture). In the 2002 Academy Award winning movie, The Hours, the final years of prominent twentieth century author, Virginia Woolf, are captured. In particular, the workings of her masterpiece book, Mrs. Dalloway, are depicted and creatively intertwine with the lives of two other women in the film. The director, Stephen Daldry, and producers, Scott Rudin and Robert Fox, based this movie on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham. Through this story we witness the lives of three separate, but similar women living in different eras. Each faces complexities from within that they ultimately struggle to solve in their individual way. In general, The Hours is a powerful film that portrays the expected role of women in society, while also illustrating the desire and need for some women to break away from the believed cultural norms.
The movie tracks three women through a day in their lives. The first story focuses on Virginia Woolf in England in1923 as she begins to write her novel, Mrs. Dalloway. The second narrative follows Laura Brown, a Californian housewife who is reading Mrs. Dalloway in 1951. The third account details the life of Clarissa Vaughn in 2001 as she basically lives the life of Mrs. Dalloway from Virginia Woolf’s novel in New York City. Throughout the film, clips of these three women’s days alternate back and forth.
The character of Virginia Woolf, played by Nicole Kidman, is an extremely gifted writer who is fighting depression, while writing one of her final novels, Mrs. Dalloway, in the 1920s. She is living under doctor supervision in Richmond, England, a suburb of London, due to her two previous attempts to commit suicide. Her husband, Leonard Woolf, and her family constantly worry and look out for her well being. As the day unfolds, Virginia’s writing is well underway when she receives a visit from her sister, Vanessa Bell, and her sister’s three children. During this time, Virginia contemplates the events in her book and determines that a character in the novel must die. Also, the audience begins to recognize the close relationship she shares with Vanessa and even witnesses a passionate kiss between them. Moments afterwards Virginia asks her sister, “Do you think I may one day escape?” This question exposes her intricate feelings of confinement and inability to live her life freely. In the end, Virginia successfully commits suicide by drowning herself in a nearby river. She leaves a heartfelt letter for her husband that explains the agony she continually felt and thanks him for his unfaltering goodness.
Julianne Moore plays the role of Laura Brown, a wife and mother who is expecting her second child in California post World War II. As her day sets out, the film shows her inability to get out of bed and face the world on her husband’s birthday. She seems totally disconnected from her life and deeply interested in Virginia Woolf’s book, Mrs. Dalloway. When she finally gets out of bed she sees her husband, Dan Brown, off to work and plans to bake a cake with her son, Richard Brown, for her husband’s birthday. After failing at her first attempt, she proceeds to bake a second cake. Then, her friend Kitty stops by and together they share an intimate moment. It is in that scene where Laura realizes that she is not the women her family and friends think she is. She wonders why her war hero husband made the mistake of choosing her, a shy lonely girl who loved to read in high school, when he could have had any girl he wished. Following these negative inner thoughts, she drops her son at her friend’s home and checks into a hotel where she reads Mrs. Dalloway and plans to kill herself. Although she does not go through with it, she ultimately abandons her family after she gives birth to her daughter. Later on in the movie when she describes that segment of her life she movingly exclaims that, “it was death, I chose life.”
The character of Clarissa Vaughn, played by Meryl Streep, is a modern day lesbian editor who is deeply devoted to caring for Richard, her friend and past lover who is dying of AIDS. Throughout her day she is preparing a party that she is hosting to honor Richard for winning a poetry prize for his life’s work. When Clarissa first visits his apartment in the morning, the audience takes notice that Richard calls her Mrs. Dalloway. He plainly says, “Oh Mrs. Dalloway…always giving parties to cover the silence.” This statement along with the events occurring through the day, expose Clarissa’s feelings of confliction. She questions her life decisions including her life with Sally, her lover for ten years, and she wonders what her life may have been like if she were still with Richard. In one of the final scenes, the party is cancelled when Richard unexpectedly commits suicide by jumping out of the window of his apartment. It seemed as though he felt burdensome to Clarissa; he wanted her to focus on her own life without having to constantly care for him. In the conclusion, both Clarissa and Mrs. Dalloway finally overcome their emotions and take comfort in the idea that life does have meaning.
During this movie, several powerful themes emerge. One in particular focuses on the constraint of societal roles on each of the woman. They seem to wrestle with the cultural expectations placed on them solely because of their gender and they also tend to sacrifice their individual identities to make others happy. Although all three women faced these similar challenges, they dealt with them differently depending on the time period in which they lived. Virginia Woolf was not considered the typical English wife. Her inabilities to take control of her own life along with her lesbian tendencies drove her to commit suicide. Conversely, Laura Brown was living the American dream in suburban California with a loving family, beautiful home, and nice car. However, this perfect life was all just a lie to her. It was not at all what Laura had wanted, but during that time in history she, like Virginia, was unable to voice her opinion and speak out about her desperation. So Laura dealt with it by fleeing. On the other hand, Clarissa Vaughn was living in modern day as a domestic lesbian woman. Her role as a homosexual in society was more accepted, yet she was still conflicted. The audience caught her wondering whether or not she was in love with Richard, Sally, or both. In other words, Clarissa still seemed to question her sexuality and life right up until she got closure when Richard died and she began to better understand and love herself, her life, and her hours.
As a prospective adolescent teacher, I recognize that the The Hours movie carries various implications for society and more specifically for education. All students in a classroom, male or female and homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual, are protected under Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments (Gollnick & Chinn, 2009). Teachers are supposed to provide a nonsexist education that does not discriminate or stereotype any student based on his/her gender or sexual orientation. Accepting all learners for who they are, not casting societal judgments on them, and supporting their development in all aspects including their identity is greatly important. Further, teachers must also react appropriately if students are disrespecting each other in any way. Overall, educators, students and society in general should become aware of the constraints they tend to place on individuals in differing cultural groups. Through The Hours movie, one sees just how suffocating and overpowering these pressures can be on the twisted lives of three human beings in the twentieth century.



References

Gollnick, D. M. &Chinn, P.C. (2009). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rudin, S. & Fox, R. (Producers), & Daldry, S. (Director). (2002). The hours [Motion Picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures and Miramax Films.