My journey from English Language Learner (ELL) to earning a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) is one that inspires me to share my experience with others on similar journeys. My background represented many of the statistics of underrepresented students who typically have challenges with educational attainment; poverty, first generation, English as a second language, female of color, parents without a high school diploma, single mother (at one point), married while in graduate school, and raising young children while working full time and earning graduate and post graduate degrees. I want to give a voice to my journey for others with similar stories and especially youth currently going through the education system–you are not alone and any goal you set is possible.
I was born and raised in a rural town in Central California where many of the residents worked in agriculture and the dominant culture was white, middle class. My parents spent their lives working in farm labor after immigrating to this country from Mexico as teenagers. I did not see myself or students like me represented in positions of power such as teachers, business owners, city council members, doctors, lawyers and such. In my community, I saw my likeness represented in the people picking oranges on tall ladders leaned into citrus trees with heavy canvas sacks draped from their necks or in the people working the vineyards on all fours placing the grape bunches they had just cut fresh from the vine onto large pieces of paper to dry in the sun.
Through my blog, I want to give underrepresented students, especially ELL, a voice in a journey that is often overgeneralized and misunderstood. Learning to speak English is a difficult process that involves much more than just good teaching or being color blind–seeing all students as the same-in fact, a large body of research suggests this is actually not beneficial to underrepresented students.
Every student is an individual with unique needs and characteristics that add value to the classroom setting–acknowledging and valuing these differences as assets creates an inclusive environment that supports learning. It takes courageous teachers and allies to recognize the distinct needs and traits of each child in order to provide the best first teaching for learning in academic settings. Student opportunities for success increase when the instruction they receive the first time a lesson is presented reflects the most effective research based practices to engage all students in learning.
Through my research, I discovered the importance of utilizing instructional strategies that represent underrepresented students in the school setting and how developing a mindset that values the life experiences of underrepresented students has a significant impact on the success of all students.
I invite you to read my blog where I share the personal experiences, challenges, and work that lead me to earn a Doctorate in Education.
