The Focus

Lamenting lack of education among the poor world wide and wanting to find a way to reach them, I will concentrate my project on a nearby population with a perceived need of native language education as well as a need for familiarity with their own culture which could promote self-esteem.

Many immigrant farm workers in our area were not well educated in their country of origin. While they are able to pass on the spoken mother tongue, Spanish, they are not able to pass on history, culture, literature or even written grammar. Lacking these key components to Spanish, their children are not able to transfer these skills to their second language studies, in English. Knowledgeable pride in the culture their parents came from is lacking as well.

It has been noted that older Latin American students, especially those born in the United States to new immigrants, those who reach college level instruction, find a newborn interest in their parents' native language when they learn of their culture and history. Using this idea as a springboard, as well as the recorded successes of the Chinese and Korean Saturday Schools that promote their parents' culture and language, I will design a similar program for elementary age students in the Latin American immigrant population of Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

I will first assess needs and develop a rough overall plan, or Instructional Design. A method of needs assessment would be to survey area teachers of Spanish for Spanish speakers, as well as families in the area who attend Spanish Mass at St. Thomas More School where I work. With the parents' permission, I could test some students to assess their level of knowledge of culture of origin, as well as their reading and comprehension levels in Spanish.

With this information about what is needed I will analyze what the first course of action would be for a start-up program.

If I can possibly do it, I would start a weekly class and re-assess the students and parents at the end of the semester. I will explore other avenues of instruction, as were used in the Columbia project Hannum discussed.

By focusing on the needs of one population close to home, sensitive to their needs to survive in an ever more demanding world as well as to their cultural heritage and values, I hope to find a way for these students to excel in our system. I would hope to promote cultural pride and unity, as the Chinese and Korean populations have done with their programs.