Harry on the Border between Two Worlds: Reading Harry en Español in a Mexican American Border Community

Abstract

Native language access in schools remains highly contested. Recent state mandates in Arizona pressuring schools to remove teachers whose English is deemed “heavily accented or ungrammatical”³from English Learner classrooms, regardless of the teachers’ level of experience and expertise, illustrate the disparaging manner in which language issues are approached in many districts and states. After the 1998 passage of Proposition 227 in California, which limited access to students’ native language to one year, many teachers who had used their students’ first language as a bridge to accessing content and gaining confidence in the classroom found these tools unavailable. Coupled with constant pressures from testing mandates at both the federal level (NCLB, No Child Left Behind Act) and the state level (the CAHSEE, or California High School Exit Exam, is a requirement for graduation), immigrant and English Learner students in many states have found their educational opportunities severely narrowed. Often, their curriculum is stripped to the point where content is strictly test-based and delivered through drilling exercises. These children’s schooling experiences are thus devoid of opportunities for promoting authentic learning and developing critical thinking, not to mention a robust curriculum that includes science, social studies, and literature.

Sandra and I grew up in this community, a place where I have done a great deal of research. In the interest of transparency, I introduce the community detailing a research experience that led to the inclusion of this particular teacher and her students in this book.—CLB