Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Analysis Of The Cdf Early Learning Community Trust Process Phase I, Sherrill W. Hayes

Sherrill W. Hayes

Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform, Oiyan Poon, Jacob Cohen

OiYan Poon

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory. Led by youth from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), the study explored the impacts of post-Katrina school reforms on student experiences at six New Orleans high schools. The findings from the study exposed troubling educational disparities by race, class, limited English status, and geography. The YPAR project’s results counter neoliberal reform advocates’ narrative of a post-Katrina New Orleans school “miracle.” This article illuminates YPAR as both research method and pathway …

The Vote On Bilingual Education And Latino Identity In Massachusetts, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

In November 2002, the Massachusetts electorate voted overwhelmingly to pass Referendum Ballot Question 2 (Q. 2), sponsored by California millionaire Ron Unz. The passage of this initiative by close to 70% of the voters effectively ended bilingual education in the state as it had been known for thirty years. Exit polling done at selected cities in Massachusetts by the Mauricio Gaston Institute and UMass Poll revealed, however, that out of a total 1,491 Latinos polled, a vast majority of them, around 93%, had voted in favor of rejecting Q. 2 and keeping bilingual education in place. Indeed, Q. 2 became …

How To Tame A Wild Tongue: Language Rights In The United States, Panayota Gounari

Panayota Gounari

The call for a "common language" and a "shared identity that makes us Americans" not only hides a more pernicious social and cultural agenda but it is also part of the present attempt toward the 'reorganization of a 'cultural hegemony' as evidenced in the conservatives on the multiplicity of languages spoken in the United States. This ultimately guarantees that these groups will remain repressed, marginalized and cut off from the wealth of resources that the dominant group has full access. As a result, the current debate over bilingual education has very little to do with language per se; the real …

The Mirror Effect, The Law Of Attraction, And "Points Of Attraction" That Can Nurture The Evolution Of Human Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

This message has several purposes. First, I want to express my immense joy that Chip Baggett and I are serving as Co-Presidents of AHP since August 16, 2009. In my view, Chip and I are long-time friends, who have a transcendent connection and synergistic energies. My desire and intent is for our co-presidency to mirror the effect(s) of synergistic collaboration as a “point of attraction” that can assist in the evolution of human consciousness across often “perceived personal and societal boundaries” (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, class, individual and collective belief systems, and dogma). More generally, however, this message is intended …

Native People And Systemic Bias In The Public Education System, John R. Fisher, Bayo Oludaja

Dr. John R. Fisher

Although systemic bias may not be racism, it is a form of prejudice. Systemic bias exists throughout society in the practices and attitudes that people face on a daily basis. Very often educational programs are set up to accommodate special needs, but, although well meaning, they incorporate this form of bias. Systemic bias inhibits student progress and often presupposes the need for cultural change. This paper reports a study of Canadian Native people and their experience with the public school system. Interviews were held with 19 students, 24 parents and community members, and nine faculty/administrators to assess how systemic bias …