<p>younghoss, take a look at the article again. It is from a series in the NYT, and their description (which you click on) states:
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<p>Huh? On a minimum wage job, paid under the table? (Remember, that the parents cannot legally work in NY.)</p>
<p>“Been occurring in the border states for decades. (I guess the NYT only picks it up when it becomes a local issue. )”</p>
<p>Very true. Also, there is a lot of cultural pressure for these kids to start earning when they are 16. To tackle this challenge, their parents need to be persuaded that college is a better option for their kids than entering the labor force at 16 - an uphill climb in a lot of areas.</p>
<p>[Migration</a> Information Source - Guatemala: Economic Migrants Replace Political Refugees](<a href=“Migration Information Source | migrationpolicy.org”>Migration Information Source | migrationpolicy.org) Article about the history of Guatemalan immigration. NAFTA and CAFTA have impacted the immigration of Latinos.</p>
<p>Limabeans, where I live teachers receive special training before they are assigned to the type of classroom situation you describe. And, at a fairly recent school board meeting some members spoke about visiting the NY school system and about the innovative things being done there.</p>
<p>How typical of the WSJ to want to stick poor immigrant kids in low paying jobs. Some have proven to be very bright and college worthy. Of course this involves the Dream Act and other immigration issues.</p>
<p>Some particularly racist and odious comments above.</p>
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I would say that it is the folks who pretend to themselves that they are kind, compassionate and good who want to stick kids in low paying jobs. Anyone who doesn’t consider the culture and language issues is not interested in the needs of the immigrants, they are either interested in making themselves feel good or they are interested in landscaping or household help. Those of us who work with immigrants on a daily basis know that it’s not as simple as “let them come” because there are people and communities left behind, stripped of their most ambitious citizens. Don’t forget the dirty little secret of how many immigrants don’t want to be here at all, but are forced by the very powerful influences of the elites in their countries who want remittances, employers here who want cheap labor, and the feel-good industry that needs more bodies. There’s also the issue of helping them move forward here, if that’s where they are. It’s a very, very hard thing that often involves a two-step forward, one-step back process over the course of years, often without very much to show for the work and sacrifice. Putting immigrant kids, particularly the growing group of non-English/non-Spanish speakers, into high paying, skilled jobs is as tough as anything that can possibly be done. Bringng them up to the level of educational achievement of white, Asian, African, black, and even other hispanic immigrant groups isn’t really possible within a couple of generations. Pretending otherwise helps no one.</p>
<p>Does anyone have reports of Mexican immigrants that live in other parts of the U.S—except, California? I have read so many things about Mexicans in California already.</p>
<p>america, like Texas? What kind of reports?</p>
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<p>The article didn’t specify whether the Mexican population was documented or not, so I think we’re simply talking about recent Mexican immigrants in general. Most NY high schools also offer a technical/training option which is a very good option for lower income kids who may not be able to afford college, so I wouldn’t assume that a HS grad would only have a minimum wage job. The recent immigrant workers (documented or otherwise) that I have come in contact with often make more than minimum wage if they have skills and can speak English.</p>
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<p>The NYC public school system as pretty much done away with vocational education years ago because it has adopted a model that every should be attending college after graduation (not that I agree, but it is for another discussion). </p>
<p>There are a very small number of schools in NYC that provide vocational ed. We are advised to program students to co-op tech in conjunction with their regular program. Co-op tech, which operates in a morning and an afternoon session does not have enough seats for the number of day high school students wanting/needing vocational ed.</p>
<p>With the exception of FIT, there are no SUNYs that are in an affordable commuting distance from NYC (at least not an affordable distance on the LIRR/Metro North). </p>
<p>It is my experience working at a NYC Title I high school, that the vast majority of undocumented students at my school can afford CUNY CC, which is 3600/yr not including books, transportation costs because they are not eligible for TAP/PELL/SEEK/College Discovery/EOP or ASAP.</p>
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<p>Sure it does.</p>
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<p>What annoys me about articles such as this is the startling lack of knowledge on the part of the author, or maybe it’s just plain laziness. Specifically, as Zoosermom has pointed out on past posts, much of the undocumented immigrant population are in fact native Americans, Amerindians, Aztec descendants, the aboriginal population…however you define them; they are in the main a marginalized group in Mexican (and in Latin American in general) society. Again as Zoosermom said before, many such folks have a limited ability to speak Spanish, let alone English. If they can’t get a break speaking the native dialect in a place like Quintana Roo/Cancun, how do we expect them to get a decent foot’s hold here in the U.S.?</p>
<p>I read a news report about an Indian reservation in the Southwest U.S. that straddles the Mexican border (although officially, there are no “reservations” in Mexico, I am told). While life on most U.S. reservations is not great, the Americans’ counterparts on the other side of the border had it much, much harder. The level of education, health etc. in the Mexican part of the Indian community was quite dismal and inferior to their American bretheren. Same culture and ethnic population but the border made a tremendous difference.</p>
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<p>Limabeans, you come across as a very caring teacher. I think you’ve come up with your own answer as to how to help your students - you need to teach them to read and if that means incorporating phonics in your lessons, that’s what you need to do. My former state had a big program on reading by third grade - it was found that students who couldn’t read by third grade just fell further and further behind, since most of the learning in upper grades presupposes the ability to read. That puts a lot of responsiblity on you, as their last best hope!</p>
<p>I would give as much instructional time as possible to reading and also to math, incorporating them into whatever other subjects I was also required to teach.</p>