Learning at the Margins

Abstract Educational limitations for Mexican American students in American public schools remain in the 21st century. Although Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States, education has difficulty meeting the teaching and learning needs of Hispanic students. Beyond ethnicity, Mexican American students suffer from distinct educational, social, and cultural pressures that play out in class. This study represents the voices of six Mexican American students enrolled in special education for learning and/or behavioral disabilities. The students express alienation, disinterest, and anxiety regarding their classrooms, teachers, and classmates. Ever-present concerns and barriers expressed by these students, coupled with current research, point to the ongoing challenges to education and school culture in particular. Learning at the Margins If one is the other, one will inevitably be perceived unidimensionally; will be seen stereotypically; will be defined and delimited by mental sets that may not bear much relation to existing realities. There is a darker side to otherness as well. The other disturbs, disquiets, discomforts. It provokes distrust and suspicion. The other makes people feel anxious, nervous, apprehensive, even fearful. The other frightens, scares. . . . For some of us, being the other is only annoying; for others it is debilitating; for still others it is damning. (Madrid, 1988, p. 56) Hispanics arc the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with Mexican Americans comprising the majority of the Hispanic population (see United States Department of Commerce, 2001). Although demographic momentum can sometimes be very powerful, the data continue to show educational gaps and barriers for Mexican American students in public schools. Being the "other," as noted by Madrid (1988), Mexican Americans still face enormous challenges in American education. According to the United States Department of Commerce (2001), Mexican Americans have the highest rate of persons with fewer than five years of schooling (15.9%), and they have been traditionally over-represented in special education classes. The United States Department of Education (1999) reported that there are approximately 9.2 million school age students in the U.S. whose primary language is not English, with Spanish being the most prevalent language spoken after English. Estimating that 10.7% to 15% of these students may have disabilities, then 984,400 to 1,380,000 students with disabilities are also linguistically diverse (Baca & Cervantes, 2003). Research shows that teachers of the majority culture are better able to relate to children of their own ethnic/racial and linguistic background and usually are unaware of their differential and culturebound treatment toward children of the minority culture (e.g., Bennett de Marrais & LeCompte, 1995). Unfortunately, it is estimated that only 5% of our nation's teachers are teachers of color, yet students of color make up 33% of our school-aged population (Walker, Saravanabhavan, & Asbury, 1996). Furthermore, it is projected that by 2020, 46% of all students will be students of color (Cushncr, McClelland, & Stafford, 1996). Students' academic performance often follows in the direction of teacher expectations (Apple, 1996; Cummins, 1989; Sadker & Sadker, 1994), with gender, ethnicity, and social-economic status being traits that influence low teacher-student expectations. Teacher-student interactions and teacher-student cultural incompatibility have contributed to the historical over-representation of ethic minority youth in remedial classes and special education. Ethnic minority students often fail to see themselves positively integrated into the culture of the school (Cazden, 1988). Typically, Hispanic students do not have daily interactions with Hispanic teachers who understand their culture or language. As a consequence, Hispanic students, especially those who are Spanish dominant, may not have the benefit of an appropriate education due to the lack of bilingualqualified educators. …