1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: Dear Latino USA listener, President Donald Trump has signed an 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,040 Speaker 1: executive order making English the official language of the United 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: States for the first time in almost two hundred and 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: fifty years. The order says it quote recognizes and celebrates 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,479 Speaker 1: the long tradition of multi lingual American citizens who have 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: learned English and passed it to their children for generations 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: to come. More than sixty million people in the United 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: States speak a language other than English at home, which 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: Spanish being that other language for over forty million residents 10 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,480 Speaker 1: of this country. At Latino USA, where I and many 11 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: members of our staff speak Spanish at home, we celebrate 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: bilingualism and we're proud to pass our mother language on 13 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: to our children. Which is why, today, dear listener, we 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: want to bring you a very fitting story that celebrates 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: the preservation of language and culture. Here's a story called 16 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: bilingual Is My Superpower. It originally aired in twenty twenty three. 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: I am in the studio with a very special guest 18 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: who I haven't seen in. 19 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 2: A long time. 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 3: Hello, Hi, Maria. 21 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 2: I'm Mardine. It's so good to see you. 22 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: S see yose To Norie. Our very special guest is 23 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: the son of our producer Gini. 24 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 2: Montalvo say, let the t shirt, baby. 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: I think I need to know what your t shirt says, 26 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 1: because it's really cool. 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 2: I'll read it for you. It says I'm bilingual. What's 28 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 2: your superpower? 29 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 3: I speak to languagees Spanish and English. 30 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: It is kind of like a superpower, don't you think? 31 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 4: Yes? 32 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: And guess what I'm by lingual too, Bud. So it 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: was back in twenty eighteen, Genie, that we did a 34 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: podcast that really looked at bilingualism and your family. 35 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 2: Yes, you would have heard my son babbling at the time. 36 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 2: Martine was like seven months at that point. Last so cute. 37 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: And we talked about you and your brother, and we 38 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: talked about my kids, your kids, and we were talking 39 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: about language. Right, what is our first language when we 40 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: introduced another language? And so all right, here we are 41 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: five years later and I'm having full blown conversations with 42 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: your son in English and in Spanish. It's like adorable. 43 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: Which language do you like better? English or Spanish? 44 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 3: Spanish? Perro Quierro, I said, English is Spanish? 45 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 2: Losos? I think that's great. And guess what you can't? Yes? 46 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 2: And our decision. Last time you and I spoke, Maria 47 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 2: was one hundred percent Spanish at home, and so Martin did, 48 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 2: in fact, when in Spanish first, like me and your 49 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 2: kids and so many others borget espano. 50 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 3: Ismas bonito qu yota spico. 51 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: So the good news is he got the Spanish since 52 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: he was little, and that really is so fabulous. But 53 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: what else has happened in these past several years? 54 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 2: We moved out of Queens to the Burbs and Martin 55 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 2: has a little sister, Syamrandi. Oh my god, I love that. 56 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 2: So is she speaking Spanish too correct? Here? She is 57 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: reading bluna? Oh? Yes, So we felt like this was 58 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 2: a big parenting win. They got the Spanish check But 59 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 2: plot twist from Martin. Something happened in March of twenty twenty, 60 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: right the pandemic, Yeah, exactly. Never in our wildest dreams 61 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 2: we have imagined that Martine would get stuck at home 62 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 2: with us with nothing but a window to a street 63 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 2: in Queen's. Martin was in a Spanish immersion program at 64 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 2: that time, so, along with zooms and FaceTime with the abuelos, 65 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 2: for all he knew then at two and a half, 66 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 2: the world operated in Spanish. And well, because of that, 67 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 2: it meant Martin actually never learned English. 68 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: From Futuro Media and pr X. It's Latino Usa. I'm 69 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: marieno Hosa today. Bilingual is my superpower. GINI is going 70 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: to pick up the story from here. 71 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 2: Is normal. My husband at n Esto and I have 72 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 2: always spoken Spanish to each other. He immigrated from Peru 73 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 2: in two thousand and nine, and I'm the child of 74 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: Dominican parents, so we just knew we would speak Spanish 75 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 2: to our kids. But nothing could have prepared us for 76 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 2: what our decision would mean amongst a pandemic and lockdown. 77 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 2: And We're not the only ones. So many children that 78 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 2: were forced to stay home for the past three years 79 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,799 Speaker 2: were impacted by the loss of in person instruction. Kids 80 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 2: who were making progress and programs for English Language learners 81 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 2: as it's called in New York were now suddenly thrust 82 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 2: into virtual learning, back with their home language with little 83 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 2: to no support. In our case, moving to the urbs 84 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 2: with a newborn and a three year old brought its 85 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 2: own challenges, but in twenty twenty one, we decided it 86 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 2: was time to get Mutting out of the house. He 87 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 2: needed to socialize with other children, and at this point 88 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 2: he was three and a half, so kindergarten was on 89 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 2: the horizon. I personally never intended for Muchding to need 90 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 2: bilingual education or any English support. I was more prepared 91 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 2: for the day I would have to force him to 92 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 2: keep speaking Spanish. It was very important to me, a 93 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 2: child of immigrants with a bilingual upbringing, that he learned 94 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 2: English before kindergarten. I went through the public school system 95 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 2: in the South. I didn't take any tests, I didn't 96 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 2: have bilingual education, but I knew English by the time 97 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 2: I got to kindergarten because of where we lived. So 98 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 2: I just wanted him to be solid before he got there. 99 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 2: So we did what people have been doing for decades. 100 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 2: We put him in daycare in English. Two weeks after 101 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: starting full time, we got called to a meeting. You guys, 102 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 2: educators have The director began to share their concern Medding 103 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 2: repeats with the staff. Says, and we don't see that 104 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 2: in his age, he's acting out, he's hitting people, and 105 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 2: that he hums. Though that's my husband at NISTO incredibly 106 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 2: surprised that humming is an issue because we're both musicians 107 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 2: and that for my being at least the humming seemed 108 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 2: to be a product of that. But the humming in 109 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 2: conjunction with the other behavior, the pushing, the hitting, the repetition. 110 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 2: The staff was suggesting that maybe he was on the 111 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: spectrum all the time. 112 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 5: We'll do as well as pictorum. 113 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 2: Matting has always had issues with change. He takes longer 114 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 2: to adapt to things. In this case, we moved, he 115 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 2: had a new sister, and he's in a new daycare 116 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 2: where he doesn't speak the language. We had explicitly told 117 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 2: this daycare when we first approached the school that Martin 118 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 2: did not speak English. They assured us that they were 119 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 2: equipped to handle bilingual children. And look, we would be 120 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 2: naive to say that Matting is perfect. He can be 121 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 2: a handful, but we knew in our hearts Martin wasn't 122 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 2: on the spectrum because before the pandemic he had been 123 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 2: in a Spanish immersion school and did fine. At the 124 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 2: same time, we've never been opposed to having our son evaluated. 125 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 2: We were in constant communication with our pediatricians, but things 126 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,679 Speaker 2: pediatrician and queens even told us he'd been receiving calls 127 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 2: like this almost weekly because of the return to in 128 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 2: person care. He said, imagine, it's like you dropped your 129 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 2: kid in a daycare in China, it's like that drastic 130 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 2: of a change. He's been home for an entire year. 131 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 2: He does not know how to socialize. He's not seen 132 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 2: another kid at his age for an entire year. None 133 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 2: of the other kids were bilingual, and honestly, no two 134 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 2: toddlers are going to react the same way to things. 135 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,079 Speaker 2: So the daycare solution was to put us on a 136 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 2: behavioral plan, which was a plan to put specific techniques 137 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 2: in place and monitor progress. Yet they didn't give us 138 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 2: time to show progress because we were traveling for the 139 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 2: bulk of the time frame. Even though they knew that, 140 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 2: they said they could no longer work with us after 141 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 2: a certain date. In essence, they wanted a three year 142 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 2: old to show progress in one week. We knew this 143 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 2: wouldn't work. Thus it just became clear they didn't want 144 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 2: to help him and they didn't want us there. We 145 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 2: still had a full year and a half before we 146 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 2: entered the public school system, which at that point I 147 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,719 Speaker 2: believed had systems in place to help him. But what 148 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 2: were we supposed to do until then? When my thing 149 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 2: was born, I didn't know that this journey would be 150 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 2: so hard, But as I've found with many parenting decisions. 151 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 2: It would require a lot of introspection. Am I doing 152 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 2: the right thing for my child? Is this happening because 153 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 2: he can't speak English? Is my decision going to affect 154 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 2: him negatively? Is there actually something wrong with him and 155 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 2: maybe two languages are holding him back? And so I 156 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: at least left the meeting feeling defeated, stressed, and worried 157 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 2: about what was next. I couldn't believe this was twenty 158 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 2: twenty one and we were still in multicultural New York. 159 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 2: This wasn't supposed to happen here. New York is supposed 160 00:09:54,080 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 2: to be different. So I started to look for answers 161 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 2: for me. That meant looking through history. And it all 162 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 2: started when I heard an episode of The Bowery Boys 163 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 2: podcast on the New Yorrekan migration. 164 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 6: Ominously, the New York State Chamber of Commerce took aim 165 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:20,599 Speaker 6: at Puerto Rican children, commissioning intelligence tests, then determining that 166 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 6: Puerto Rican children were sub normal and would quote deteriorate 167 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 6: standards already so seriously impaired by mass immigration of the 168 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 6: lowest levels of populations of many nations unquote. 169 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 2: What struck me was that these children were given tests 170 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 2: in a language they could barely speak, and because they 171 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 2: didn't perform well on the tests, they were labeled subnormal. 172 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 2: Here I was, nearly a century later, being told there 173 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 2: was something wrong with our child simply because of a 174 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,959 Speaker 2: language barrier, and he was on the verge of being 175 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 2: kicked out because of it. The study and its ripple 176 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 2: effects I learned thereafter became my security blanket, and so 177 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 2: I continued deeper into Spanish speaking New York and bilingual 178 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 2: education history, hoping that somewhere in that history was the 179 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 2: answer to how to properly teach your kiddle language. 180 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 7: My parents came from Puerto Rico, going into the nineteen thirties. 181 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 7: They married in nineteen thirty five, and I was born 182 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 7: the year after. 183 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,559 Speaker 2: Virginia Sanchez Corole is Professor Emerita at the Department of 184 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 2: Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College, Virginia entered 185 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 2: the school system a couple of years after the study 186 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 2: was published. 187 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 7: We all spoke Spanish. The school was the place where 188 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 7: you were suddenly introduced to English. 189 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 2: There was validation. Even almost one hundred years ago, people 190 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,199 Speaker 2: were dropping their kids in school to learn English. So 191 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 2: we had done nothing wrong as parents back then and 192 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 2: today these communities easily thrived and functioned fully in Spanish. 193 00:11:57,960 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 2: If you know a bit about the history of New 194 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 2: York's you'll know that the city has been home to 195 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 2: waves of immigration from all over the globe, German, Irish, Italian, 196 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 2: Eastern European, you name it. They all passed through Ellis Island, 197 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 2: and in the late nineteen twenties, through the Great Depression, 198 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 2: the city also received Spanish speaking residents, namely from Puerto Rico. 199 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 2: So receiving people who speak different languages is nothing new 200 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 2: for the city, and yet at the same time, psychological 201 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 2: tests were accepted tools for improving the educational process. 202 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 7: IQ tests were geared too an American ideal, and for 203 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 7: kids that were coming from different parts of the world, 204 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 7: they did not recognize elements of American culture that might 205 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 7: appear on the test. 206 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,439 Speaker 2: The tests were biased because you could score incorrectly on 207 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:52,839 Speaker 2: a question for something you may have never seen in 208 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 2: your life, and you may also not even speak the language. 209 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 7: You have to look at the atmosphere and the ambiance 210 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 7: which these people are operating. You have to factor that 211 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 7: into whatever tests are being given to students and schools. 212 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 5: Intelligence tests have been used in very negative ways against 213 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 5: groups of people. 214 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 2: Doctor Ada Nevades Latore is Associate professor and Chair of 215 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 2: the Curriculum and Teaching Division at Fortum's Graduate School of Education. 216 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 2: Her research focuses on multi lingual education to. 217 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 5: Keep them oppressed, to deny opportunities to grow and to develop, 218 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,959 Speaker 5: and to really enact the promise of being individuals that 219 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 5: can contribute to this society. 220 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 2: The US enacted a law to limit immigration in those 221 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 2: early decades, but Puerto Ricans were US citizens, and so 222 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 2: this country was going to find another way to make 223 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 2: their case for limiting entry to this group of people, 224 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 2: like this study that caught my attention on the Bowery 225 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 2: Boys podcast. Nineteen thirty five, a Special Committee on Immigration 226 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 2: and Naturalization published its reaction and results to a study 227 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,719 Speaker 2: done on Puerto Rican children from the previous year. It 228 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,680 Speaker 2: gave IQ test to over two hundred children at one 229 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 2: specific school in Spanish Harlem. The researchers intended to give 230 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 2: a non verbal test since they knew language would be 231 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 2: a factor, but for some one hundred children, they use 232 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 2: the verbal test because it was allegedly more accurate. 233 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 5: Any verbal tests or even non verbal tests given to 234 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 5: non speakers of the language of a test becomes a 235 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 5: language test, not an intelligence test. If students do not 236 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 5: understand what's being asked for them to answer, then you're 237 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 5: not testing intelligence. What you're testing is language proficiency, because 238 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 5: before they can do the task, they have to understand 239 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 5: the language. 240 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 2: The IQ tests were an appendix and a larger study 241 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 2: dealing with immigration control. The committee in the nineteen thirties 242 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 2: was looking to prove that Puerto Rico was not sending 243 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: its best, they were bringing crime. It reminded me a 244 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 2: bit of the rhetoric we've been hearing today. I started 245 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 2: to zoom out a bit and reflect on what all 246 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 2: this meant. These tests, like I said, were designed to 247 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 2: set the students up for failure. As a parent, it's 248 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 2: disappointing to hear that whatever agenda these people had, they 249 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 2: decided the best way to make their case was through children, 250 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 2: children who want to learn and grow. And never did 251 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 2: anything to these people except exist exist in Spanish. Despite 252 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 2: the obvious issues with the study itself, the final blanket 253 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 2: statement was that these Spanish speaking students were inferior, they 254 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 2: were below their uspers, and they should not be allowed 255 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 2: entry to the United States. And like we heard earlier, 256 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 2: they don't want them to quote to tear or eight 257 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 2: standards already impaired by mass immigration. Here's Virginia again. 258 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 7: The adjustment issues became prominent in the school system because 259 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 7: the school system had to find a way to deal 260 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 7: with this influx of new students. 261 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 2: When Virginia entered the school system in the early forties, 262 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 2: there was no bilingual education. Then we knew we had 263 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 2: to assimilate. 264 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 7: It was kind of a hidden way of telling you 265 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 7: that the language and the culture that you were born 266 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,359 Speaker 7: into and that the language as you spoke was inferior. 267 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 7: You had to get rid of it. That was the 268 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 7: only way that you were going to succeed. 269 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 2: The kids who couldn't assimilate, or didn't test well on 270 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 2: the IQ test, or simply didn't do well in the 271 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 2: classroom because of language. 272 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 7: Teachers began to recommend that these kids who had a 273 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 7: language issue would be put into remediation classes. 274 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 2: Virginia told me remediation classes for what we would consider 275 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 2: special education today. While special education classes were a needed 276 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 2: resource for many children, it also became a funnel point 277 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:13,359 Speaker 2: for children deemed problematic or simply those who needed better 278 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 2: English instruction, and the teacher suggested it because it was 279 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 2: easier because it was the only thing they knew to do. 280 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 2: Doctor Latore, again, they do. 281 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 5: Not understand acquisition of a language other than English. They 282 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 5: take hold of the first thing or the explanation that 283 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 5: is closest to them, rather than continue to investigate. 284 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 2: And so we've arrived at this idea that instead of 285 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 2: considering language or why a child may be having difficulty, 286 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 2: we jump to the conclusion that a child needs special education, 287 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 2: rather than try to meet this child where they are 288 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 2: and dig to find out what is the issue at hand. 289 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 2: This sadly starts to sound familiar with what we were 290 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 2: going through with Martin. He wasn't like this before, you know, 291 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,880 Speaker 2: and then he didn't have him until he started coming here. 292 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 2: So I don't really know what to tell you. Our 293 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 2: original daycare called us on the Monday after our meeting 294 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,159 Speaker 2: to pick up Martin because they couldn't take care of 295 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 2: him that day. We don't know what we talk from about. 296 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,439 Speaker 2: After it became clear that they were not a good 297 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 2: fit for us, we decided to pull Martin from the program. 298 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,679 Speaker 2: Here we are the day after Arnesta and I went 299 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 2: in and gave the director a piece of our mind. 300 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 2: Instead of this being a devastating moment, we were confident. 301 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,680 Speaker 2: We had spoken to his doctors and educational psychologists. The 302 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 2: consensus was, in fact, that Martin was acting out because 303 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 2: he couldn't communicate with the other children, and this behavior 304 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: was how he communicated. It wasn't right, but he didn't 305 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:07,120 Speaker 2: know otherwise. We knew that Martin's behavior wasn't a reflection 306 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 2: of his ability to learn or his intelligence. Intelligence isn't 307 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,639 Speaker 2: based on the ability to speak English. Kind of like 308 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 2: Sophia Ergara said in Modern Family. 309 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: You know how frustrating it is to have to translate 310 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: everything in my head before I say it? 311 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,360 Speaker 2: Do you even know how smart I am in Spanish? 312 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 2: Deciding to pull Martin from his daycare was still scary, 313 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 2: but it was the only option for us. We no 314 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 2: longer felt comfortable taking our son there, But here we were. 315 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 2: We still needed childcare and Martin still needed to learn English. 316 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 2: Was there a light at the end of the tunnel 317 00:19:48,680 --> 00:20:00,640 Speaker 2: for us and the kids? In my history? Lesson? Coming 318 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 2: up on that? 319 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: You know us say, how does New York's history help 320 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 1: Genie navigate the school system? As Martine embraces English as 321 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: a new language, stay with us not Bayes, Hey, We're back, 322 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,120 Speaker 1: and Before the Break, producer Genie Montalbo explained the unexpected 323 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: challenges her son Martine faced as a Spanish speaking child 324 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,879 Speaker 1: entering school in New York City. To better navigate the system, 325 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: Genie went on a trip through history and was surprised 326 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: by what she found. 327 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 2: She's going to pick up the story from here. I 328 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 2: don't know about the rest of you bilingual folks, but 329 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 2: for me, it's very weird to speak Spanish or English 330 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 2: to specific people. Why I can't speak English to my 331 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 2: husband and I can't speak Spanish to my brother, and 332 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 2: so the same thing now happens with my kids. It's 333 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 2: weird for me to speak in anything but Spanish to 334 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 2: them and English. 335 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 3: No perun school is in English, lacasa is. 336 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 2: So it was no surprise to me the day that 337 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 2: I sat down to try to help Martin with his 338 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 2: homework that he had some strong feelings. 339 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 8: No an englis simbri alo espanol aki. 340 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 2: He's become mega ultraspecific about when and where we speak 341 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 2: either language, almost like the one parent, one language technique 342 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 2: to teach your child the language. Martin now associates Spanish 343 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 2: with home and English with school. He's even at the 344 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 2: extreme that he won't let us watch movies in English. 345 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 2: I grew up on English language content. You couldn't change 346 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 2: the language on your streaming device. I have had to 347 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 2: rewatch every single movie and Disney movie in Spanish. All 348 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 2: I want to do is seeing Tomorrow from Annie Mamma 349 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 2: Ryana Yera, but I've had to relearn it all in Spanish. 350 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 2: This process has been hard for me as well, because 351 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 2: at some point in my life the English took over 352 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 2: and became more dominant. I actively chose Spanish on a 353 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 2: daily basis. Anyone who's flipped languages knows this can be exhausting, 354 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 2: but I do it because I want to keep my 355 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 2: own fluency and because I want my kids to be solid. 356 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 2: Like I said, I'm preparing myself for that day they 357 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 2: say to me, I don't want to speak Spanish because 358 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: I'm sure that day will come, and if it does, 359 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 2: it's okay. But until then this will all be good 360 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 2: for me and us. But things vocabulary in Spanish is 361 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 2: often better than mine. That day we were at the 362 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 2: kitchen table. He told me English was only for school, 363 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 2: so I asked him how he was going to learn 364 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 2: to read. 365 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 8: In las cuela, No aki solo no ipa ig cordita 366 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,000 Speaker 8: solon in ascueila. 367 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 2: Mom and dad and sister, we're not allowed to speak 368 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 2: English at home, and I guess that's how we'll operate 369 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 2: until we decide otherwise. I had a lot of mom 370 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 2: guilt surrounding dropping my thing into the deep end of 371 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 2: the pool. It made everything that was going on in 372 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 2: the daycare worse because on some level it felt like 373 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,240 Speaker 2: we had chosen that for him, and that's why he 374 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 2: was having a hard time. My only consolation was that 375 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 2: a century of people I was learning about had done 376 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 2: exactly that, and they were all functioning adults. It made 377 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 2: me feel less alone in this journey. But how did 378 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 2: we get there? What happened after that infamous study In 379 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 2: the thirties, I thought English was taught separately, like some 380 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 2: of the transitional bilingual ED classes today. That model was 381 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 2: something I learned was used a lot in the fifties 382 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 2: and the sixties. The thinking was if you taught Spanish 383 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 2: speaking students English first, then you could move them into 384 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 2: the classroom. Doctor Latore, Again. 385 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 5: When you do that, students are not learning about science, 386 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 5: mass social studies. 387 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 2: How again are we acquiring language when you separate it 388 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 2: from classroom content. Even the language you use at home 389 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 2: is different when you use it at school, kind of 390 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,439 Speaker 2: like how Martin compartmentalized language spoken at home versus school. 391 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 2: And so in the past, when those kids returned to 392 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 2: the classroom because now they supposedly knew English, they. 393 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 5: Were quiet again. Why because they had not learned in 394 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 5: that language classroom. 395 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 2: And because the teachers weren't actually trained in how language develops. 396 00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 5: Many teachers saw, but wait a second. This child knows 397 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:05,720 Speaker 5: English because he can communicate perfectly with me, but he 398 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 5: cannot learn math. He's behind in science, he cannot write 399 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 5: a composition in English language arts. So therefore there must 400 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 5: be something wrong with their brain. 401 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 2: Even kids who speak one language can have issues in 402 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 2: the classroom. Academic language is tough. I lost one of 403 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 2: the top spots in the spelling Bee in fourth grade 404 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 2: because of the word desecrete. Who uses that in a 405 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 2: sentence every day? 406 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 5: Just because they were thrown into an English speaking classroom, 407 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 5: that doesn't mean that on their own, those students were 408 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 5: being supported to learn English. 409 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 2: And we know for a fact that many of. 410 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 5: Those students decided to leave school. These students were intelligent 411 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 5: and say, wait a second, I'm wasting my time in 412 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 5: a classroom that number one, I do not understand. Number two, 413 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 5: the teacher doesn't seem to care about me to spend 414 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 5: time to learn who I am, where I come from, 415 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,400 Speaker 5: and what my learning needs are. Why am in here 416 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 5: if I can be out there supporting my family with 417 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 5: a job. 418 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 2: This was all happening at a time when the Puerto 419 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 2: Rican population in New York City had increased by twelve times, 420 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 2: with the press claiming these students allegedly continue to overcrowd 421 00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 2: and that their delinquents who are deteriorating the public school system. 422 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 2: In certain outlets, it was labeled the Puerto Rican problem Virginia. 423 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,200 Speaker 7: Again, this idea of a Puerto Rican problem took into 424 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:49,200 Speaker 7: account the fact that kids were scoring poorly on school exams, 425 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 7: but there were no resources to help. 426 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 2: But during this decade, when the tensions with Puerto Ricans 427 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 2: in the city were at its height, is where I 428 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 2: start to see some changes in advocacy start to pop up. 429 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 2: The Board of Education felt it was time to assess 430 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 2: what was in place. Since there wasn't a proper way 431 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 2: to test intelligence in non English speakers, so schools couldn't 432 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 2: create or improve programs, and so they started something called 433 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 2: the Puerto Rican Study in nineteen fifty three. It was 434 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:24,920 Speaker 2: a major investigation. The study developed techniques, teaching materials, detailed 435 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 2: adding positions. Even the language used in this study is 436 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 2: vastly different from the rhetoric that was being spread in 437 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 2: the media. Here's a quote from the director of the study, 438 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,679 Speaker 2: doctor J. K. Morrison, read by our senior production manager, 439 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 2: Mike Sargent. We see them not. 440 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:47,360 Speaker 9: As problems, not as statistics, but as tiny individuals, each 441 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 9: in his own way, working towards adjustment in a culture 442 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:53,400 Speaker 9: new and strange. 443 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 2: Here it was the bones of bilingual education mapped out. 444 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 2: When the study was released in nineteen fifty nine. It 445 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 2: cost one million dollars in the nineteen fifties, that's like 446 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 2: twelve million today. Surely this all led to the basis 447 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 2: of what we have today. Except all this work never 448 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 2: really went anywhere. And I knew that because the New 449 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 2: York Board of Education would be sued by a Puerto 450 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 2: Rican youth organization in the seventies. The funny thing when 451 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 2: you learn about history is you know how it ends, 452 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 2: no matter how many times you watch Titanic in my case, 453 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 2: thirteen the ship will always sink. So when I eventually 454 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 2: went to the municipal building downtown to review all these materials, 455 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 2: I was a little shocked. How do you spend so 456 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 2: much money on developing something to help a group of 457 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 2: people and then don't put it into practice? And the 458 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 2: answer to that brings us back to understanding our surroundings 459 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 2: so called Puerto Rican problem, to quote the study's next steps. 460 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 2: A study, however, good never solves problems. At best, it 461 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 2: finds solutions that will work. To put the proposals into 462 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 2: effective operation in all schools is a major undertaking the problem. 463 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 2: Segregation still ruled the schools. When I looked at the 464 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 2: bigger picture, the surroundings, the way the Puerto Rican children 465 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 2: were taught, and the study, it all started to make sense, 466 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 2: especially as I learned how changes were and are implemented 467 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 2: within the school system. One is money to implement the 468 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 2: new materials, the other is proper staffing to teach it. 469 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 2: There needs to be assessments to keep the schools honest, 470 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 2: and finally, the parents they we need to be involved. 471 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 2: If any of those pieces aren't working, then the system 472 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 2: won't work. And this still goes for today, I found 473 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 2: myself feeling naive and saddened to finally understand that as 474 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 2: long as the structural racism and oppression of a people exist, 475 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 2: that will permeate into the school system. Because the answer 476 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 2: to why that study wasn't fully put into place is 477 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 2: because of how the vast majority of the city treated 478 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 2: a specific group of people. Whoever makes the call decides 479 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 2: how money and programs are implemented or if they're even 480 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 2: used at all, kind of like what's happening across the 481 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 2: country in Florida and Texas. The people in charge decide 482 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 2: they don't want African American studies and diversity, equity and 483 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 2: inclusion programs, so they ban them because of their own agenda. 484 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 2: But in New York, to me anyway, it always felt 485 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 2: like this multicultural bubble. We never expected to deal with 486 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 2: someone questioning our bilingualism here. So once I fully understood 487 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 2: why the study was wasn't put into place, I wanted 488 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 2: to know how we got from the study to a 489 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 2: lawsuit and how that affected the schools because we do 490 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 2: have bilingual education today, and right around the Civil rights movement, 491 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 2: things start to pick up the pace. Here's Virginia Sanchez 492 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 2: Corol again. 493 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 7: Puerto Rican and Black students begin to take over the colleges, 494 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:28,760 Speaker 7: asking for courses, not asking, demanding what was their right 495 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 7: to courses about their experience? They wanted to see themselves 496 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 7: in the curriculum. 497 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 2: One woman in particular really took the fight for education 498 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 2: equality and cultural preservation to a new level, Doctor Antonio Panoja. 499 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 2: Here she is speaking in a documentary from two thousand 500 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:47,560 Speaker 2: and eight. 501 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 4: We started to learn from the youth what was happening 502 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:51,920 Speaker 4: to them in the schools. 503 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 2: Doctor Pantoja was a Puerto Rican organizer and activist who 504 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,600 Speaker 2: arrived in New York City in nineteen forty four. She 505 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 2: created Aspeeda in the early sixties, which in Spanish means 506 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 2: to aspire. Aspeeda was formed as a place for Puerto 507 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 2: Rican kids to receive support outside of the classroom. The 508 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 2: organization still exists today for all people coming from a 509 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 2: Latine background. Doctor Pantoha believed that because of the language barrier, 510 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,640 Speaker 2: the children were not learning anything and they would leave school. 511 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 4: There's a lot that says that they will take you 512 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 4: to jail if you don't take your children to school. 513 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 2: Like we've been hearing, the dropout rate had been a 514 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,120 Speaker 2: problem for decades, and it was due in part to 515 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,840 Speaker 2: failed support from the public school system. That's turning your own. 516 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 4: Okay, if there's a lot of that says that I 517 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,239 Speaker 4: have to take my children to school, then I can 518 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 4: accuse you as an institution where I have brought my 519 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 4: children and you don't teach them. 520 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 2: Doctor Pantoja brought the problem to the newly founded Puerto 521 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 2: Rican Legal Defense Fund, and in nineteen seventy two they 522 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,239 Speaker 2: did in fact sue the state in what's known as 523 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,600 Speaker 2: Aspeeda versus Board of Education. The New York Board of 524 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 2: Education settled and created what's called a consent decree, meaning 525 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,720 Speaker 2: the schools would have to provide special language assistance to 526 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 2: children who did not speak English. This lawsuit was one 527 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 2: of many in the nineteen seventies around the country that 528 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 2: led to national legislation. It did in fact lead to 529 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 2: change and built the foundation of what we know today 530 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 2: is bilingual education. As I went farther and farther down 531 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 2: the rabbit hole, I often wondered, what does Puerto Rico 532 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 2: have to do with my Dominican American southern upbringing and 533 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 2: my now Domini and Mary Peruvian children sharing a common language? 534 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,479 Speaker 2: Meant Puerto Ricans were fighting for all the Spanish speakers 535 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:49,080 Speaker 2: in the state because New York would eventually receive Dominican 536 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 2: immigrants people from Mexico, Central and South America. After English, 537 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 2: Spanish is the most common language spoken in this region, 538 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 2: and the people who fought for bilingual education created a 539 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 2: ripple effect that is bigger than Spanish speakers. Virginia shares 540 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 2: the time she gave a talk. 541 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 7: This guy in the back of the auditorium, tall, very tall, blonde, 542 00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 7: raises his hand to make a comment, and he says, well, 543 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 7: bilingual education was the best thing that ever happened to me. 544 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:27,719 Speaker 7: And I'm thinking, I know he was Latino. He says, 545 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 7: when I came from Russia, if I had not had 546 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:36,879 Speaker 7: bilingual program to get into I would not be doing 547 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,240 Speaker 7: the things that I'm doing today. 548 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:40,200 Speaker 9: And that was like, that's right. 549 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 7: Bilingual education doesn't only mean Spanish English. It's now a 550 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:49,719 Speaker 7: tool for learning and bringing children into school systems that 551 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 7: we never had before. 552 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,279 Speaker 2: Currently, New York States public schools boast a population of 553 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 2: over two hundred and sixty thousand students who speak over 554 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:05,760 Speaker 2: two hundred languages. From the web, it says all teachers 555 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:10,280 Speaker 2: must be skilled in how to support English language learners 556 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,920 Speaker 2: as they acquire content knowledge while also progressing towards English 557 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:21,920 Speaker 2: language proficiency. But in early education, you the parent should 558 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,440 Speaker 2: always be on the lookout because the teaching requirements are different. 559 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 2: While your toddler's teacher may be good at taking care 560 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 2: of a three year old, they may not be trained 561 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 2: in working with bilingual children. And well, we've all heard 562 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:44,799 Speaker 2: how that can go. In fall of twenty twenty two, 563 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:48,600 Speaker 2: Matting finally entered the public school system. He was assessed 564 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 2: for a language. Leading up to that, because we filled 565 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 2: out a form that said we had another home language, I. 566 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 3: Get a lot of things, I get a talk test. 567 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 2: Marting was placed in NL or English has a new 568 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 2: language because he tested as transitioning or in the middle, 569 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,200 Speaker 2: which gives him one hundred and eighty minutes per week 570 00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 2: of support. Bilingual education works in a variety of ways 571 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 2: in New York State today, and because we're not in 572 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:17,240 Speaker 2: a dual language district, Mutting was assigned an NL teacher 573 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,320 Speaker 2: who comes into the classroom and along with the classroom teacher, 574 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:24,120 Speaker 2: they work as code teachers. Matting has now been in 575 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,320 Speaker 2: a classroom environment that has really supported his English language 576 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,120 Speaker 2: development for only about a year. 577 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:33,000 Speaker 3: Now I really know how to speak to you of them, 578 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:34,439 Speaker 3: and who. 579 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 2: Helped you with that? The teacher, mister m Yeah, the 580 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 2: school year just ended. When we started our journey into 581 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:45,200 Speaker 2: public schools, Mudding's NL teacher told us that we have 582 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:49,719 Speaker 2: to continue the home language. He said, quote the better 583 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:54,640 Speaker 2: Mutting spoke Spanish, the better he would speak English. All 584 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:56,279 Speaker 2: of the stress that I had felt for the past 585 00:36:56,400 --> 00:37:00,480 Speaker 2: year slowly started to melt away. Knew he was in 586 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 2: a place that was going to support him. I now 587 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 2: know that it was easier for someone to say that 588 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 2: there was something wrong with him than to really assess 589 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:12,000 Speaker 2: why he was acting that way. And he did improve 590 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 2: immensely once we moved him to a new program with love, 591 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:21,920 Speaker 2: care and dedication from both educators and us. Mating is 592 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:23,759 Speaker 2: not going to be the same as any other child, 593 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,719 Speaker 2: and we knew that, and so we fought for him. 594 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:33,560 Speaker 2: This is cliche, but children are actually like sponges. Through 595 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:36,560 Speaker 2: this journey, I've learned you have to see the promise 596 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:41,560 Speaker 2: in every child. Kids will learn Intelligence exists in many 597 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 2: different forms. It's not just one construct. Frederick Douglass said, 598 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 2: power concedes nothing without a demand as parents, we have 599 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,879 Speaker 2: to individually advocate for our own kids. That's the only 600 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:57,719 Speaker 2: piece of the puzzle we have control over. We know 601 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,719 Speaker 2: them better than anyone because as we've seen, until the 602 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,399 Speaker 2: world is more accepting of everyone, there is still work 603 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,440 Speaker 2: to be done, and if you aren't comfortable in English, 604 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:11,839 Speaker 2: there is support. Schools and the city have resources. Bi 605 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:15,800 Speaker 2: Lingual education as it stands today exists because people throughout 606 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:20,920 Speaker 2: history fought for it. To them, I say, go ask yes, 607 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 2: you know, and you know what? And all of this 608 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,719 Speaker 2: questioning how Martine is making out after the pandemic. My 609 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,560 Speaker 2: two year old is in daycare in English now. I 610 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 2: didn't even realize that she's speaking English in school on 611 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 2: Spanish at home. 612 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 5: Wash my hands. 613 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:52,440 Speaker 2: Yes, because I only hear her speak Spanish. It never 614 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 2: occurred to me how quickly she would start code switching. 615 00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:58,320 Speaker 2: Like my brother said when I reported on this in 616 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen, ling is one of the best gifts you 617 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 2: can pass on to your child. There's more places to visit, books, 618 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:09,080 Speaker 2: to read, movies, to see more of the world to absorb. 619 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:12,839 Speaker 2: Generations of us have done it like my parents did 620 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:21,920 Speaker 2: with me, and my husband and I are succeeding with 621 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 2: our own kids. 622 00:39:30,320 --> 00:40:04,200 Speaker 1: Bilingualism really is a superpower. This episode was produced by 623 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,200 Speaker 1: Gini Montalbo. It was edited by Mark Vagan. It was 624 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:11,280 Speaker 1: mixed by Stephanie Lebau and Julia Caruso. The Latino USA 625 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:17,400 Speaker 1: team also includes Roxanna guire, Felicia Dominguez, Fernando Chavari, Jessica Ellis, 626 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:23,680 Speaker 1: Victoria Strada, Dominiquin Estrosa, Renaldo Leos Junior, Luis Luna Marta Martinez, 627 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: JJ Crubin, Tasha Sandoval and Nancy Trujillo, Beenille, Ramidez, Marlon Bishop, 628 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:33,160 Speaker 1: Maria Garcia and myself are co executive producers and I'm 629 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,719 Speaker 1: your host, Marino Rossa. Join us again on our next episode. 630 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 1: In the meantime, look for us on all of our 631 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:43,120 Speaker 1: social media. I'll see you on Instagram. Evyes, Ciao. 632 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 10: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Ford Foundation, 633 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 10: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 634 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:59,480 Speaker 10: the John Dee and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the 635 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:05,680 Speaker 10: Heis and Simon's Foundation, unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. More 636 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:07,960 Speaker 10: at hsfoundation dot org. 637 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:19,799 Speaker 2: Mon No Messy Up