1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,080 Speaker 1: Hey, hey, hey, hey, get us. 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 2: Latino USA is celebrating thirty years today, ain't that amos, 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,880 Speaker 2: And we would love to hear from you. Dear listener, 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 2: Do you want to share with us exactly what Latino 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 2: USA has meant to you? Do you have a birthday 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 2: wish for us? Leave us a voicemail at six four 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 2: six five seven to one one two two four. That's 8 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 2: six four six five seven to one one two two four, 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 2: and we might feature your message in an upcoming show 10 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 2: grass Yas. This is Latino USA, the radio journal of 11 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 2: News and Kurture's Latino USA, latin Us, Latino USA. 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: I'm Maria Inojosa. 13 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 3: We bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered. 14 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: To you, overlooked by the rest of the media. 15 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 3: And while the country is struggling. 16 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 2: To deal with these we listen to the stories of 17 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 2: black and Latinos. 18 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 3: Studios United Latino Front. 19 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 2: A cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 20 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 3: I'm Maria Inojosa, nose Bayan. 21 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: I am in the studio with a very special guest 22 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: who I haven't seen in. 23 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 4: A long time. 24 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 5: Hello, Hi Maria. 25 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: I'm Mardine. It's so good to. 26 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 5: See you see. 27 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 2: Yosee, our very special guest is the son of our producer, 28 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 2: Gini Montalba, saying that to T shirt baby, I think 29 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 2: I need to know what your T shirt says because 30 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 2: it's really cool. I'll read it for you. It says, 31 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 2: I'm bilingual. What's your superpower? 32 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 5: I speak to language ties Spanish and English. 33 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: It is kind of like a superpower, don't you think? 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 6: Yes? 35 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: And guess what. 36 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 2: I'm by lingual too, buddy. So it was back in 37 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen, Genie, that we did a podcast that really 38 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 2: looked at bilingualism and your family. 39 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 4: Yes, you would have heard my son babbling at the time. 40 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 4: Martin was like seven months at that point, so cute. 41 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 2: And we talked about you and your brother, and we 42 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 2: talked about my kids, your kids, and we were talking 43 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 2: about language. Right, what is our first language when we 44 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 2: introduced another language? And so all right, here we are 45 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 2: five years later and I'm having full blown conversations with 46 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: your son in English and in Spanish. It's like adorable. 47 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: Which language do you like better? English or Spanish? 48 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 5: Spanish? Perro Quierro, I said, English is Spanish? 49 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: Losos? I think that's great, And guess what you can't. 50 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 4: Yes, and our decision. Last time you and I spoke, 51 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 4: Maria was one hundred percent Spanish at home, and so 52 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 4: Martin did, in fact learn Spanish first, like me and 53 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 4: your kids and so many others. 54 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 2: Bores is maas bonito q yoaico. So the good news 55 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 2: is he got the Spanish since he was little, and 56 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 2: that really is so fabulous. But what else has happened 57 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 2: in these past several years? 58 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 4: We moved out of Queens to the Urbs and Martin 59 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 4: has a little sister, Samrande. 60 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: Oh my god, I love that. 61 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 4: So is she speaking Spanish too correct? Here she is 62 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 4: reading bo Luna? 63 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 5: Oh? 64 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 4: Yes, So we felt like this was a big parenting win. 65 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 4: They got the Spanish check But plot twist from Martin. 66 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 4: Something happened in March of twenty twenty, right, the pandemic, Yeah, exactly. 67 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 4: Never in our wildest dreams we have imagined that Martin 68 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 4: would get stuck at home with us nothing but a 69 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 4: window to a street in Queens. Martin was in a 70 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 4: Spanish immersion program at that time, so along with zooms 71 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 4: and FaceTime with the Abuelos, for all he knew then 72 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 4: at two and a half, the world operated in Spanish 73 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 4: and well because of that, it meant Martin actually never 74 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 4: learned English. 75 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 2: From Futuro Media and p r X, It's Latino USA. 76 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 2: I'm Marie jo Josa today. Bilingual is my superpower. GINI 77 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 2: is going to pick up the story from here. 78 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 3: Is normal. 79 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 4: My husband at Anesta and I have always spoken Spanish 80 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 4: to each other. He immigrated from Peru in two thousand 81 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 4: and nine, and I'm the child of Dominican parents, so 82 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 4: we just knew we would speak Spanish to our kids. 83 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 4: But nothing could have prepared us for what our decision 84 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 4: would mean amongst a pandemic and lockdown, and were not 85 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 4: the only ones. So many children that were forced to 86 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 4: stay home for the past few years were impacted by 87 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 4: the loss of in person instruction. Kids who were making 88 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 4: progress and programs for English language learners as it's called 89 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 4: in New York were now suddenly thrust into virtual learning, 90 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 4: back with their home language with little to no support. 91 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 4: In our case, moving to the urbs with a newborn 92 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 4: and a three year old brought its own challenges, but 93 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 4: in twenty twenty one, we decided it was time to 94 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 4: get much thing out of the house. He needed to 95 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 4: socialize with other children, and at this point he was 96 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 4: three and a half, so kindergarten was on the horizon. 97 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 4: I personally never intended for much thing to need bilingual 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 4: education or any English support. In fact, I was more 99 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 4: prepared for the day I would have to force him 100 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 4: to keep speaking Spanish. It was very important to me, 101 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 4: a child of immigrants with a bilingual upbringing, that he 102 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 4: learned English before kindergarten. I went through the public school 103 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 4: system in the South. I didn't take any tests, I 104 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 4: didn't have bilingual education, but I knew English by the 105 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 4: time I got to kindergarten because of where we lived. 106 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 4: So I just wanted him to be solid before he 107 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 4: got there. So we did what people have been doing 108 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 4: for decades. We put him in daycare in English. Two 109 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 4: weeks after starting full time, we got called to a meeting. 110 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 4: You guys, educators have the director began to share their 111 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 4: concern madding repeats what the staff says and we don't 112 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 4: see that in his age, he's acting out, he's hitting people, 113 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 4: and that he hums. Concern though that's my husband at 114 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 4: an Asto incredibly surprised that humming is an issue because 115 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 4: we're both musicians and that for Martine at least the 116 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 4: humming seemed to be a product of that. But the 117 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 4: humming in conjunction with the other behavior, the pushing, the hitting, 118 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 4: the repetition. The staff was suggesting that maybe he was 119 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 4: on the spectrum all the time. 120 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: We'll do a Wals picture. 121 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 4: Marting has always had issues with change. He takes longer 122 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 4: to adapt to things. In this case, we moved, he 123 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 4: had a new sister, and he's in a new daycare 124 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 4: where he doesn't speak the language. We had explicitly told 125 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 4: this daycare when we first approached the school that Martin 126 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 4: did not speak English. They assured us that they were 127 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 4: equipped to handle bi lingual children and look, we would 128 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 4: be naive to say that Matting is perfect. He can 129 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 4: be a handful, but we knew in our hearts Martin 130 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 4: wasn't on the spectrum because before the pandemic he had 131 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 4: been in a Spanish immersion school and did fine. At 132 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 4: the same time, we've never been opposed to having our 133 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 4: son evaluated. We were in constant communication with our pediatricians. 134 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 4: Mating's pediatrician and Queen's even told us he'd been receiving 135 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 4: calls like this almost weekly. Because of the return to 136 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 4: in person care. He said, imagine, it's like you dropped 137 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 4: your kid in a daycare in China. It's like that 138 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 4: drastic of a change. He's been home for an entire year. 139 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 4: He does not know how to socialize. He's not seen 140 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 4: another kid his age for an entire year. None of 141 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 4: the other kids were bilingual, and honestly, no two toddlers 142 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 4: are going to react the same way to things. So 143 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 4: the daycare solution was to put us on a behavioral plan, 144 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 4: which was a plan to put specific techniques in place 145 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 4: and monitor progress. Yet they didn't give us time to 146 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 4: show progress because we were traveling for the bulk of 147 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 4: the time frame. Even though they knew that, they said 148 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 4: they could no longer work with us after a certain date. 149 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 4: In essence, they wanted a three year old to show 150 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 4: progress in one week. We knew this wouldn't work. Thus 151 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 4: it just became clear they didn't want to help him 152 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 4: and they didn't want us there. We still had a 153 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 4: full year and a half before we entered the public 154 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 4: school system, which at that point I believed had systems 155 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 4: in place to help him. But what were we supposed 156 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 4: to do until then? When my thing was born, I 157 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 4: didn't know that this journey would be so hard, but 158 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 4: as I've found with many parenting decisions, it would require 159 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 4: a lot of introspection. Am I doing the right thing 160 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 4: for my child? Is this happening because he can't speak English? 161 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 4: Is my decision going to affect him negatively? Is there 162 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 4: actually something wrong with him and maybe two languages are 163 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 4: holding him back? And so I at least left the 164 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 4: meeting feeling defeated, stressed, and worried about what was next. 165 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 4: I couldn't believe this was twenty twenty one and we 166 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 4: were still in multicultural New York. This wasn't supposed to 167 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 4: happen here. New York is supposed to be different. So 168 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,839 Speaker 4: I started to look for answers for me. That meant 169 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 4: looking through history. And it all started when I heard 170 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 4: an episode of The Bowery Boys podcast on the New 171 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 4: Yorkan migration. 172 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 7: Ominously, the New York State Chamber of Commerce took aim 173 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 7: at Puerto Rican children, commissioning intelligence tests, then determining that 174 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 7: Puerto Rican children were sub normal and would quote deteriorate 175 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 7: standards already so seriously impaired by mass immigration of the 176 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 7: lowest levels of populations of many nations unquote, What struck. 177 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 4: Me was that these children were given tests in a 178 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 4: language they could barely speak, and because they didn't perform 179 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 4: well on the test, they were labeled subnormal. Here I was, 180 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 4: nearly a century later, being told there was something wrong 181 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 4: with our child simply because of a language barrier, and 182 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 4: he was on the verge of being kicked out because 183 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 4: of it. The study and its ripple effects, I learned thereafter, 184 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 4: became my security blanket, and so I continued deeper into 185 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 4: Spanish speaking New York and bilingual education history, hoping that 186 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 4: somewhere in that history was the answer to how to 187 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 4: properly teach your kiddle language. 188 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 8: My parents came from Puerto Rico, going into the nineteen thirties. 189 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 8: They married in nineteen thirty five, and I was born 190 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 8: the year after. 191 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,559 Speaker 4: Virginia Sanchez Corod is Professor Emerita at the Department of 192 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 4: Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College. Virginia entered 193 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 4: the school system a couple of years after the study 194 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 4: was published. 195 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 8: We all spoke Spanish. The school was the place where 196 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 8: you were suddenly introduced to English. 197 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 4: There was validation. Even almost one hundred years ago, people 198 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 4: were dropping their kids in school to learn English. So 199 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 4: we had done nothing wrong as parents back then and 200 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 4: today these communities easily thrived and functioned fully in Spanish. 201 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:53,679 Speaker 4: If you know a bit about the history of New 202 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 4: York City, you'll know that the city has been home 203 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 4: to waves of immigration from all over the globe, German, Irish, 204 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 4: Eastern European, you name it. They all passed through Ellis Island, 205 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 4: and in the late nineteen twenties, through the Great Depression, 206 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,679 Speaker 4: the city also received Spanish speaking residents, namely from Puerto Rico. 207 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,959 Speaker 4: So receiving people who speak different languages is nothing new 208 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 4: for the city, and yet at the same time, psychological 209 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 4: tests were accepted tools for improving the educational process. 210 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 8: IQ tests were geared too an American ideal, and for 211 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 8: kids that were coming from different parts of the world, 212 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 8: they did not recognize elements of American culture that might 213 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 8: appear on the test. 214 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 4: The tests were biased because you could score incorrectly on 215 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 4: a question for something you may have never seen in 216 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 4: your life, and you may also not even speak the language. 217 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,599 Speaker 8: You have to look at the atmosphere and the ambiance 218 00:12:53,880 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 8: in which these people are operating. You have to factor 219 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 8: that into whatever tests are being given to students and schools. 220 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 9: Intelligence tests have been used in very negative ways against 221 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:14,320 Speaker 9: groups of people. 222 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 4: Doctor Aita Nevardes Latore is Associate professor and Chair of 223 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 4: the Curriculum and Teaching Division at Fortum's Graduate School of Education. 224 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 4: Her research focuses on multi lingual education to keep. 225 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 9: Them oppressed, to deny opportunities to grow and to develop, 226 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 9: and to really enact the promise of being individuals that 227 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 9: can contribute to this society. 228 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 4: The US enacted a law to limit immigration in those 229 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 4: early decades, but Puerto Ricans were US citizens, and so 230 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 4: this country was going to find another way to make 231 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 4: their case for limiting entry to this group of people, 232 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 4: like this study that caught my attention on the Bowery 233 00:13:55,120 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 4: Boys podcast. Nineteen thirty five, a Special Committee on Immage 234 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 4: and Naturalization published its reaction and results to a study 235 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 4: done on Puerto Rican children from the previous year. It 236 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 4: gave IQ tests to over two hundred children at one 237 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 4: specific school in Spanish Harlem. The researchers intended to give 238 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 4: a non verbal test since they knew language would be 239 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 4: a factor, but for some one hundred children, they use 240 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 4: the verbal test because it was allegedly more accurate. 241 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 9: Any verbal tests or even nonverbal tests given to non 242 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 9: speakers of the language of a test becomes a language test, 243 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 9: not an intelligence test. If students do not understand what's 244 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 9: being asked for them to answer, then you're not testing intelligence. 245 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 9: What you're testing is language proficiency, because before they can 246 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 9: do the task, they have to understand the language. 247 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 4: The IQ tests were an appendix and a larger study 248 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 4: dealing with immigration control. The committee in the nineteen the 249 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 4: thirties was looking to prove that Puerto Rico was not 250 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 4: sending its best, they were bringing crime. It reminded me 251 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 4: a bit of the rhetoric we've been hearing today. I 252 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 4: started to zoom out a bit and reflect on what 253 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 4: all this meant. These tests, like I said, were designed 254 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 4: to set the students up for failure. As a parent, 255 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 4: it's disappointing to hear that whatever agenda these people had, 256 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 4: they decided the best way to make their case was 257 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 4: through children, children who want to learn and grow, and 258 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 4: never did anything to these people except exist exist in Spanish. 259 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 4: Despite the obvious issues with the study itself, the final 260 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 4: blanket statement was that these Spanish speaking students were inferior. 261 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 4: They were below their uspers. And they should not be 262 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 4: allowed entry to the United States. And like we heard earlier, 263 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 4: they don't want them to quote deteriorate standards already impaired 264 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 4: by mass immigration. Here's Virginia again. 265 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 8: The adjustment issues became prominent in the school system because 266 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 8: the school system had to find a way to deal 267 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 8: with this influx of new students. 268 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 4: When Virginia entered the school system in the early forties, 269 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 4: there was no bilingual education. 270 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 8: Then we knew we had to assimilate. It was kind 271 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 8: of a hidden way of telling you that the language 272 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 8: and the culture that you were born into and that 273 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 8: the language as you spoke was inferior. You had to 274 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 8: get rid of it. That was the only way that 275 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 8: you were going to succeed. 276 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 4: The kids who couldn't assimilate, or didn't test well on 277 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 4: the AQ test, or simply didn't do well in the 278 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 4: classroom because of language. 279 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 8: Teachers began to recommend that these kids who had a 280 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 8: language issue would be put into remediation classes. 281 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 4: Virginia told me remediation classes were what we would consider 282 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 4: special education today. While special education classes were a needed 283 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 4: resource for many children, it also became a funnel point 284 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 4: for children deemed problematic or simply those who needed better 285 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,119 Speaker 4: English instruction, and the teacher suggested it because it was 286 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 4: easier because it was the only thing they knew to do. 287 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 4: Doctor Latore, again. 288 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 9: They do not understand acquisition of a language rather than English. 289 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 9: They take hold of the first thing or the explanation 290 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 9: that is closest to them, rather than continue to investigate. 291 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 4: And so we've arrived at this idea that instead of 292 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 4: considering language or why a child may be having difficulty, 293 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 4: we jump to the conclusion that a child needs special education, 294 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 4: rather than try to meet this child where they are 295 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 4: and dig to find out what is the issue at hand. 296 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,880 Speaker 4: This sadly starts to sound familiar with what we were 297 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 4: going through with Martin. He wasn't like this before, you know, 298 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 4: and he didn't have him until he started coming here. 299 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 4: So I don't really know what to tell you. Our 300 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 4: original daycare called us on the Monday after our meeting 301 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 4: to pick up Marting because they couldn't take care of 302 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 4: him that day. I don't know what was going about. 303 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 4: After it became clear that they were not a good 304 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 4: fit for us, we decided to pull Matting from the program. 305 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 4: Here we are the day after Arnesta and I went 306 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 4: in and gave the director a piece of our mind. 307 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 4: Instead of this being a devastating moment, we were confident. 308 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 4: We had spoken to his doctors and educational psychologists. The 309 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 4: consensus was, in fact, that Martin was acting out because 310 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,840 Speaker 4: he couldn't communicate with the other children, and this behavior 311 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 4: was how he communicated. It wasn't right, but he didn't 312 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,120 Speaker 4: know otherwise. We knew that Mutting's behavior wasn't a reflection 313 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 4: of his ability to learn or his intelligence. Intelligence isn't 314 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 4: based on the ability to speak English. Kind of like 315 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 4: Sophia Ergara said in Modern Family, you know how frustrating 316 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 4: it is to have to translate everything in my head 317 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,439 Speaker 4: before I say it? Do you even know how smart 318 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,199 Speaker 4: I am in Spanish? Deciding to pull Martin from his 319 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 4: daycare was still scary, but it was the only option 320 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,400 Speaker 4: for us. We no longer felt comfortable taking our son there, 321 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 4: but here we were. We still needed childcare and Martin 322 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 4: still needed to learn English. Was there a light at 323 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 4: the end of the tunnel for us and the kids? 324 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 4: In my history? 325 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 7: Lesson? 326 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: Coming up on that? 327 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 2: You know us say, how does New York's history help 328 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,880 Speaker 2: Genie navigate the school system? As Martin embraces English as 329 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 2: a new language, stay with us. 330 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: Not de vayas. 331 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 4: All that their listeners. 332 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 10: I'm Marta Martinez, Senior producer Latino USA, and one of 333 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 10: my favorite things about my job is that I get 334 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 10: to report on people who you'll rarely hear anywhere else 335 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 10: on the radio, people like me who mix English and 336 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 10: Spanish when they speak, and yes, who have an accent. 337 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 10: Happy thirtieth anniversary to Latino USA and mutees gratias for 338 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 10: celebrating with us. 339 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: Hey we're back. 340 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 2: And Before the Break, producer Gini Montalbo explained the unexpected 341 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 2: challenges her son Martin faced as a Spanish speaking child 342 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,919 Speaker 2: entering school in New York City. To better navigate the system, 343 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,360 Speaker 2: Ginnie went on a trip through history and was surprised 344 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 2: by what she found. 345 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: She's going to pick up the story from here. 346 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 4: I don't know about the rest of you bi lingual folks, 347 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 4: but for me, it's very weird to speak Spanish or 348 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 4: English to specific people Like I can't speak English to 349 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 4: my husband and I can't speak Spanish to my brother, 350 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 4: and so the same thing now happens with my kids. 351 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 4: It's weird for me to speak in anything but Spanish 352 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 4: to them and English. 353 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 5: No perun school is in English La casa. 354 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 4: So it was no surprise to me the day that 355 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:47,399 Speaker 4: I sat down to try to help mar Dean with 356 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:51,239 Speaker 4: his homework that he had some strong feelings no An 357 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 4: in glas. 358 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,360 Speaker 5: Cripanol Aki. 359 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 4: He's become mega ultraspecific about when and where we speak 360 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 4: either language, almost like the one parent, one language technique 361 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 4: to teach your child a language. Marding now associates Spanish 362 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 4: with home and English with school. He's even at the 363 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 4: extreme that he won't let us watch movies in English. 364 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 4: I grew up on English language content. You couldn't change 365 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 4: the language on your streaming device. I have had to 366 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 4: rewatch every single movie and Disney movie in Spanish. All 367 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 4: I want to do is seeing Tomorrow from Annie Mamma Ryanaera, 368 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 4: but I've had to relearn it all in Spanish. This 369 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 4: process has been hard for me as well, because at 370 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 4: some point in my life the English took over and 371 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 4: became more dominant. I actively chose Spanish on a daily basis. 372 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 4: Anyone who's flipped languages knows this can be exhausting, but 373 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 4: I do it because I want to keep my own fluency. 374 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 4: And because I want my kids to be solid. Like 375 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 4: I said, I'm preparing myself for that day they say 376 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 4: to me, I don't want to speak Spanish because I'm 377 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 4: sure that day will come, and if it does, it's okay. 378 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 4: But until then, this will all be good for me 379 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 4: and us. My thing's vocabulary in Spanish is often better 380 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 4: than mine. That day we were at the kitchen table. 381 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 4: He told me English was only for school, so I 382 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 4: asked him how he was going to learn to read 383 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 4: in Lascuela. No achi solanol matio. 384 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 5: No ifidam igla gorditaco soloon in Nascuela. 385 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 4: Mom and dad and sister. We're not allowed to speak 386 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 4: English at home, and I guess that's how we'll operate 387 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 4: until we decide otherwise. I had a lot of mom 388 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,920 Speaker 4: guilt surrounding dropping my thing into the deep end of 389 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 4: the pool. It made everything that was going on in 390 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 4: the daycare worse because on some level it felt like 391 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 4: we had chosen that for him, and that's why he 392 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 4: was having a hard time. My only consolation was that 393 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 4: a century of people I was learning about had done 394 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 4: exactly that, and they were all functioning adults. It made 395 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:17,679 Speaker 4: me feel less alone in this journey. But how did 396 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 4: we get there? What happened after that infamous study in 397 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 4: the thirties, I thought English was taught separately, like some 398 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 4: of the transitional bilingual ed classes today. That model was 399 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 4: something I learned was used a lot in the fifties 400 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 4: and the sixties. The thinking was if you taught Spanish 401 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,160 Speaker 4: speaking students English first, then you could move them into 402 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 4: the classroom, Doctor Lettore, Again. 403 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 9: When you do that, students are not learning about science, 404 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 9: mass social studies. 405 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 4: How again, are we acquiring language when you separate it 406 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 4: from classroom content. Even the language you use at home 407 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 4: is different when you use it at school, kind of 408 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 4: like how Martin compartmentalized language at home versus school. And 409 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 4: so in the past, when those kids returned to the 410 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 4: classroom because now they supposedly knew English, they. 411 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 9: Were quiet Again. Why because they had not learned in 412 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 9: that language classroom. 413 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 4: And because the teachers weren't actually trained in how language develops. 414 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 9: Many teachers saw, but wait a second, this child knows 415 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 9: English because he can communicate perfectly with me, but he 416 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 9: cannot learn math. He's behind in science, he cannot write 417 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 9: a composition in English language arts. So therefore there must 418 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 9: be something wrong with their brain. 419 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 4: Even kids who speak one language can have issues in 420 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 4: the classroom. Academic language is tough. I lost one of 421 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,120 Speaker 4: the top spots in the spelling Bee in fourth grade 422 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 4: because of the word desecrete? Who uses that in a 423 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 4: sentence every day? Just because they. 424 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 9: Were thrown in to an English speaking classroom, that doesn't 425 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 9: mean that on their own, those students were being supported 426 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 9: to learn English. 427 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 4: And we know for a fact that many of. 428 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 9: Those students decided to leave school. These students were intelligent 429 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 9: and say, wait a second, I'm wasting my time in 430 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 9: a classroom that Number one, I do not understand. Number two, 431 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 9: the teacher doesn't seem to care about me to spend 432 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 9: time to learn who I am, where I come from, 433 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 9: and what my learning needs are. Why am I here 434 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 9: if I can be out there supporting my family with 435 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 9: a job. 436 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 4: This was all happening at a time when the Puerto 437 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 4: Rican population in New York City had increased by twelve times, 438 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 4: with the press claiming these students allegedly continue to overcrowd 439 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 4: and that their delinquents who are deteriorating the public school system. 440 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 4: In certain outlets, it was labeled the Puerto Rican Problem Virginia. 441 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:07,200 Speaker 8: Again, this idea of a Puerto Rican problem took into 442 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 8: account the fact that kids were scoring poorly on school exams, 443 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 8: but there were no resources to help. 444 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 4: But during this decade, when the tensions with Puerto Ricans 445 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 4: in the city were at its height, is where I 446 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,639 Speaker 4: start to see some changes and advocacy start to pop up. 447 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 4: The Board of Education felt it was time to assess 448 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 4: what was in place. Since there wasn't a proper way 449 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 4: to test intelligence in non English speakers, so schools couldn't 450 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 4: create or improve programs, and so they started something called 451 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 4: the Puerto Rican Study in nineteen fifty three. It was 452 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 4: a major investigation. The study developed techniques, teaching materials, detailed 453 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 4: adding positions. Even the language used in this study is 454 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,119 Speaker 4: vastly different from the rhetoric that was being spread in 455 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 4: the media. Here's a quote from the director of the study, 456 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:01,679 Speaker 4: doctor J. K. Morrison, read by our senior production manager, 457 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 4: Mike Sergeant. 458 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 11: We see them not as problems, not as statistics, but 459 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,919 Speaker 11: as tiny individuals, each in his own way, working towards 460 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 11: adjustment in a culture new and strange. 461 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 4: Here it was the bones of bilingual education mapped out 462 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 4: when The study was released in nineteen fifty nine. It 463 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 4: cost one million dollars in the nineteen fifties. That's like 464 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 4: twelve million today. Surely this all led to the basis 465 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 4: of what we have today, Except all this work never 466 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 4: really went anywhere. And I knew that because the New 467 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 4: York Board of Education would be sued by a Puerto 468 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 4: Rican youth organization in the seventies. The funny thing when 469 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 4: you learn about history is you know how it ends. 470 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 4: No matter how many times you watch Titanic, in my case, 471 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:03,719 Speaker 4: thirteen ship will always sink. So when I eventually went 472 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 4: to the municipal building downtown to review all these materials, 473 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,680 Speaker 4: I was a little shocked. How do you spend so 474 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 4: much money on developing something to help a group of 475 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 4: people and then don't put it into practice? And the 476 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 4: answer to that brings us back to understanding our surroundings, 477 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 4: the so called Puerto Rican problem, to quote the study's 478 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 4: next steps. A study, however, good, never solves problems. At best, 479 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,959 Speaker 4: it finds solutions that will work. To put the proposals 480 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 4: into effective operation in all schools is a major undertaking 481 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 4: the problem. Segregation still ruled the schools when I looked 482 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 4: at the bigger picture, the surroundings, the way the Puerto 483 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 4: Rican children were taught, and the study. It all started 484 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 4: to make sense, especially as I learned how changes were 485 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 4: in are implemented within the school system. One is money 486 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 4: to implement the new materials, the other is proper staffing 487 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 4: to teach it. There needs to be assessments to keep 488 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 4: the schools honest, and finally, the parents, they we need 489 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 4: to be involved. If any of those pieces aren't working, 490 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 4: then the system won't work. And this still goes for today. 491 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 4: I found myself feeling naive and saddened to finally understand 492 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 4: that as long as the structural racism and oppression of 493 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,479 Speaker 4: a people exist, that will permeate into the school system. 494 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 4: Because the answer to why that study wasn't fully put 495 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 4: into place is because of how the vast majority of 496 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 4: the city treated a specific group of people. Whoever makes 497 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 4: the call decides how money and programs are implemented or 498 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 4: if they're even used at all, kind of like what's 499 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 4: happening across the country in Florida and Texas. The people 500 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 4: in charge decide they don't want African American studies and diversity, 501 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 4: equity and inclusion programs so they banned them because of 502 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 4: their own agenda. But in New York, to me anyway, 503 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 4: it always felt like this multicultural bubble. We never expected 504 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 4: to deal with someone questioning our bilingualism here. So once 505 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 4: I fully understood why the study wasn't put into place, 506 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 4: I wanted to know how we got from the study 507 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,880 Speaker 4: to a lawsuit and how that affected the schools because 508 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,680 Speaker 4: we do have bilingual education today. And right around the 509 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 4: civil rights movement, things start to pick up the pace. 510 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 4: Here's Virginia Sanchez Corol Again. 511 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 8: Puerto Rican and Black students begin to take over the colleges, 512 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 8: asking for courses, not asking, demanding what was their right 513 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 8: to courses about their experience. They wanted to see themselves 514 00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 8: in the curriculum. 515 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 4: And in particular, really took the fight for education equality 516 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 4: and cultural preservation to a new level. Doctor Antonio Panoja 517 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 4: here she is speaking in a documentary from two thousand 518 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:10,560 Speaker 4: and eight. 519 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 12: We started to learn from the youth what was happening 520 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 12: to them in the schools. 521 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 4: Doctor Pantoja was a Puerto Rican organizer and activist who 522 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 4: arrived in New York City in nineteen forty four. She 523 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 4: created Aspida in the early sixties, which in Spanish means 524 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 4: to aspire. Aspeeda was formed as a place for Puerto 525 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 4: Rican kids to receive support outside of the classroom. The 526 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 4: organization still exists today for all people coming from a 527 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:43,320 Speaker 4: Latine background. Doctor Pantoja believed that because of the language barrier, 528 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 4: the children were not learning anything and they would leave school. 529 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 12: There's a lot that says that they will take you 530 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 12: to jail if you don't take your children to school. 531 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 4: Like we've been hearing, the dropout rate had been a 532 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:59,120 Speaker 4: problem for decades and it was due in part to 533 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 4: failed support from the public school system. 534 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 3: It's turning your own. Okay. 535 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 12: If there's a lot of this says that I have 536 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 12: to take my children to school, then I can accuse 537 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,479 Speaker 12: you as an institution where I have brought my children 538 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 12: and you don't teach them. 539 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,360 Speaker 4: Doctor Pantoja brought the problem to the newly founded Puerto 540 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 4: Rican Legal Defense Fund, and in nineteen seventy two they did, 541 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,720 Speaker 4: in fact sue the state in what's known as Espieda 542 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 4: versus Board of Education. The New York Board of Education 543 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 4: settled and created what's called a consent decree, meaning the 544 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 4: schools would have to provide special language assistance to children 545 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 4: who did not speak English. This lawsuit was one of 546 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,600 Speaker 4: many in the nineteen seventies around the country that led 547 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 4: to national legislation. It did, in fact lead to change 548 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 4: and built the foundation of what we know today is 549 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:53,800 Speaker 4: bilingual education. As I went farther and farther down the 550 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 4: rabbit hole, I often wondered, what does Puerto Rico have 551 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 4: to do with my Dominican American southern up bringing? In 552 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 4: my now Domini and Mary Peruvian children sharing a common 553 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,080 Speaker 4: language meant Puerto Ricans were fighting for all the Spanish 554 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,479 Speaker 4: speakers in the state because New York would eventually receive 555 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:17,840 Speaker 4: Dominican immigrants people from Mexico, Central and South America. After English, 556 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:21,280 Speaker 4: Spanish is the most common language spoken in this region, 557 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,880 Speaker 4: and the people who fought for bilingual education created a 558 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 4: ripple effect that is bigger than Spanish speakers. Virginia shares 559 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:31,200 Speaker 4: the time she gave a talk. 560 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 8: This guy in the back of the auditorium, tall, very tall, blonde, 561 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,480 Speaker 8: raises his hand to make a comment, and he says, well, 562 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 8: bilingual education was the best thing that ever happened to me. 563 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 8: And I'm thinking, I know he was Latino. He says 564 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 8: when I came from Russia, if I had not had 565 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 8: bilingual program to get into I would not be doing 566 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,280 Speaker 8: this things that I've been doing today. 567 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: And that was like, that's right. 568 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 8: Bi Lingual education doesn't only mean Spanish English. It's now 569 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 8: a tool for learning and bringing children into school systems 570 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 8: that we never had before. 571 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:20,279 Speaker 4: Currently, New York States public schools boast a population of 572 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 4: over two hundred and sixty thousand students who speak over 573 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 4: two hundred languages. 574 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 3: From the web, it says all teachers must be skilled. 575 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 4: In how to support English language learners as they acquire 576 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 4: content knowledge while also progressing towards English language proficiency. But 577 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:45,560 Speaker 4: in early education, you the parent should always be on 578 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 4: the lookout because the teaching requirements are different. While your 579 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 4: toddler's teacher may be good at taking care of a 580 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,799 Speaker 4: three year old, they may not be trained in working 581 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 4: with bilingual children. And well, we've all heard how that 582 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:08,840 Speaker 4: can go. In fall of twenty twenty two, Mutting finally 583 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,759 Speaker 4: entered the public school system. He was assessed for a 584 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:13,800 Speaker 4: language leading up to that, because we filled out a 585 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 4: form that said we had another home language. 586 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:18,320 Speaker 5: I get a lot of things. 587 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 4: I get a talk test, Martin was placed in n L, 588 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,799 Speaker 4: where English has a new language, because he tested as 589 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:29,120 Speaker 4: transitioning or in the middle, which gives him one hundred 590 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 4: and eighty minutes per week of support. Bilingual education works 591 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:35,120 Speaker 4: in a variety of ways in New York State today, 592 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 4: and because we're not in a dual language district, Mutting 593 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,560 Speaker 4: was assigned an ANL teacher who comes into the classroom 594 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 4: and along with the classroom teacher, they work as co teachers. 595 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,440 Speaker 4: Matting has now been in a classroom environment that has 596 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:52,120 Speaker 4: really supported his English language development for only about a year. 597 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:55,759 Speaker 5: Now. I really know how to speak to you of. 598 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:59,400 Speaker 1: Them and who helped you with that, the teacher, mister m. 599 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:04,040 Speaker 4: The school year just ended. When we started our journey 600 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 4: into public schools, Madding's E and L teacher told us 601 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,960 Speaker 4: that we have to continue the home language. He said, 602 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,479 Speaker 4: quote the better Mating spoke Spanish, the better he would 603 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,799 Speaker 4: speak English. All of the stress that I had felt 604 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:22,840 Speaker 4: for the past year slowly started to melt away. We 605 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,719 Speaker 4: knew he was in a place that was going to 606 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 4: support him. I now know that it was easier for 607 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,319 Speaker 4: someone to say that there was something wrong with him 608 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,359 Speaker 4: than to really assess why he was acting that way, 609 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 4: and he did improve immensely once we moved him to 610 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,799 Speaker 4: a new program with love, care and dedication from both 611 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:45,520 Speaker 4: educators and us. Matting is not going to be the 612 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,640 Speaker 4: same as any other child, and we knew that and 613 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:53,440 Speaker 4: so we fought for him. This is cliche, but children 614 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 4: are actually like sponges. Through this journey, I've learned you 615 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 4: have to see the promise in every time child. Kids 616 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:06,480 Speaker 4: will learn. Intelligence exists in many different forms. It's not 617 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:12,160 Speaker 4: just one construct. Frederick Douglas said, power concedes nothing without 618 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:16,160 Speaker 4: a demand. As parents, we have to individually advocate for 619 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:18,680 Speaker 4: our own kids. That's the only piece of the puzzle 620 00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:22,200 Speaker 4: we have control over. We know them better than anyone because, 621 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,440 Speaker 4: as we've seen, until the world is more accepting of everyone, 622 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,080 Speaker 4: there is still work to be done. And if you 623 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:32,480 Speaker 4: aren't comfortable in English, there is support. Schools and the 624 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,720 Speaker 4: city have resources. Bi Lingual education as it stands today 625 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:41,359 Speaker 4: exists because people throughout history fought for it. To them. 626 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 4: I say, God, ask yes, you know. 627 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 8: And you know what? 628 00:38:51,719 --> 00:38:53,839 Speaker 4: And all of this questioning how mar Thing is making 629 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,640 Speaker 4: out after the pandemic. My two year old is in 630 00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,880 Speaker 4: daycare in English. Now, I didn't even realize that she 631 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,160 Speaker 4: speaking English in school on Spanish at home. 632 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:05,160 Speaker 9: Wash my hands. 633 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 4: Yes, because I only hear her speak Spanish. It never 634 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,040 Speaker 4: occurred to me how quickly she would start code switching. 635 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:21,320 Speaker 4: Like my brother said when I reported on this in 636 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,480 Speaker 4: twenty eighteen, bilingualism is one of the best gifts you 637 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:28,480 Speaker 4: can pass on to your child. There's more places to visit, books, 638 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 4: to read, movies, to see more of the world to absorb. 639 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:35,839 Speaker 4: Generations of us have done it like my parents did 640 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:44,920 Speaker 4: with me, and my husband and I are succeeding with 641 00:39:45,000 --> 00:40:26,560 Speaker 4: our own kids. Bilingualism really is a superpower. This episode 642 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,680 Speaker 4: was produced by Gini Montalbo. It was edited by Mark Vagan. 643 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,720 Speaker 4: It was mixed by Stephanie Lebau and Julia Caruso. 644 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:38,040 Speaker 2: The Latino USA team includes Andrea Lopez Gruzado, Marta Martinez, 645 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:44,400 Speaker 2: Mike Sargent, Daisy Contreras, Victoria Estrada, Renaldo leanoz Junior, Patrisa Subran, 646 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:46,080 Speaker 2: and Elizabeth lent Al Torres. 647 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,960 Speaker 1: Our editorial director is Fernande Santos. 648 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 2: Our associate engineers are Gabriel Abias and JJ Carubin. Our 649 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:56,600 Speaker 2: marketing manager is Luis Luna. Our theme music was composed 650 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,960 Speaker 2: by Saniel Roubinos. I'm your host and executive producer Mariero host. 651 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:02,760 Speaker 2: Join us again on our next episode. In the meantime, 652 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,600 Speaker 2: look for us on social media and rememberes don't go 653 00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:10,120 Speaker 2: anywhere because being by lingual is my superpower too. 654 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 1: Jao Astella Proxima. 655 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 6: Latino USA is made possible in part by New York 656 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:22,680 Speaker 6: Women's Foundation. The New York Women's Foundation funding women leaders 657 00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:26,760 Speaker 6: that build solutions in their communities and celebrating thirty years 658 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:31,920 Speaker 6: of radical generosity. W. K. Kellogg Foundation, a partner with 659 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 6: Communities where Children Come First, and the Anni E. Casey Foundation, 660 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:43,040 Speaker 6: creates a brighter future for the nation's children by strengthening families, 661 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:46,840 Speaker 6: building greater economic opportunity, and transforming communities. 662 00:41:51,200 --> 00:42:01,439 Speaker 5: Lass Oh Remember Miss