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Co-authored a multicultural & multilingual children’s book, Vitamina T for Tacos!
The adventure began during family carne asadas in our backyards! Mando Rayo and I, along with our significant others and children, would share common experiences about growing up in the US/Mexico borderlands. For us, it included nuances unique to our cultural experiences, in addition to delicious TACOS. This children’s book is not only about yummy…
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Have Bilingual, Latinx Children Become a Commodity?
It is both surreal and ironic to me that this blog post still rings true for so many…. With the rise of dual language education in the U.S., have bilingual, Latinx children become a commodity? In other words, are children who walk into the dual language classroom already speaking two languages possessing a highly valued…
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The Right to a Bilingual Education in California
When Proposition – 58 passed in 2016 it repealed Proposition 227. Proposition 227 eliminated bilingual education for students who speak a language other than English in the state of California. Proposition -58 makes bilingual education programs a requirement in public schools as long as they meet the following requirement. Community members have the right to…
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What I have learned about raising multilingual children in the U.S. as a Chicana
I started this journey, this goal of wanting my children to be bilingual by reading books about bilingual parenting. None of the authors looked and sounded like me and none were born and raised in the U.S. like myself. If they were, they usually were not Chicana. My obsession in making sure my children knew…
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For whom are we protecting the designated use of languages in two-way bilingual education (TWBE) programs?
After attending the Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) convention this past week in Atlanta, GA and noticing how much “we” tend to place an immense amount of value on a certain kind “English,” I started thinking about the TWBE context. A context that is dear to my bilingual and Latinx heart as…
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An Update About Raising 3rd Generation Multilingual Daughters.
Just read an article about “Bilingualism and Age,” which got me thinking about my daughter’s language exposure and development: Sabrina was born into a home where both parents spoke in Spanish to her (direct input), but we spoke (and continue to do so) in mostly English to each other with some Spanish. Her daycare was…
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For What and for Whom is our Research?
As someone who identifies as an academic that “researches” the very demographic that is currently being attacked at the border, my sense of obligation to #speakup, #standup, and #resist with and for immigrants has never been stronger. I think Lourdes Ortega’s question (the title of this blog post), For what and for whom is our…
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You can learn Spanish, but you will never get our culture.
Speaking Spanish for us does not begin at 7:45 am and end at 2:57 pm. Speaking Spanish for us is NOT “a lesson.” It’s not a “time period.” It’s not a temporary thing. Spanish isn’t something that happens out of coincidence. I wouldn’t even say that it’s how we “naturally” communicate. Spanish for us is…
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Why I chose to become a Mexican National.
On the day I became a Mexican National, December 15, 2017, I was filled excitement and like a piece of my heart was beginning to heal. I, of course, posted it on Facebook and got many congratulations. I knew that some people may not find my decision to become a Mexican National as making a…
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Interpretations of a Bilingual Life 