Does the policy count for you?

In this weeks article “What ‘Counts’ as Educational Policy? Notes toward a New Paradigm” author Jean Anyon discussed policy attempts to improve urban education and how policies have changed over the decades. Policies change, yet a theme remains, people of poverty are not always represented fairly or given the resources to have a chance. “It is important to note that federal education policies intended to improve urban schools did not take aim at the economic arrangements and practices that themselves produced the poverty in which city schools were embedded.” (Anyon 67) Anyon points out that policy makers don’t take into account on how economic status has an impact on education. Not being financially stable makes the opportunities beyond high school almost impossible. What will policy makers do for these students beyond that? A policy is what they intend to do but sometimes falls short or is not implemented properly.

Anyon also talks about policies supporting Charters school and vouchers as a way to help improve the overall education of urban children. As we read in last week's articles “Local Control, Choice, Charter Schools, and Homeschooling” from Joel Spring’s book American Education and “Race, Charter Schools, and Conscious Capitalism: On the Spatial Politics of Whiteness as Property)” by Kristen Buras that charters school do give a chance for some low-income families to attend but at the cost of decreasing financial support of public school many of which are already struggling. This doesn’t help all, policymakers are not viewing the “all”. The results of improvement as Anyon puts it is “illusory”, not real, they showcase the best outcomes of policies in the media but not the failures.

The intention of education policies is to improve education for all. It’s difficult to implement something when students are at a different “starting points” financially. I remember a video that Melissa posted on week 4 “Race of life” and how whatever resources you are given at the beginning of a race or even a game will determine your success at the end. It’s sad to think the same goes with life. But, policies can help with giving the opportunity to obtain resources that will lead students to educational achievement.

Anyon states, “that increased family supports such as financial resources and less segregated neighborhoods raise educational achievement”. (Anyon 77) The evidence she collects shows that providing income support leads to students having a positive behavior in and out of school and overall performance increases, I’m sure leads to more confidence in themselves too. Anyon believes that implementing a “new educational policy paradigm” by making an effort to eliminate economic differences by providing more higher paying jobs in the city, creating more public transit so that low-income residents can attend those jobs and providing better living conditions in neighborhoods. I think it's important to support a new model like this for education policies where thought is put in people of low-income communities that their educational matters and need better support.

Who decides your Education?

Who should be deciding what we teach our learners? School board? The government? Parents? The first reading is Chapter 8, “Local Control, Choice, Charter Schools, and Homeschooling” from Joel Spring’s book American Education. In this chapter Springs discussed the different ways education is controlled. Spring begins by illustrating the idea of the “education chair”. This chair is what is being taught in schools and the question again is, who controls it? Many of these answers depend on your own political views on education control.

There are many criticisms of each party trying to control education. The school board is criticized by the parents because parents feel their interests are not being heard. Springs then points out the demographic of the people who are in these positions on school boards, predominately white and upper to middle class, which do no match the population as a whole. “Boards of education are criticized for being dominated by white members when in 2014, discussed in Chapter 6, for the first time the “non-white” populations of U.S. public schools exceeded the number of whites.” (221)

Parents do have the choice to decide where to send their children to school and sometimes the government plays a role in that decision. Vouchers are given by the government and school get reimbursed when families choose their school. Being able to choose your children's school sounds like right people should have, yet, part of this method is taking finical support away from public schools.

I wanted to look more into vouchers being used in education.

I do see a benefit of allowing low-income families the chance to pay for private schooling but then I think about the rest of the community. The community that needs extra resources to support their learners but are limited due to tax dollars going elsewhere. Can privating school students be considered part of the community if they don't go to the school of their home community.

A quote I use in week 2 from “Imagining futures: the public school and possibility” by Maxine Greene, “the creation of communities in classrooms may be one of the most difficult and yet the most essential undertakings in the schools of the future.” (Greene, 273) I’m thinking how difficult will it be to create communities if the government gives vouchers to allow students leave their home community to go to another?

In the second reading, “Race, Charter Schools, and Conscious Capitalism: On the Spatial Politics of Whiteness as Property (and the Unconscionable Assault on Black New Orleans)” author Kristen L. Buras, discusses the effect on public schools and the rise of charter schools after Hurricane Katrina. Buras argues , “that New Orleans charter schools are less about responding to the needs of racially oppressed communities and more about the Reconstruction of a newly governed South.” (Buras 297) With the destruction of 80% of New Orleans schools a change was going to happen. The idea of opening Charter schools seemed like a good idea to bring society back to normal after a such a devastating event. Rebuilding, and reforming for the win right? A Louisiana Federation of Teachers representative said “we are going to have a brand new school system and it’s going to be the bright new city of great opportunity for all children” (Buras, 307)

This sounds like an exciting and great project but this great opportunity for all will just have “fewer poor people”.(Buras 307) The process the enroll student in Charters schools took many requirements. The New Orleans Parent Organizing Network had a guide available to parents who interested for their child to go to charters school. This was a 95 page document, which I’m sure required thorough reading and parents providing tangible items like report cards and test scores for the child. Something that can be impossible if the parent was able to further their educational or completely lost their personal belonging from the destruction of Katrina. A task like this can be done “easily by parents with surplus time, readily accessible transportation, intact documents, physically undamaged homes, monetary resources, and education, thereby advantaging more privileged families as well as families with “able” and “high-achieving” children.” (Buras 317) The upper class of white and the few black families would be the only ones to be able to send their child to these charter schools because they had that financial stability to recover from the hurricane while others are left behind in the wreckage and have very little choice for school. What happened to the great opportunity for all?

Both of these articles makes me think about the idea community. Our young learners are seeing the impact the government has on their communities. How does this look when only some people in a community get the benefits of education but others are left behind?

Where do you learn from? Can a community promote learning?

When do we start learning?

School is not the only place one learns from. We are influenced by family, friends, community, society, and all forms of media. Where do we learn the most from? Which of these can be the best resource? In “Community as text: Using the community as a resource for learning in community schools. New Directions for Youth Development”, authors, Martin Blank, Sheri DeBoe Johnson, and Bela Shah explains that learning starts early. Young learners learn everywhere, especially from their families and communities. The article discusses the benefits of having a community as a resource and how community schools are available. “Community schools are open to students, families, and community members” [Community schools] “build on classroom experiences and help students expand their horizons, contribute to their communities, and have fun.” (Blank, Johnson, and Shah 108). Community schools get students involved in learning, give support and help them become great assets in their communities.

Having community be apart in learning, “helps students become motivated and engaged in learning and builds strong connections between the school and community” (Blank, Johnson, and Shah 109). Students need that support to feel valued. Being encouraged to learn this way will allow them to discover other interests and develop skills. Teaching through the community is also teaching the student to be an active member of society. “Students to improve academic skills and apply what they learn in school to the broader community” (Blank, Johnson, and Shah 112).


Having community coming together and be a part in ones learning opens up a safe space of support. That sense of togetherness can aid in emotional healing as well. In the article, “The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma-Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement” author Shawn Ginwright discusses how healing centered engagement provides students who have experienced any kind of trauma a way to cope and reflect. Ginwright promotes adults to encourage young people to dream and imagine. To not let what trauma they have defined them. That they are in control of their learning. I think back the documentary last week “Precious Knowledge”, where the teachers of the Razza program were teaching content that intrigued their students and encourages them to continue learning beyond the classroom. The trauma they were experiencing was the elimination of the program they loved so much. The risk of losing the program made them reflect and share with their teachers. They were able to express to lawmakers what they had learned and the positive outcomes the program had. This is what we want for our student to be passionate and care for the things they believe are important.

We want our students to think about their future and take charge of their learning hopefully in an optimistic way. Ginwright also talks about the idea of fostering empathy. “To create this empathy, I encourage adult staff to share their story first, and take an emotional risk by being more vulnerable, honest and open to young people.” Being able to be “real” and honest with our student allows them to do the same an open up. It enforces of the idea that they have a voice and should be heard. Listening is such an important part in a community, we need to listen to the needs of our students in order to help them to grow, develop and continue to be an asset for our community. We should want this for ourselves as well. we are lifelong learners and members of many communities, we should use our skills to make the contributions to better ourselves and our communities too.

In the last article I read, “Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers”, authors Ana Marie Villegas and Tamara Lucas argues the need for teachers to be culturally responsive. If we want our student to open up, share and reflect, we, as teachers need to understand our students. The journey to be culturally responsive should start in our preparation to be a teacher. Courses that prepare teachers for diversity in their classroom are often added on to existing curriculum as optional. It is absolutely necessary for teachers to make better connections with their student and extend the sense of community into the classroom. Villegas and Lucas believe in six strands that will prepare teachers and “conceptualize the curriculum for preparing culturally responsive teachers” (Villegas and Lucas 20). They state that these are not the only ways but what they felt the most necessary.

1. Sociocultural Consciousness

2. Affirming Attitude

3. Commitment and Skills to Act as Agents of Change

4. Constructivist Views of Learning

5. Learning About Students

6. Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices

Teachers need to know their students, how they learn and be able to personalize their learning, encourage them to build on their personal and cultural strengths. I agree that this will promote learning, students will feel they are capable to learn and make sense to what they are learning. To achieve the pedagogical knowledge and skills to be a culturally responsive teacher will take time and dedication. Being prepared to teach in a multicultural society should not be an option, it's needed because we live in a diverse world and should be celebrated.

It is critical that all learners are exposed to a community where they feel valued, a place where they feel they can contribute and be heard. And in schools, I feel it is important that my administration colleagues and I work together to encourage each other to do what is best for our students. They need to know we care. We need to understand what it means to be culturally responsive in our classrooms and society.

Why is THIS program Anti-American?

I like the change in format for this week’s post from reading an article to watching the documentary, Precious Knowledge. The film followed three students, Crystal Enriques, Priscilla Rodriguez, and Gilbert Esparza who were apart of Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Mexican-American Studies program.



Their story has been faced with a large issue highlighted by Tom Horne who at the time, was Arizona state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Horne wanted to eliminate this program because “learning about ethnicity is anti-American and these courses are illegal.” I can’t imagine teaching anything about a student’s identity could be considered illegal. The fact that a bill was pass to eliminate such a course feels like a step back in education.

Each student tells the background of their relationship with education in their lives. For most, believed education did not have a place for them. Esparza says, “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve hated education”. He felt like the school hated him and they wanted him to drop out. There seems to be a disconnect with the administration to their students. In the readings from last week “Smoking Guns or Smoke & Mirrors?” and “Messy, Butch and Queer” this is also seen. Stereotyping their students or assuming nothing but trouble is associated with them. If this is what faculty believes, of course, their students will believe that as well.

Esparza also said, “When you grow in a poor neighborhood you don’t get the same chances as other people do” (Precious Knowledge 4:46) which made me think of the article “Social Class and the hidden curriculum of work” by Jean Anyon and how economic status of communities affected the type of education the student received.

During a faculty meeting, one member of the faculty goes on to say how students have a dysfunctional relationship with learning, they are lazy, unengaged, and culturally damaged. Ethnic Studies advocate Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade follows by saying we need to identify the problem “The same narrative about the deficiencies of our children has run the history of the public school in the United States. We just change the way we explain our inability to engage our kids.” (Precious Knowledge 6:40) Duncan-Andrade continues his statement saying he never met a student with a dysfunctional relationship with learning just a lot of kids with a dysfunctional relationship to school. The students needed to be heard and learning in a way where they will feel successful. “School work helps one achieve, to excel, to prepare for life” (Anyon, 83.)

The Mexican American / Raza studies classes opened to all students at six schools TUSD. In these classes, like the class of teacher, José Gonzalez’s, traditions were preserved. Learning about their culture gave students a positive reflection for themselves, the idea of love for ourselves and others. Students like, Gilbert Esparza, who hated school was learning to love learning and when he left school for the day, he wanted to do more research. He wanted to learn. Many other students said their Razza teachers expected more from them. These teachers challenged their students, allowing them to write about topics they cared about making them independent individuals in control of their learning. The graduation rate during the time of the documentary for students enrolled in Ethnic studies had an average of 93%.

Students recited a portion from the longer poem “Pensamiento Serpentino” in class each day, as a way to start class. Arizona legislature banned this in schools because they felt they were promoting ethnicity.

In Lak'Ech
Tú eres mi otro yo.
You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti,
If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo.
I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto,
If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo.
I love and respect myself.


Their classroom was a community of support. Teachers made the attempt to make their students feel comfortable and connected with them. From Education: The Great Obsession author Grace Lee Boggs states, “The creation of communities in classrooms may be one of the most difficult and yet the most essential undertakings in the schools of the future.”

Social-emotional learning is my school’s professional growth goal for this school year and this poem to me seems to align with those ideals. How can those words be banned to be said in a classroom?

After viewing the bill, HB 2281 be put into law, the canceling of the Razza studies and the resigning of those teachers raised many questions. Did law markers really invest enough time in these classrooms to see the positive or even negative outcomes for society these classes had? Was it truly anti-American if the ideals for these courses was to be understanding, respectful, and learn appreciation?

Esparza says at the end, “people are not treating people like people. They are treating others likes animals, like they shouldn’t be a part of society. We created this dystopia were we oppress each other we don’t appreciate each other.“ It’s disappointing that courses such as these were eliminated from the curriculum because many concerns in our society could have been addressed and corrected.

A positive thing from the outcome of this documentary was TUSD’s Mexican-American Studies program was seen as a model for other schools across the country for developing and ongoing ethnic programs. I hope to see more of these programs stay in school districts in the future.

What do you identify as? Is that ok in schools?

Whatever the answers maybe to my title question should lead to the acceptance of all no matter how you identify as but unfortunately it is not the case in all schools.



This picture above is from the article “33 states don't protect LGBT students in anti-bullying laws” by German Lopez. The article is from 2014 but the image is still pretty shocking. So often I hear the phrase “It’s 2018, everything is good now” or something along those lines but then I see graphs like this and think it’s not OK.


In, Messy, Butch and Queer: LGBTQ Youth and the school-to-prison pipeline, authors Shannon D. Snapp, Jennifer M. Hoenig, Amanda Fields and Stephen T. Russell discuss issues such as behavioral accusations, bullying, and negatively being stereotype LGBTQ Youth face in school today.


“When students are bullied based on sexual orientation teachers seldom intervene” (Snapp, Hoenig, Fields & Russell 59). It’s a sad idea knowing that some teachers will not step in and help their LBGTQ students. Students look to adults, family, and teachers for support and guidance. In some instances teachers may be culprit when it comes to the bullying. As told by a youth from California, “In my school, some of my security guards are coaches, so when they do see like a more feminine male, they do kind of tease them and they’re like, ‘oh, he’s a fairy.’” (Snapp, Hoenig, Fields & Russell 64). If an adult is essentially bullying or making fun of the student for "being a fairy" how can that student ever feel safe? Who will he go to for guidance? Who can he trust? Who are his allies? LGBTQ students just like any student want to feel safe in school and not have to worried if their classmates and teachers are going to turn on them.



“LGBTQ youth are being either chastised or disciplined for their gender expression, for their appearance, for their behavior, for their mannerisms, or for some sort of affection towards same gender youth. We don’t necessarily see that with students who are straight or are assumed to be straight.” (Snapp, Hoenig, Fields & Russell 65) With all these negative attention many of these youths being force towards this pathway of school-to-prison. If they are seen as delinquent by adults without examining their actual character, it’ll harder for them to feel apart of society. These youths are given detention and are being suspended for things that all students could be doing but are not noticed. Another student interviewed said a heterosexual couple was making out in the hallway unnoticed negatively by administration but the homosexual couple just holding hands gets in trouble. If there is a no PDA rule it needs to be enforced to all not some. It should not be the “favorable” exempted from this. If one doesn’t have that support that they are worth something then who will guide them from going down a path where it doesn’t matter if you have support or not.

The following clip is a scene from the 2018 movie Love, Simon. Where Simon (a white male who identifies as gay) wonders why straight is the “default” and why you only have to come out if you are gay. He wonders what it would look like if his straight friends were the ones who had to come out to their families. I thought about this scene as I thought about support from adults. Some LBGTQ Youth do not have the support. In this film Simon does seem to have a supportive family but how would that support look to a LBGTQ teen, for example from a Hispanic home? I wonder how different the movie would be if the main character was a Hispanic female coming out or any other race that may already have negative attention in the social hierarchy, the theme that appears again and again in our articles.




A similar situation is happening to Latino youths. Being pointed out for unfavorable behavior because they might look that the part of a criminal or a delinquent. In the beginning of Smoking Guns or Smoke & Mirrors?: Schools and the Policing of Latino Boys author Mario Galicia was on his way to a high school when a lock-down was being conducted to due the sighting of a gun used by a group of 4 Latinos boys. Galicia witness and overheard parents calling the boys “Gangsters”, glad they were being taken away and that they should “rot in jail”. After everything settled no guns were involved just a group of boys trying to scare away someone bothering them. This story was twisted and changed by the grape vine. No one in this community knew what was going on but they felt as if they had enough of the story to spread it around and each time the story was told another factor was added or changed. Second author of this article, Victor Rios makes this statement, “misinformation and hysteria delivered by parents to other parents, the school, media, and social media exemplifies how, in an era of mass incarceration, schools, law enforcement, and community members perceive and interact with young Black and Latino boys as culprits and suspects, even before any concrete evidence arises against them”. (Galicia & Rios 55). The boys couldn’t tell their story because someone else has already made it up.

It is this mentally that forces these students to think they are a criminal because of the negative portrayal they have on media or of people who just don’t know them. Having that reputation in the community keeps making them a target for police to stop them. “Some police officers would even go as far as handcuffing the youths in order to search them. The boys said they were embarrassed and humiliated by the cops and by the people from the community center.” Of course they were humiliated, their freedom to walk safely was taken away from them. The police are usually people you go to for safety but these youths probably think of them as the enemy. Who do they go to for help? How will they avoid the path that will lead them to jail or prison time if they do not trust authority? So many questions that should be answered.

As I said above about the LGBTQ youth, how will these Latino boy feel safe if they are considered the threat? Who are their allies? Who can they trust?

Why learn the language of your culture?

Wherever you live it’s assumed you learn the native or main language of that country. In America, those native languages maybe Navajo, Pawnee, Mohawk, or Hawaiian just to name a few from the very long list of native languages of the land that is United States of America. The U.S. was founded by English speakers therefore that became the main language the people living in this country are expected to learn, speak, read and write.


But what about the other native languages or the people who were here first?


In article “How Hawaiian Came Back From the Dead”, author, Alexandria Neason discusses how the U.S. government wanted the Hawaiian language not to be a part of the curriculum in schools and to have teachers just focus on their students learning and speaking English. As stated in her article, English had long been the official language of government in the islands, mandated in schools and other public spaces. With the lessen exposure of the language, a major part of their culture was disappearing. Many families preferred speaking their native language at home but when teachers insisted on students to only use English, students were losing their want to learn, leading some families to speak less or not speak Hawaiian at all in hopes to keep their children in school. If they are not communicating in Hawaiian they must communicate in English. After many decades of silencing the Hawaiian language, Immersion schools started up to revitalize the language and bring it back to the community.


There were fears with this because families worried that their children’s education would be limited, how can they help them with homework, and when it was time to learn English would they able to succeed? A women who expressed this worry blamed her “Western-world thinking.” I think that meant that if you not speaking English or doing the “American thing” it's wrong. Why is it that English is believed to superior than Hawaiian. Obviously, if you live in America, English needs to learn to communicate with Non-Hawaiian speakers. In the case of the Hawaii families, their language connects them with their heritage. Learning English will make Hawaiian students successful in the economy but learning Hawaiian will make them rich in their culture and bring life to their community. Neason also points out that students who learn in a language other than English experience no long term setbacks in developing language and literacy skills in English.


Taking away one's native language or making the people feel their culture doesn’t have a place in America can really bring down their self-esteem and have little self determination as Tsianina Lomawaima and Teresa McCarty argue in their Article, “When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges Democracy: American Indian Education Democratic Ideal”.


Similar to what had happened in Neason’s article the American Indians were being belittled that they need to assimilate the now American culture and leave their culture behind a “glass window” at a science museum. “In the last century-and-a-half schools have purposely and systematically work to eradicate native languages religions beliefs and practices.” (Lomawaima & McCarty 282) Having the culture of a group basically erased from society lead American Indians to feel they can not coexist with their non-native neighbors, not welcomed. They were here first! They were looking for sovereignty. How are the American Indians going to find their place within the U.S democracy? “American Indians have had further opportunities to implement what has been there will and wish for more than 200 years to take leadership roles in education systems and institutions, to guide and design policy, and to implement Innovative and locally responsive curricula and pedagogies.” (Lomawaima &McCarty 289).


Reading about Rock Point Community School was an example of a community embracing their culture and having it be apart of their curricula really help with their self achievement. Navajo students who learned the to read in Navajo first actually scored better in reading on the Stanford Achievement Test than Navajos students who were in a schools just teaching English. A benefit when learning in your native language, a sense of pride leading to success, you feel good about yourself and your learning.


Sometimes a students' language may not be considered “correct” in the terms of Standard English so Lisa Delpit brings up the question, what should teachers do? Delpit says over correcting could discourage a student from reading at all. “Forcing speakers to monitor their language typically produces silence” (Delpit 32) I believe it is important to allow students to express language their own way but still be able to understand meaning of what you are saying, writing or reading. It’s about comprehending ideas. Delpit suggests that we as teachers need to provide students with access to other language forms. We should not be put all our focus on language form so that academic and moral content does not become an unimportant factor. A standard language is needed but does not define what intelligence is, they are still competent to learn.

What makes you American?

          Each week I start with a simple question I think about (but no simple answer) as I’m reading to title my blog. This week I’m thinking mostly about what it means to be American. What are the races of Americans? Who are Americans? The Native Americans who were here first? The White Europeans? The Black Africans? The people of Asia? The Latin Americans? Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander? Middle Eastern/North Africans? Why are some groups more “favorable” than others? If people of the world decide to come to America it’s in hopes to be welcomed and hopefully find an opportunity that wasn’t available in their homeland. To feel welcomed resonates the most in mind. Why are not all people welcome?

          In “I was born here, but my home is not here”: Educating for democratic citizenship in an Era of Transnational Migration and Global Conflict, author, Thea Renda Abu El-Haj discusses how the Arab-Americans deal with their current residency in the U.S and their connections to their homeland identity play a part in their sense of national belonging and struggles.

          “The school district does not record statistics on Arab students; they are classified, in accordance with the federal guidelines as White.” (El-Haj, 290). On the US census, people of the Middle East and North Africa check the “White” option as their race but many feel that is an inaccurate representation. “White” according to the US census quick facts page, White is a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Noor Tagouri calls this “White without the privilege”. So often in media and the stories the students El-haj interviewed “tell of everyday encounters with the equation Arab =Terrorist range from the absurd to the frightening” (El-Haj, 286) Looking and even sounding foreign has been viewed in our society as negative. Why can’t we can let that to be a moment to thoughtfully listen and ask questions to be informed? A teacher at the school El-Haj observed: “told a girl wearing a hijab that she looked “like a disgrace in that thing,” While another teacher threatens a girl with a disciplinary sanction if she did not remove hers --- a threat was painful it was not carried out” (El-Haj, 286). Educators cannot be insensitive to the customs and beliefs of our students. We should not make any student feel alienated, like an outcast, or feel what they believe is not respected.

          Arab-Americans struggle to gain a sense of belonging in America, feeling they are “enemies within” because of the “everyday discourses and practices inside their schools and communities” (El-Haj, 287). They live in America, many are American citizens but have a better connection with their homeland. Arab youth, Zayd talked about his current thoughts of what makes someone American “being American, rather than indicating one’s citizenship status, reflects both everyday practices and ways of thinking that assert independence” (El-haj, 293) Meaning one doesn’t need to be a citizen to become Americanized. Acting American and being an American citizen is quite different. Is it ok to act American and not be a citizen vs the other way around?

          The Pledge of the Allegiance is an example of a tradition that American citizens do at sporting events, special ceremonies and in most if not all American classrooms. There have been cases where students either do not say the pledge or do not stand for the pledge. The students in the articles each had different views on the matter. Student Khalida says she refuses because ''there isn't always justice for all" (304) While student Leila argued "Standing as a sign of respect and as a mark of her connection to her US citizenship."(305) We all should respect and try to understand one's choice on whether or not to participate pledge, bringing negative attention could lead to more sense nonbelonging or automatic exclusion.

          Becoming a citizen should be a pleasant thing, being a part of a group, a member, being protected by that group. Many have no choice but to leave their homeland in search of a better life and they see it at as a privileged to gain citizenship. Many wish they can return one day but like many of Palestine, it is impossible because of the current condition. Their “privilege citizenship status in terms of responsibilities entailed to family members in Palestine”.(El-Haj, 296) Arab-Americans, I’m sure like many other families, are working hard to support their families overseas. Another Palestinian youth, Samira tells El-Hay that the main reason her family is in the U.S is to send money home to Palestine so that her family can buy food, clothes and pay bills because there are no jobs for them to maintain a living. The United States was created with the idea to do what one pleases and that includes helping the ones we care for.

          Through each week's reading more stories are being shared and different views are seen, all citizens of our society. We as educators can be a big part of how to educate our students about citizenship in our “human community”, to be understanding and show respect towards each other. “This is a critical time to reinvigorate public school commitment to citizenship education in ways that engage with diversity, conflict, and structural inequalities that know no national boundaries.” (El-Haj, 312).