Sandy Kaser, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Gordon Wells makes a case for spontaneous dialogue and its relationship to community and to society in the March 2009 issue of Language Arts,. He states that “the beliefs, values, and knowledge that are attributed to society remain abstract and disembodied until they are brought to bear in particular interpersonal situations.” He argues that “dialogue within a classroom helps to create community while simultaneously building a bridge between individuals and the society of which they are members.” As we read the books of Francisco Jimenez, our class engaged in dialogue that brought us together as a community, and that also enabled us to reflect on current issues and values in society.
Francisco Jiménez was born in Tlaquepaque, Mexico in 1943, and grew up as part of a family of migrant farm workers in California. He has documented his experiences in the three books that I read with my class. The Circuit was published in 1997 and chronicles his early childhood. When we finished this book, I told the class he had another book about his years in middle and high school. As interesting as they found the first book, I still was not sure if they would want to continue on. They did, however, want to know more and so we read Breaking Through (2001) and then Reaching Out (2008) where he leaves his family and goes to college. As I reflected on why these books came to mean so much to my students, I believe that our dialogue around the following ideas and issues were key to the strong connections we formed to his stories.
First, we found out how the story ended. The students’ interest in Francisco Jiménez extended to our time in the computer lab where several students “googled” him. They were excited to bring back information about how he became a professor at Santa Clara University and then a university administrator. He had mentioned wanting to be a teacher early on in the story, and my students were happy to find out he had achieved his goal. One group of students started a poster of all the awards he and his books have won. They were very proud of him for accomplishing all of that, given his difficult beginnings. One student found a taped interview on-line where they could see him “in person” and hear him speak. My students of Mexican descent were especially pleased I think with what he had accomplished after starting out in poverty in Mexico and being forced to move from farm to farm and school to school in order to help his family earn a living. To support this identity connection, I invited a beautiful young woman, Regina Romero, who currently serves on the Tucson City Council to speak to the class. She also started out as a young child in a migrant farm worker family and spoke of the hard work and the lack of medical care as well as sharing her story of finding a way to get an education.
Secondly, Francisco Jiménez tells the truth and writes with respect for the experiences. He does not back off from stories about looking in the dump for household supplies or the pain of having to move again just when a teacher was going to help him learn to play a musical instrument. Yet he also tells us the story of winning the art prize and being selected as a student leader. The stories were believable to my students, easy to understand, and they strike at the heart of how life’s daily events serve to mold us. It was easy for the students to identify with the central theme in each story and to take a lesson for their lives.
Then there were additional identity intersections. Francisco struggled with learning to speak English and many of my students were learning English as well. The practices of his faith were familiar to my students. He had experiences that reflected the kind of racism and stereotypical attitudes toward Mexicans that some of my students were familiar with. He shared about how he came into the United States without documents and lived in fear that they would be found out. Eventually he and his family were picked up and sent back to Mexico, but did return legally. Students had stories to share surrounding these issues and these stories became the beginnings of their own personal narratives written during our daily writing hour.
The students in my class lived in Arizona and, irregardless of their ethnic ties, they were interested in “illegals” because that is a major issue of debate in the state. I received several copies of the newspaper each day, and we began collecting and discussing newspaper articles that were about the issues of people coming from Mexico with and without the legal documentation. Students wondered: “Why don’t the undocumented get papers?” “Who are ‘coyotes’ and why did people from Mexico pay them money to get across the border?” An immigration lawyer came to class to explain the laws and told us why people come from Mexico without “papers” and what Mexicans had to do in order to be documented. It helped us understand that it cost money and took a certain literacy skill. And there are only a certain number of people admitted in any one year and there are issues that put some people ahead of others in the line waiting to come to the United States. It was easy to see the frustration that could occur. I followed this up with a visit by a border patrol agent who explained how he was working to keep all of us safe and how it was his responsibility to enforce the law. He talked about drug traffickers, but also was sympathetic to people trying to have a better life.
The other theme that led to extensive dialogues was Francisco’s work ethic and how he balanced this with his intense desire to do well in school. One of my students commented that he felt tired after we read some of the stories because he had to work so hard all of the time. The students were happy when he started to go to dances and have some fun.
I personally felt validated by his respect for and faith in his teachers as he struggled to get an education. How wonderful to be part of a profession that encourages children and young people. He mentions how his life was changed by a teacher who encouraged him to write about his experiences and who gave him The Grapes of Wrath to read. And there it was–he found himself in a book. He talks about how when he was upset, it calmed him to write stories about his experiences. There are many comments in the students’ letters that relate to his concern about school and about working hard at many jobs in order to help provide for his family.
Finally, we were all drawn into the Jiménez family and especially enjoyed the stories about family dynamics. We kept trying to figure out how many brothers and sisters were born into the family along the way. We loved his mother and thought she was the most humble and the most courageous woman in the world. She “made do” so often–she comforted her husband who was ill much of the time and cared for sick children through sleepless nights. My students were hopeful that when Francisco became Dr. Jiménez that he bought her a house! We loved the way they cared about each other. We were frustrated by the father and had to really talk about how the events in his life had led to the daily pain and frustration that eventually drove him back to Mexico and away from the family. We were amazed at the respect and restraint that Francisco demonstrated toward his father. This was another frequent theme in my students’ letters–questions about the family. Dr. Jiménez graciously listed his family members and told us what happened to each one in his response to us, and so we know the end of the story with regard to his family.
Jiménez has had an impressive career working on many projects related to education and issues of social justice–not the least of which are his books for children and young people. Susan Carlile sums up her review of the work of Francisco Jiménez with these words: “Rather than feeling alienated as a result of his personal confrontations with racism and poverty, Jiménez has embraced his experiences and used them for the benefit of his students, readers, and community. He has created a rich, meaningful life – one steeped in service and in art . . . a life he considers full of great rewards.” (ALAN Review: Fall, 2004).
Jiménez would have us understand that his rich life began with his experiences in the cotton and strawberry fields of California and the struggles he encountered on his journey. His later success was built on those experiences. But oh, how hard it must have been. In response to the argument that illegal immigrants were taking jobs away from citizens, a recent article in the Arizona Daily Star advertised a website where one could apply for a job as a migrant farm worker in California.
- Advice for applicants? Dress appropriately . . temperatures are in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion has led farm labor to be listed as one of the nation’s ten most dangerous jobs. Expect long days . . growers have a limited window to pick fruit before it becomes overripe. And don’t count on a big paycheck. Farm workers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don’t even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don’t require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws. Supervisor Michael Rubio of one of the biggest agricultural counties in California says, “Our country, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant workers. I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers.”
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- Themes: Francisco Jiménez, Sandy Kaser
- Descriptors: Books & Resources, Student Connections, WOW Currents