Latinx Experiences in U.S. Schools: Voices of Students, Teachers, Teacher Educators, and Education Allies in Challenging Sociopolitical Times(Race and Education in the Twenty-First Century)

This edited volume brings together voices of Latinx students, teachers, teacher educators, and education allies in Latinx communities to reveal ways in which today’s sociopolitical context has given rise to politically-sanctioned hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric. Contributors—key stakeholders in the education of immigrant Latinx children, youth, and college students—share how this rhetoric has exacerbated existing systemic injustices within K-Higher Education. They draw attention to counternarratives that speak to leadership and strength of community. Contributors include high school and college students and faculty, community organizers, and early career academics, whose voices are too often underrepresented in academic conversations. This book highlights professional and personal acts of courage, community organization, and the transformation of students and educators who are stepping into leadership roles to affect change. Understanding that teaching and learning are political acts, we call all those vested in Latinx communities to engage in small and large acts of agency to collectively impact change in our K-Higher Education systems.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Margarita Jimenez-Silva & Janine Bempechat Section I: Voices of Students Introduction: My Experience at the City Council Meeting, Joey Luevanos Chapter 1: “I don't like the way he acts with Mexicans:” An Analysis of Persuasive Pre-Writing Sessions with Fifth-Grade Bilingual Latinx Students, Evelyn Baca Chapter 2: “What Do You Mean, You Feel Latina?:” Use of Pan-Ethnic Identity Labels Among Middle School Bilingual Youth, Jenny Jacobs Chapter 3: “Why isn't Cinco de Mayo 365 days a year!” Culturally Sustaining Practices in an Age of Distrust, Orlando Carreon Section II: Voices of Teachers Introduction: The Making of a Radical Educator, Melody Esqueda Chapter 4: Rising Up to Lead: A Teacher's Path from the Classroom to City Hall, Laura Gomez & Ruth Luevanos Chapter 5: Unshifting Practices and Perspectives: Disrupting the Cycle through Anti-Racist Pedagogy, Christine Montecillo Leider, Megan Schantz, & Molly Ross Chapter 6: A Funny Thing Happens on the Way to the Classroom…: Positio

About the Author :
Margarita Jiménez -Silvais associate professor and chair of teacher education at the University of California, Davis. Janine Bempechat is clinical professor at Boston University, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.

Review :
Through the voices of students, teachers, teacher educators, and education allies, Latinx Experiences in U.S. Schools provocativelydebunks the anti-Latinx rhetoric and racial hegemony in the Age of Trump. If you are interested in challenging educational inequality head-on, then this is a must-read volume that elevates the lived experiences of Latinx youth—in and out-of-school—and turns school failure on its head. Editors Jiménez-Silva, Bempechat, and Gómez have delivered a volume of profound significance for readers seeking to understand the impact of institutionalized racism on the Latinx community. The book allows us to enter into the lives of students, families, teachers, and teacher educators linked by a common, heart-wrenching event – in this case, the election of Donald Trump. Through powerful and illuminating accounts in first-person voices and keen analyses of trauma-informed, meaning-making processes, the authors expertly demonstrate the importance of lifting up the wisdom and knowledge of students, communities, and educators. Prepare for full engagement of your emotions, intellect, and educator’s sensibilities.