Bridging the Distance between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools by Guadalupe Valdes - Book Report/Review Example

 Bridging the Distance between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools by Guadalupe Valdes Introduction This book which is an ethnographic portrait by Guadalupe Valdes was intended for Mexican parents especially mothers. It involved a study of ten immigrant families of Mexico. The book discussed how these families learned to live successfully in a new environment. In this book, Valdes is mostly interested on how the Mexican parents perceived education. Valdes thus examines what he describes as lack of interest in matters of education among the Mexican parents. In fact the highest level of education that an adult in this family attained was grade four. In reviewing this book it is evident that it is useful for all parents and especially those in the marginalized areas of the country and is wiling to improve their children’s educational status. In support of this, the Valdes basis his focus on the issues of school personnel necessary for maintaining family life and improving their socialization. To the audience the author expresses the effects of American culture to the Mexican families. Through this the audience is able to recognize how culture shapes the perception and behavior of the individual. From this the intended audience is able to recognize the reason why the Mexican children failed in school often mistaken for lack of family understanding according to Soto (2007). It is also associated with the difficulties faced when fighting to cope with the new life in America. Through this the author intends the audience to realize the many obstacles that can face an immigrant in a new environment. This book would also be useful to the American government and researchers in knowing how to solve the problems of immigrant in the society. In this case is teaching the immigrants the English language is one of the factors the country should consider. The book is also useful to the government in regard to the means of developing full and potential intellectuals of the society now and in future. This book is also useful to other American parents whether poor or rich. This is because the book gives them ideas on they can use the true view of what contributes to success and failure in family values. For instance parents should value the teacher’s message to the children in order to participate in building the child’s intellect. The Mexican immigrant families in most cases did not care about these verbal messages from the teacher. This was because due to their ignorance they never perceived them as legitimate way of communication. The book discuses how Mexican families never put much values in education according to Nahari, Lopez and Esquivel (2007). For instance the working parents contribute to life plans and goals which do not make sense on the school expectations of their children. However, to a certain point they believed in education. For instance they knew that a high school drop-out would not be more productive to the society compared to a graduate. Thus the limiting factor to value of education was that education to them was not solution to transform their rigid social/ economic system. As Valdes argues, to the Mexican families education was vital but it never came first. The author of this book also focuses on the idea of bilingualism which is relevant to trainers including their instructions, methods of teaching and progress measurement. In particular the author talks of the process of sociolinguistics which leads to acquisition of language by the students at different levels of study. On the same issue Valdes discuses how education plays a significant role in formulating immigration national policies. This would be of importance to Mexican families. Another idea discussed in this book is the issue of culture in personal development. In examining the background of these families and the good life the family expects is incongruent with what is defined as success in school. The reason as to why they could not produce successful students is that any efforts aimed at them were culturally sensitive. There are several objectives addressed in this book. One of the major objectives was to improve the Education status of the immigrant Mexican families especially in their children. According to Valdes, the Mexican did not put emphasis on education. In stead they valued their children responsibility and respect to the family. In this book the author aimed at making them aware of the advantages of educating their children. Another objective of writing this book is to demonstrate the basic concepts of bilingual and cross-cultural education as suggested by Salgado (2008). For the immigrant children to be incorporated in the education curriculum in America they ha to understand the American English well. Valdes explains how children by knowing More English than their parents would manipulate the teacher’s massage to their parents. Another objective was to empower the immigrant Mexican parents especially mothers economically and socially. Their biggest dream was to own a small business opportunity which was the aim of everyone. They engaged in non-paying jobs due to their low level of education. Their biggest dream was to own a small business opportunity which was the aim of everyone. Through the empowerment they would learn about better jobs in America and have bigger dreams. The author conducted her study using two methods, observation and interview. Valdes interacted with ten families and observed their behavior. Observation was important as she was able to learn their cultural behavior and work experiences. Through interview, the author was able to learn their encounter with teachers and the natives. Both methods of collecting information helped in find out the cultural values of the family and their perception of life. Therefore it is out of these findings that the author describes relevant issues such the importance of education and cultural integration in this book. The works in this book can be compared to those of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates about bridging cultures between home and school: A teacher’s guide according to Rothstein (2003). The two books are related in that they focus on a similar issue about the gap existing between education and family background. In both cases the teacher is seen the bridge between connecting the school and the family. Therefore education is seen as an agent of transmitting cultural values. Both books focus on understanding the differences existing between the school and the home culture. Among the strengths of this book is that it offers a comprehensive study which can be used in developing the status of this community. This is because it outlines the relevant areas for instance education and family set up which are needed in a development plan. One of the weakness of this book is that it focuses more on the describing the life of Mexican families. The author fails to demonstrate the how issues facing the families can be solved. It is a weakness that the book mostly critics the culture of Immigrant families without discussing the positive areas of their culture. The book is important to the in-teachers in that it helps them to understand how to handle students based on their background and cultural value. For the pre-service teacher it equips them with the challenges they are likely to face in he education profession and thus prepares themselves psychologically. On the side of the students this book is important as it discusses how the student should balance the school life and family life for them to be successful. Conclusion This book does put in consideration the interventions that are aimed at promoting success in school. It is therefore suggested in this book that those interventions are likely to affect children education negatively. This is because they the interventions are not in support of diverse family values. References Nahari, S. Lopez, E. & Esquivel,G. (2007). Multicultural handbook of school psychology: an interdisciplinary perspective. London: Routledge. Rothstein. (2003). Bridging cultures,readings 4bk set. London: Routledge Salgado,Y. (2008). A grounded theory study of parents' cognitive influences in the bilingual/English immersion decision-making process. Toronto: ProQuest. Soto,L. (2007). The Praeger handbook of Latino education in the U.S. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More