1. Mixsy Trinidad EHS 220--Building a Sustainable Community: Education and Social Work Dr. Hannah Furrow October 15, 2009

2.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York  Puerto Rican background  Attended NYC public schools, was the first in her family to graduate from high school  Acquired Spanish at home, learned English in school

3.  St. John’s University: B.S. Elementary Ed. (1965)  New York University: M.A. Spanish and Hispanic Literature (1966)  University of Massachusetts: Doctoral Degree in Curriculum Studies, Multicultural and Bilingual Education (1979) http://www.people.umass.edu

4.  Multicultural and Bilingual Education  Curriculum Reform  Teacher Education  Puerto Rican children’s literature  Education of Latinos, immigrants and other culturally and linguistically diverse student populations

5.  Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (1992)  The Light in their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities (1999)  What Keeps Teachers Going? (2003)  Why We Teach (2005)

6.  Human and Civil Rights Award – Massachusetts Teacher Association -1989  Teacher of the Year Award – Hispanic Educators Association of Massachusetts - 1996  Educator of the Year Award – National Association for Multicultural Education - 1997

7.  Outstanding Educator – National Council of Teachers of English - 2005  Enrique T. Trueba Lifetime Achievement Award for Scholarship, Mentorship and Service - 2006

8.  Could not identify with any of the characters she read about in the books she read as a young child  Her teachers asked her mother to only speak English to her at home  When she thought about becoming a lawyer, “A Puerto Rican girl thinking about being a Puerto Rican lawyer…Ridiculous” (Franquiz 2005, p.166)

9.  From a very young age, Sonia recognized that there was something different, something missing, and some things that needed changing  She was able to be successful in school but only because she was allowed to hold on to her cultural roots  She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher and that in order for students to be successful they had to be true to themselves

10.  Sonia Nieto is a strong advocate of multicultural literacy for all teachers and students. (Franquiz 2005)  “ It was at P.S. 25, for example, that I learned that one could be academically successful and bilingual, and that being bicultural was an asset rather than a deficiency.” ( http://www.eslminiconf.net)

11.  Has not really collaborated with any one person on this topic  Has used teachers and students in her books to illustrate improvement/biases in the education of non-native speakers of English  Her best inspiration has been her interaction with students and teachers in the field

12.  Establishment of positive learning communities (Osborne, 2000)  Learning is influenced by cultural differences and the context in which it occurs (Osborne, 2000)  Heritage Language and Cultural Norms are integral to language and curriculum (Franquiz, 2005)

13.  They are aware when the materials that are used are “too low”  They like being challenged  They want to be taught as if the curriculum were “in an all-White school” ( Nieto, 1994, p. 414) – expectations would be high for everybody

14.  Avoid the “chalk and talk” method, where text books are the dominant teaching material (Nieto, 1994)  Lack of imagination, leads to boring classes (Nieto, 1994)  Enjoy working in groups, provides for collaborative effort, generate ideas and active participation (Nieto, 1994)

15.  Do not just add ethnic tidbits to the curriculum (Franquiz, 2005)  A high quality education does not come from a curriculum with just one perspective (Franquiz, 2005)  Resist stereotypes so that it does not become “holidays and heroes for fun, food, and festivals” (Kitagawa, 2000, p.160).

16.  Be conscious of stereotypes as they are discussed (Kitagawa, 2000)  Do not be afraid to discuss differences, if they are avoided stereotypes will be formed anyway (Kitagawa, 2000)  Must truly believe that these students are capable of high levels of achievement

17.  Teachers need the opportunity to look deeply into themselves and their biases and values because they bring these to the student they teach (Frangquiz, 2005)  Help students think beyond official curriculum, about values, attitudes and beliefs that exist about and between one another (Franquiz, 2005)

18.  Affirming diversity is a key to children’s learning (Kitagawa, 2000)  “We need to think of differences as adding to everyone’s education. It is really crucial to think about diversity as a benefit.” (Kitagawa, 2000 p. 158)  Really know your students, who they are and where they come from

19.  Nieto (1994) says, “Students are able to reclaim the voice they need to continue their education successfully” (p. 417)  Students are free to be who they are, no longer are afraid of being different  Maintaining culture and language has a positive impact on academic success (Nieto, 1994)

20.  All students, regardless of background, are able to learn from each other  They become educated people from learning that differences are good and are to be tolerated  Opens up new horizons for all involved

21.  Enhances their relationship with their students  The need to create powerful learning environments for their students  Their own continued professional development will be an inspiration to their students  Students are aware that their teachers really do care to truly know them

22.  Franquiz, M. (2005). Education as political work: An interview with Sonia Nieto. Language Arts, 83( 2 ) 166-171.  Kitagawa, M. (2000). The light in her eyes: An interview with Sonia Nieto. Language Arts, 78( 2 ) 158-163.  Nieto, S. (2006). Why we teach: How teachers broaden the vision of what counts. S chool Talk, 11( 3 ) 1-3.  Nieto, S. (1994). Lessons from students on creating a chance to dream. Harvard Educational Review, 64( 4 ) 392-426.  Osborne, B. (2000). The light in their eyes. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 31( 4 ) 207.