More insidious difficulties arise teaching the rudiments of English. Hispanic culture dictates that you do not show your tongue when speaking. It is a great sign of disrespect. Yet to make the digraph sound "th" properly the tongue is shown. Students just acquiring English are reluctant to correctly pronounce, practice, or teach their parents the correct sound "th" as in "the", "this", "these", or any other words containing the sound. At home Hispanic students may be beaten for being disrespectful when using or practicing words containing this sound. There are several ways to restructure schools to encourage more academic output by Hispanic students. Three different ideas will be presented: adding the federally funded breakfast program, placing a school on year-round calendar with intercessions, and Metro Alliance. Many parents who are unfamiliar with how the school system functions in the United States are unaware that they are welcome and encouraged to ask questions and assist in the classroom. They often are ignorant of the link and the relationship between home and school. The language barrier effectively prevents parent participation in many schools and classrooms. Sensitivity to these issues on the part of the teacher can result in more effective learning by all the students as more parents become involved in their children's schooling. It can also give the students a richer and more complete understanding of other countries' and ethnic groups' cultures. The mainstream American culture with its emphasis on individual achievement does not always reward group endeavors. The Hispanic culture with the emphasis on the group and attention centered away from the individual can cause difficulties for the student in public schools which are controlled by the dominant individual-centered Anglo culture. Hispanic students are often inadvertently overlooked and not given the attention that more aggressive white students receive. The quiet Hispanic st |
