Five Generations of a Mexican American Family in Los AngelesDespite their citizenship and English monolingualism, Mexican Americans have long been known to remain largely working class, which, academically, has meant that they tend to be mostly high school graduates, with low rates of college attendance and completion. Attempting to understand this phenomenon, Five Generations of a Mexican American Family in Los Angeles chronicles the home, work and school lives of the author's multigenerational family throughout the twentieth century. Using oral histories of 33 members across five generations, the Fuentes story illuminates the interaction between race, ethnicity and class at home, in the labor market and in schools, which circumscribe the opportunity and resources (or lack thereof) for academic success. Generally, findings show that these factors work together to reproduce the family's social standing over generations. Equally important, the analysis reveals how the persistence and strength of the Fuentes' heritage cultural values (buena educación and familism) have insulated them from the continued threat of racial discrimination and economic hardship in American life. The Fuentes story provides the reader with a keen view of the process by which Fuentes' moved from immigrants to ethnic Americans, and shows how they have gracefully survived the harsh and unpredictable nature of being of a racial minority and the working class. |
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Page 123
Unfortunately , this assumption of English language difficulty is loosely extended to later - generation Chicano students who speak English ( albeit , who are likely to speak a nonstandard variety , Chicano English influenced by Spanish ) ...
Unfortunately , this assumption of English language difficulty is loosely extended to later - generation Chicano students who speak English ( albeit , who are likely to speak a nonstandard variety , Chicano English influenced by Spanish ) ...
Page 128
Only one second - generation member , Yvette , claimed she made a conscious decision to speak English to her children in the home . When I asked Yvette why she did not raise her children speaking Spanish , she replied : “ I didn't think ...
Only one second - generation member , Yvette , claimed she made a conscious decision to speak English to her children in the home . When I asked Yvette why she did not raise her children speaking Spanish , she replied : “ I didn't think ...
Page 147
When putting her daughter in kindergarten , Dora had discovered she had been put in an all Spanish - speaking class : My daughter was placed in a ... She says , “ Eighty percent of the kids in the class don't speak good English .
When putting her daughter in kindergarten , Dora had discovered she had been put in an all Spanish - speaking class : My daughter was placed in a ... She says , “ Eighty percent of the kids in the class don't speak good English .
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Contents
An Overview across Generations | 15 |
The Original Fuentes Home | 39 |
LaterGeneration Fuentes Homes | 57 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
academic activities Angeles asked attended became better brother Chicanos child claimed complete culture daughter described despite effect encouraged English ethnic example expected experience experienced fact family's father Florencia fourth-generation Francis friends Fuentes family Fuentes members Fuentes parents Gerald given grade graduate groups hard high school immigrants important individuals involvement kids labor market language Latino learned literacy lives Lydia major Manuela married Mexican American minority mother moved never Noemi noted older participants percent performance play practice race racial raised recalled remember respect responsibility result role Samuel saving second-generation siblings Simon sister skilled social Spanish speak stay story success talk teachers tended things third third-generation tion told tracks understand Valley wanted workers working-class younger
Bibliographic information
| Title | Five Generations of a Mexican American Family in Los Angeles |
| Author | Christina Chávez |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 4 Jun 2008 |
| ISBN | 0742538818, 9780742538818 |
| Length | 183 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |