Middle school is difficult enough to navigate, but with the added pressure of a foreign language, school can become stressful and confusing. Through the end of sixth grade and through the following summer, Luis did not even care to learn English. He lived in an area with a high Latino population, and his parents only spoke Spanish; the need to learn English did no present itself. Even while in school, perhaps because he came in during the middle of the year, no one cared if he learned anything. If assignments were not completed, it was viewed as okay because he did not know English anyway. This passive negligence through the lens of Kubota’s insights on perspectives of Latino education, racism was a prevalent aspect of Luis’ sixth-grade year. “Discussing [these] aspects of education for Latina/o schoolchildren, including ELLs, as manifestations of racism is meant to call attention to the inequity experienced by these students in
Middle school is difficult enough to navigate, but with the added pressure of a foreign language, school can become stressful and confusing. Through the end of sixth grade and through the following summer, Luis did not even care to learn English. He lived in an area with a high Latino population, and his parents only spoke Spanish; the need to learn English did no present itself. Even while in school, perhaps because he came in during the middle of the year, no one cared if he learned anything. If assignments were not completed, it was viewed as okay because he did not know English anyway. This passive negligence through the lens of Kubota’s insights on perspectives of Latino education, racism was a prevalent aspect of Luis’ sixth-grade year. “Discussing [these] aspects of education for Latina/o schoolchildren, including ELLs, as manifestations of racism is meant to call attention to the inequity experienced by these students in