Sonia Nieto: A Leader in Multicultural Education

1. Sonia Nieto:A leader in MulticulturalEducation“One could be academically successfuland Bilingual, and that being bicultural wasan Asset Rather Than A Deficiency” Mixsy Trinidad EHS 220--Building a Sustainable Community: Education and Social Work Dr. Hannah Furrow October 15, 2009

2. Background • 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. Education • 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. Scholarly Work • 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. Books by Sonia Nieto • 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. Awards • 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. Awards • Outstanding Educator – National Council of Teachers of English - 2005 • Enrique T. Trueba Lifetime Achievement Award for Scholarship, Mentorship and Service - 2006

8. Childhood Reflections • 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. Childhood Reflections • 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. Societal Issues • 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. Collaboration • 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. Advocacy • 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. From the students perspective: • 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. From the students perspective: • 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. Elements of MulticulturalEducation • 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. Elements of MulticulturalEducation • 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. How do we do this? • 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. How do we do this? • 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. What are the benefits toMulticultural Education? • 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. What are the benefits toMulticultural Education? • 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. Why should teachers want to become multicultural? • 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. References • 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. School 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.