Let me preface my idea with a personal experience as a way to further elaborate the basis of the book…

As a six-year-old in a new school, I felt like an outcast. Not because I didn’t know anyone but because I was unable to fully understand everything that was going on around me. I spent my days at school, doing my work and keeping to myself, and my nights at home with my family. We ate as a family, went out as a family and above all, understood one another. Until that year, I always felt I lived an ordinary life with my family or that I was “normal.”  I would have never thought that speaking Spanish would ever be considered out of the norm.

However that year, my perception was changed. I no longer felt “ordinary” and began having less confidence in myself. Every day, precisely after lunch, a young woman would lightly knock on the door and ask for me. At first I thought I was getting into trouble, as did the rest of the class by the faint ‘Ooh’s” I heard in the background as I got up. But I was actually getting help with my language skills in an ESL class.

The woman at the door with her pastel sweaters and long flowing hair was not a disciplinarian but rather a caring woman with a fondness for teaching and determination to help her students succeed. Through these individual sessions and her drive, I was able to learn English at my own pace. I finally began to enjoy being in school and was proud of myself for being able to complete the activities and tasks that were asked of me. I could carry on conversations with my fellow classmates and not feel awkward or embarrassed by my previous language barrier. I was able to fully adjust to my new environment. Even at home, my parents and I began to learn from my one another.  I had crossed the cultural divide.

I remember my mother being hesitant about allowing me to take part in this special program. I believe that because, at the time, she may have not known the English language so she was skeptical, maybe even a little afraid of what exactly the class was about. What if she was being judged or I was being singled out? However, as time went by and I could explain what the classes
consisted of, as well as express my enthusiasm for what I was learning, she understood the importance of such a program. Working with an individual who is as excited about what you are learning as you are, made all the difference. In one instance, I sat in a classroom with various crayons before me, and I recall vividly the moment I could say their names and explain why green was favorite color. My face lit up knowing that I was speaking like my other classmates and I was even more amazed that I understood what I was saying. It may have also been the push my mother needed to take ESL classes herself at the local high
school. We were learning together; a process that only made our family stronger and enabled us to assimilate without being self-conscious of our incapability’s or differences.

And although I was born in this country, it was not until I learned the language that I truly felt American. Therefore, being able to understand and speak this language could be a unifying element within our country. Hispanic immigrants realize this particular notion, to them, becoming English speaking is the same as becoming American. English is not just a vehicle for communication; it is the social and political markers of affiliation and belonging and with their best intentions try to arrive to this conclusion. But learning English is not so easy and immigrants are surprised and often discouraged by the contradictory
pressures to become English speaking and the many roadblocks and barriers they discover and had previously explained in order to be fluent in our language.

Being able to have experienced this and as a teacher and coach, I see the impact and importance of such a class. I sit back and watch as the student faces light up. They are truly devoted to their mission and to the betterment to themselves, their lives and their futures. I would love to write a book speaking on the behalf of English Language Learners. It has been a topic near and dear to me. I think ELL are often overlooked and have a lot to say. A book gives them a voice and allows students and educators a chance to truly see through their eyes.