[EDEQUITY Immigrant Dialogue] Opening Statement by Norma Barquet

From: Norma Barquet (nbarquet@umich.educ)
Date: Mon Feb 05 2001 - 09:58:16 EST


Dialogue on Education and Immigrant Girls

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this important dialogue on the
education of immigrant girls. I was an immigrant teenager when I came from
Cuba in the early sixties. Today, as I look back, I can identify with many
of the issues that we will be discussing during this week. Currently, I
work as Associate Director of Programs for Educational Opportunity at the
University of Michigan. The Programs is a federally funded Equity
Assistance Center which offers technical assistance to school districts in
the Great Lakes Region in the areas of gender, race, and national origin
equity. Previously, I worked as department head of two bilingual education
programs in the Detroit Public Schools.

During that time, I came in contact with students who were recent
immigrants from Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and
other parts of the world. Some of these students came from rural areas
where education was not very accessible, others were exposed to war at a
very early age, many had experienced discrimination and/or persecution
based on their race, gender, social economic status, political or religious
affiliations. I would like to note, that middle and upper class immigrant
girls do not share all of the challenges that poor immigrant girls face.
People with wealth and privilege often have access to more education and
are exposed to other cultures through travel. As a result, they tend not
to always follow some of the more traditional cultural practices of their
group.

The expectations set for many immigrant girls, particularly those who come
from low social-economic communities, are limiting. In some communities,
girls are expected to marry early, sometimes as early as thirteen or fourteen
years of age. Many of these marriages are arranged and some marry men
10 to 20 years older.

Education can be a great source of liberation for people who are
disenfranchised. Immigrant girls can be a great resource for themselves,
their families and our nation if they receive the best education we have to

offer. That is precisely why the discussion of this topic is so
significant. I hope that in our dialogue we can further clarify our
thinking on this topic and be inspired and energized to do more to educate
immigrant girls so they become full participants in our society.

I will list some of the issues relevant to the education of Immigrant to
generate some discussion:

Empowering Immigrant Girls through education
Issues:
Adhering to family values while adopting school and social values
Language and cultural issues
Dealing with feelings of isolation
Changes in gender roles
Changes in family roles
Wanting to belong to the peer group

Risk Factors:
Depression
Feeling of rejection
Stress
Eating disorders
Widening gap between girls and parents

Successful Strategies:
School community's understanding and sensitivity of the cultural and
linguistic backgrounds of girls
Schools' outreach efforts to students and their families
Family support and understanding
Support of community networks
Family's efforts to further pursue education, learn English and become
acquainted with American culture

Norma Barquet
Associate Director
Programs for Education Opportunity
The University of Michigan
 <nbarquet@umich.educ>



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