I grew up in Las Varas in Chihuahua, Mexico. Growing up I loved going to school. My Elementary school, Emiliano Zapata, was only a few blocks away from my house. I remember being excited to go to school because I was eager to learn. I was about five years old when I started Kindergarten. I remember it was a really exciting thing for me. I don’t remember having a feeling of fear, but maybe a bit of nervousness. The town I grew up in was very small and everyone knew each other. I remember Kindergarten being so much fun. A lady used to bring hot chocolate to us every other day, which was a treat for us. Going to school in Mexico is so different from school here in the United States. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but it seemed like we respected the teachers a lot more than here. Of course, I do remember my teachers being fairly strict and expecting us to be respectful, behave and listen. If we did not follow the expectations, we would be in trouble and our parents were contacted or we would get other consequences. The teachers were allowed to use physical discipline (such as hitting) with the students who would not follow expectations. Somehow it kept the misbehaviors to a minimum.
Growing up, I loved school and it felt good when I got good grades. I was proud of myself and my family was also proud of me. I remember the school being small and in our small “rancho” town we did not have all the commodities that the city kids had. Looking back, it is so different to compare my elementary years to today’s elementary students. In my “rancho” we used to spend the majority of our time outside playing sports or playing other games. We did not have any video games or the technology that kids have now. In fact, we didn’t even have a TV until I was about 10 years old. My classrooms were very plain: desks, a blackboard and the teacher’s desk. The school did not have any money for other things such as posters or classroom decorations. Some classrooms could have used a little maintenance but as I said the money was not available. Somehow the money did not make it to our little town. All throughout my elementary years there were only enough kids for one class per grade. My early elementary years were better than my later ones. I remember my fifth grade teacher would hit us in our finger tips with the blackboard eraser if we did not bring our homework or if we misbehaved in class. It did not happen often but of course I made sure I had my homework done. My sixth grade teacher used to hit us with the meter ruler behind our legs when we would not raise our hands and listen to the instruction. He only had a few kids that misbehaved, and it was only on rare occasions. It was definitely stricter than here. On the positive side I had a really nice third grade teacher. Sra. Esmeralda was such a great teacher, and very nice to the class. She had a different approach from the other teachers. She was very patient and caring yet firm and we all respected her and listened to her. She did not have behavior issues with the kids. She believed that all her students could learn and achieve and she believed in us. She was my favorite teacher during my elementary years.
When I was thirteen years old my parents moved to the United States to find a better life. I went to Gibraltar Middle School and High School in Fish Creek. I can say that those school years were not as good as my earlier years. I attended school without knowing the language or culture, and filled with many fears. The first half of my 8th grade year was very hard for me. There were no ESL services at that time so I was fully immersed in English without support. I remember not wanting to go to school and begging my parents not to send me and to take us back home to Mexico. They used to tell us that we would only stay here for a little while. I remember being in the dark for most of my 8th grade year, but after I learned enough English things got a little better. I often felt alone and I felt discriminated against at times. I can honestly say that the rest of my high school years were not as enjoyable as I would have liked. I learned English and graduated but I cannot say that I had an awesome high school experience. Some of the teachers were nice but I feel that the system did not do everything or could not do everything to accommodate my needs. Things are changing and it is getting better. Spanish speaking kids get more help and have more resources to succeed than I had.
-Marco Olson Guillén
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