La Plaza Central

There is an article on NPR’s website entitled ‘How Should We Teach English-Language Learners?‘ that presents a basic overview of the tough climate in which schools find themselves, specifically with the disparate camps between dual-language programs and the ‘sink or swim’ method that plunks students in English-only environments. They actually interviewed a Nebraskan educator, et al. I don’t claim to know the answer to what the title poses, though I am in favor of dual-language education…the problem with those is the second language is usually Spanish, which doesn’t satisfy the countless tongues our citizens speak. The only thing I can supply is a push for outside programming, e.g. nosotros at El Centro and our Family Literacy Pilot Project, in which we collaborated with Lincoln Public Schools and the Lincoln Literacy Council, a trinity of organizations whose combined foci of Education, Literacy and Español provided outreach for ten Lincoln families and their children. Thanks to all who contributed and we wish the best for future projects.

Enjoy the following photos:

Computacion Basica

bilingual literacy

Parent/children time

Nice vista on the ride home from work

Photo from Omaha World-Herald

Here‘s something cool.    I’m not a shopper, by any stretch, but I really liked walking the open markets in Central America.  It looks like southern Omaha will be getting a taste of that this Sunday, as well as the last Sundays in July and August.  The impromptu market takes place this Sunday from noon to 7:00 pm at the Plaza de la Raza at 24th and N streets in Omaha.  The vendors range from established businesses to ladies who make jewelry out of their homes.  There will be food, entertainment and games for the kids.  It sounds like a good time.

Well, we’re coming down to the final week in our pilot project in coordination with Lincoln Public Schools.  Speaking for the computer classes, I must say they have been a success.  After three weeks of twice-weekly classes, the parents seem far more comfortable using the computers to create/edit/save documents, send email and search the internet.  I wish we had better photos then the ones I’ll post below, but I don’t know how to work cameras.  We’ll try to do a little better this week.  The initial photos are from the parents-only computer class, and the last set is from the final 30 minutes of instruction when the parents and children come together to share the computers while looking at educational and literacy websites.

Here’s a nice article giving a perfect example of what people—namely Hispanic/Latinos, in our case—can do to achieve better health. Everyone knows the importance of diet and exercise, but it seems that for people coming into our country, that importance doesn’t always present itself. Immigrants often adopt the ‘Western diet’, which  I understand is some college way of saying ‘food that is either fast or replete with preservatives’. Or both. To combat this, Nick and I have presented many health topics to a local Latino church group and are currently searching for another group to hear us and learn. Hopefully soon, they’re getting diabetes at an alarming rate. In the meantime, check out Trago Park. Situated al lado de nosotros, this many-fountained mini waterpark taunts us from the window during this unbearable heat:

Much has been said on this blog about the influx of Latino children in our nation’s elementary schools, and their growing percentage of the entire school-age population.  The question of disproportionately low graduation rates has also been raised.  So the question is, which is a more effective strategy for educating our nation’s Latino youth, bilingual or English-only education?  Here’s a video from MSNBC that examines both sides of the question, without really coming to a consensus, other to say that both have their merits/drawbacks and maybe the local school systems should be allowed to decide.

Logo from Updowntowners Association

FYI, El Centro de las Américas will be represented tomorrow and Saturday at the Celebrate Lincoln International Festival with a booth filled with information and children’s activities.  We plan on offering face painting and coloring books for the kids, as well as having various Latino musical instruments on display.  It should be a good time, and we’re looking forward to it.  Our booth will be staffed by, well, staff members and board members all day Friday and Saturday, so stop by and say hola.

Here’s a nice story from the Journal Star’s high school graduates in the spotlight series.  Benito Sanchez of Lincoln High found his calling in theatre while in high school, and he plans to intern Washington DC and New Mexico this summer before attending UNL’s Johnny Carson School of Film and Theatre in the fall.  Well done, Benito.

The World Herald has an article highlighting the crucial role and growing need of interpreters. What I can say on this topic is that the potential is there. As an interpreter for both an interpreting agency and the public schools, I’ve seen hundreds of English-Spanish bilingual children, any one of whom could go on to study languages and become an interpreter. Groups like MTI (Medical Translation and Interpretation) of Nebraska are pressing Nebraska legislature to pass a bill requiring certification for medical interpreters. This is a positive move to ensure quality intepretation for clients and customers, since families sometimes use relatives—oftentimes sons or daughters—to interpret for them, one can expect some technical terminology to be lost.

Court certification is already in place and the test is no cake walk, so if you know any potential interpreters, get them interested now! It’s a fascinating and fulfilling career whose necessity grows daily and, transitively so, whose pool of future candidates grows at the same rate.

Just when you think you know about most things going on in your neighborhood…

I learned about a new campaign called Nebraska is Home from our friends at Nebraska Appleseed in a Journal Star article from Saturday.  The campaign, which already has it’s own página web, is seeking to promote unity in communities across the state.  Saturday’s event was in Fremont.  Previous campaign events have been held in Grand Island, Crete Schuyler and Seward.  The program aims to celebrate the contributions of immigrants and promote the shared values in the community.

It sounds like a great idea to me.  The website has more information about events, like the one coming up in Grand Island on June 27th, and campaign posters you can print and hang up in your office.

There’s a new sheriff in town.  By sheriff I mean center for training immigrant leaders and by town I mean Omaha.  There’s a nice article, as always, from Cindy Gonzalez on the newly redesigned Omaha World-Herald website.  The Heartland Workers Center was announced last weekend at a luncheon in Omaha.  It will be housed in the Latino Center of the Midlands and focus on increasing civic and political participation in immigrant communities.  There was also a three-day leadership training session that has borne immediate fruits.  One woman plans to set up a legal assistance center for immigrants in Columbus, Nebraska.

One of the first projects for the Workers Center is working with day laborers that gather in a south Omaha parking lot.  The goal is to offer them computer and English classes while they wait for work.  I think this is one of the most valuable, and simultaneously difficult, things to do.  Hang up a sign that says “Computer Classes Here”, and you’ll get people interested in taking computer classes.  But oftentimes the people who could probably benefit the most from some instruction/education may be convinced that they don’t have the time/energy/capacity or even the desire to take such classes.  It’s probably the toughest job there is and wrought with numerous failures, but because your impact could be so much greater success is that much sweeter.