Extended Bibliography

Education World® : Curriculum : Meeting the Educational Needs of Migrant Students

Brown, Mary Daniels. "Education World: Curriculum : Meeting the Educational Needs of Migrant Students." Education World The Educator's Best Friend. 24 May 2001. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr347.shtml.

This article published by Education World focuses on the San Jose School (La Escuela de San Jose). Sister Gaye Moorhead was the director of the school as well as the Mercy Migrant Educational Ministry. Moorhead comments on the educational struggles migrant children face in the United State while many times working full time in the fields. Moorhead breaks down these struggles into four main components; Mobility, Language barriers,Poverty, and Self-Confidence/ Self-Esteem. Each of these struggles are specifically unique to migrant children who travel from farm to farm throughout the school year working to harvest crops. San Jose School addresses one of the most evident challenges, as not having a curriculum that is universal between schools when children relocate. To combat this the San Jose School moves between Ohio and Florida with their students. This provides a structure that wouldn't otherwise be available. The next challenge Moorhead addressed was the barrier between native Spanish speaking children and English instruction. San Jose School uses an all English curriculum to advance students to speaking English. This is coupled with small class sizes and one on one Spanish directions to students. Poverty and Self-Esteem and confidence work hand in hand as Moorhead points out. Many children come from low income families. These students also lack many of the same physical accessories that other students may have. The observation of these differences and lack of possession can create the largest challenge that students may face coming from migrant families. Michele Schroeck, San Jose's educational coordinator, stated that San Jose School “gives children the confidence and support they need to try and to learn.” However due to lack of funding and support of a traveling staff, San Jose's last scholastic year was in 2002.

Brown draws on some very key aspects in the development and environment that migrant students face. The focus on San Jose School, which is a pivotal step in the educational progress for the migrant community, points the educational community as a whole to start focusing on why there is a deficiency in the education of migrant children. While the dropout rate of farm and migrant workers continues to stay around 45 percent, there has been little done to make a lasting difference in improve the conditions in which these students learn. There have been small movements in the educational community such as San Jose School, to implement new methods of teaching migrant students. Because the daily lives of these children vary so greatly from a typical adolescence, Moorhead decided not to adapt migrant students to traditional schools but to create a new school specifically for migrant children. The creation of a “Migrant school” has had great results in helping students become proficient in their studies. “Academically, about 66 to 75 percent of our students end up on grade level in reading and math,”(Schroeck). This is a great improvement over national levels which are around 50 percent according to Schroek. This improvement is one that should not be overlooked by educators worldwide. Moorhead has proven this system to be successful and shown results in working with the first mobile schools.

My last post touched very closely to this article. I have looked for any examples of new and innovating migrant education pedagogies. This is the first example that I believe takes an approach that moves away from the traditional frame work of schools. With so many students in America, however still a great minority, who come from migrant families for there not to be more programs that model San Jose School's amazes me. San Jose became successful enough to establish federal funding, yet small enough to loose local funding and support from their communities. This program created a very heavy labor and financial hardship on the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, who alone established and administered the network of schools. They tried many attempts to continue this program, even creating a national advertising campaign to find staff for their school, yet failed to proceed. These programs I believe fall under all existing federal mandates for aid in migrant education. However there is an obvious lack of motivation from the professional side of education to take on the challenges laid out by Moorhead. For there not to be a significant group of educators available to staff a single school dedicated to this demographic of students seems very discouraging to me as a student of education was well as someone who still sees this country as a land of freedom and opportunity.

Continuing to look into the educational process and environment that migrant children face I'm puzzled to know whether this is a legitimate problem that American Educators feel the need to address, or whether it is another “minority” issue to be swept under the table of politics and budgeting. Too many times legislatures and policies focus on the bottom line, and cut programs that only benefit a few faceless groups. As the number of Spanish speaking families who ultimately make the United States their home increases, it is only a matter of time before this silent group speaks their opinion of an out dated system. There is a growing number of adults now, who grew up in migrant families, that are working to improve their communities and give back to the families that live in the same circumstances they grew up in. Is this the only source, along with a minimal number of educators, who actively purse the advancement of Migrant Education? Many times it seems that the general public may associate migrant workers with illegal immigrants, this misconception may be one factor that is currently hindering the advancement of migrant education. With the current economical environment in conjunction fiscal cuts across the board in education many educational professional may see this faction in education as a threat to their own funding. Rooted deep in American Education, one of the main goals is to assimilate or “Americanize” our youth to better serve in a democratic nation. John Dewey may have best illustrated these ideas in his book The Child and the Curriculum which focuses not only on the content that is learned but the action and involvement of learning new concepts.

Mines, Richard. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (naws) 1990. a Demographic and Employment Profile of Perishable Crop Farm Workers. Research Report No. 1. , 1991. Print.

In the lat nineties more than 50 percent of all agricultural workers were migrant workers according to the "NAWS" demographic report. These migrant workers play a key role in the success of our agricultural business Yet they still remain the least educated minority group in our country.

According to the 1997-98 "NAWS" "data revealed that most farmworkers (81 percent) were foreign born, a 1990s
demographic change in rural areas known as "Latinization." Migrant farmworkers were
more likely to be foreign born (nine out of ten) relative to nonmigrants (only two thirds).
More than half of farmworkers (52 percent) were unauthorized workers, and only 22
percent were citizens. Of the work-authorized farmworkers, 40 percent were citizens by
birth; the rest acquired residence under the special agricultural worker program, family
reunification programs, or other legal immigrant channels (Mehta et al., 2000)."(pg.3)

The median level of education for these migrant workers was 6th grade and only 1 out of 5 workers had taken adult education classes. These statistics are quite alarming to me considering the fact the HEP program was implemented in 1967 30 years before this data was collected.

I feel one of the factors contributing to these numbers is that a lot of migrant workers may not even know there are programs out there to assist them. A program cannot be successful if no one knows it is there.
There are many disadvantages migrant workers have to overcome, such as language, the constant moving to follow work, and a difficult to understand educational system.

Martin, Philip. "AgJOBS: New Solution or New Problem?." International Migration Review 37.4 (2003): 1282-1291. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Feb. 2011
The author of this article is trying to weigh the differences of whether or not a new program called AgJOBS will provide solutions or cause new problems in relation to immigration. Philip Martin states, "Depending on how the program is implemented, how workers and employers respond and whether unauthorized entry and employment continue(1283)."
AgJOBS was born in 2000. Its aim is to create a legal farm workforce, which its advocates assume will also ensure a higher-wage workforce. The program would allow migrant farm workers to gain temporary resident status if they meet certain requirements. Martin makes comparisons between AgJOBS and another program called H-2A, they both seem to have the same end result in mind, better pay and living conditions for migrant farm workers and to create a stable farm workforce. One of the problems seems to be that both programs who offer a chance at U.S. residency creates an influx of immigration thus flooding the farm work force and lowering wages.
The owners of agricultural business have had a heavy hand in dictating the programs brought to the table. They have amazing amounts of clout when it comes to legislation. An example is from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. It included employer sanctions to discourage unauthorized entry and employment. "U.S. Western crop farmers opposed this compromise, arguing that it did not acknowledge their unique dependence on unauthorized workers, and they would be unable to obtain workers in the flexible manner necessary for their "perishable agriculture"(1283)."
I wonder, how much of their disagreement has less to do with the ease in which they can find workers under these programs, but more to do with the legislation that requires farmers to pay a fair wage and provide housing and the costs that farmers incur because of the rules? But then I have more questions. How do those costs get carried over to the consumer? Do we as consumers feel that we are willing to pay a few cents more for food if it means another human being is getting paid a fair wage?
I do not feel this is an easy subject to draw a solid line through. There is government regulation on one side, and farmers making a living on the other, with migrant workers caught in the middle. I believe that farmers are making their decisions based on the bottom line, which unfortunately can equate to human beings not being afforded basic life needs. That is where I believe there is a need for strong legislation.

Farm worker Facts. Geneseo Migrant Center.
www.migrant.net/pdf/farm worker fact. 2/05/2011

The theme of this fact sheet supplied by the Geneseo Migrant Center was to acknowledge the hard work, contributions made by, and humanity of migrant farm workers. They are often a population that is overlooked and taken for granted, if it were not for their willingness and hard work to harvest our crops, the food on our tables may not come so readily.
These are the facts I most want to share from the website.
-81% of all farm workers are foreign born.
-77% were born in Mexico.
-12% of all farm workers earn less than minimum wage.
-Half of all farm workers earn less than $7,500 per year and half of all farm worker families earn less than $11,000 per year, far below the 2002 U.S. poverty level of $18,100 for a family of four.
-There is only a 50.7% high school graduation rate among migrant teens.
-Migrant workers and their families have poorer physical health than the general population with elevated infant mortality rates and shorter life expectancy than the national average.
Although the following information refers to the migrant workers in New York State, I have found through my research that these facts seem to be widespread across the U.S..
-The # of farm workers in need of housing exceeds the # of units available in state approved migrant camps and many workers are left to their own devices to find housing. This fact is hard for me to accept, so many workers live well below the poverty level making meager wages and are still left to fend for themselves. I think it would be difficult to find decent housing without much money or the promise that you could stick around to fulfill a rental lease agreement.
Farm workers are excluded from New York State labor laws providing for:
-Disability insurance
-A day of rest
-Overtime pay
-Collective bargaining
There are many ways that migrant farm workers and their families contribute to our agricultural production, our communities, and tax funds. Farm workers pay more in taxes than they take out. They pay sales taxes, social security taxes, income taxes, but as non residents they are unable to reap any of the benefits. Migrant workers do a job most people living in any given area have no interest in doing. I will venture to guess it is because of the poor wages, sometimes awful living conditions, long hours 12-16 hours a day 7 days a week until the harvest is done, and the physically strenuous work with many hazards and health risks.
On a positive note however, they come from a culture that greatly values family connections. There is an opportunity for the communities that have migrant populations to gain more cultural awareness and accept diversity as something capable of expanding our knowledge of the world around us.

Extended Bibliography: Child migrant workers in Mexico miss out on education and a safe environment

SINALOA STATE, Mexico, 2 March 2007 – For migrant farm workers, the work day often begins long before the sun rises. Today, Javier and a few of the other workers huddle around a fire for warmth until the boss arrives and signals them to start working.

Child migrant workers in Mexico miss out on education and a safe environment
Uploaded by UNICEF_Television. - News videos hot off the press.

UNICEF_Television. "Dailymotion - Child migrant workers in Mexico miss out on education and a safe environment - a News & Politics video." Dailymotion - Online Videos, Music, and Movies. Watch a Video Today!. 4 Feb. 2011. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4m7k5_child-migrant-workers-in-mexico-mis_news.

Thomas Nybo, a UNICEF correspondent reports on the state of education for many children in northern Mexico. This video clip describes the working conditions of children migrant workers ageing from 6-10 years old, face in communities across Mexico. Theresa Kilbane, a UNICEF Protection Officer states that since migrant workers travel from place to place, no one group feels responsible to help them. UNICEF is a division of the United Nations with a focus on helping to improve the opportunities of children across the world. In Mexico UNICEF is helping by providing children with school kits, books and other materials. UNICEF also works with the local government and farm owners to collaborate on new ways to improve the education and working conditions of migrant workers and their families.

Nybo's commentary on the state of education for migrant workers, addresses the concern that many children are not receiving an adequate level of education. Many of these children both work and live in camps ran by the farms. To help children have access to schools farm owners have created their own schools within the camps. With only a fraction of the children actually attending these schools, the educational progress of migrant families dwindles to almost nothing. With the help of organizations like UNICEF, migrant children are giving a better opportunity to succeed. However UNICEF's efforts alone are not enough. Without more government aid and support from local communities migrant workers and their children will continue to “live as an excluded minority within the country.”(Kilbane)

It's wonderful to know that organizations like UNICEF are working to help migrant children. One concern that I have always had is wether or not these organizations are helping to solve the problem from the root source. Many times charities help individuals or groups once a situation has already occurred. Other than aid to natural disasters, I feel more can be done to help prevent future generations from the same trials of the past. UNICEF is helping current students by providing them with school supplies and organizing communities to help these children. This doesn't help the next generation of children have a better chance to success. By only taking a re-active approach to helping migrant children we are not laying sufficient enough ground work to have a sustainable solution. Nybo reports that these children live in camp between September and May. This of course is the traditional school session, as well as the growing season. By having children dislocated from their home communities they are forced to attend the camp schools which aren’t adequate to local standards. I believe that this is a major issue and problem that should be addressed by organizations like UNICEF. Why spend money and resources on camp schools when we can compensate the local schools to accommodate migrant children. Like Kilbane stated these children are not immigrants, they are families from within Mexico that are treated as a sub-culture that dwell beneath local communities.

The traditional school season corresponds with the growing/picking season. This is conflict of work and school makes it extremely difficult for children to regularly attend classes. UNICEF has only worked to assist in this already failing system. From my research it appears there currently are no organizations or programs that are proactivly designed around the needs of migrant workers and their children. There are, according to UNICEF over 300,000 children in Northern Mexico that are classified as migrant workers. With such a large number of children working, why hasn't there been a school curriculum specifically developed around the unique learning environment these children face. The are several situations that could be developed to help children succeed in a hands on learning environment. This problem has gone on for too long. We wait for children to grow up with out an education, then turn around and try and help them catch up. We need to focus new efforts on why there isn't a program available to help these children before hand. One of my many thoughts is around alternative education and development of a school and curriculum specifically for the scheduling and seasons of migrant workers.

Velazquez, Loida C. Migrant Farmworkers' Perceptions of Schooling, Learning, and Education. , 1990. Print.




The HEP programs are specifically designed for migrant workers to be able to meet there special needs before we delve deeper into the program itself I feel a need to define what is a Migrant worker.
Typically most people I feel when the term migrant worker is used make the assumption " Illegal immigrant". When in fact the portion of migrant workers that are illegally in the united states is a very small percentage. The migratory workforce is composed of many ethnic backgrounds ranging from European Anglo, Black, Mexican-American, Asian, fillipino and people from Puerto Rico. Even tho these people have different cultures and backgrounds they share a bond or commonality if you will in there daily lives. The constant moving around and following there work has made it difficult on them to finish school. There frustration with our regular school systems is one of the reasons for there high drop out rate from high school.

" Migrant lifestyles revolve around working, moving on to find other work, and working again."(11.) As we can imagine that type of lifestyle would add a degree of difficulty to gaining an education. Thus the forming of programs like the HEP that is specifically geared towards migrant workers and the special needs they have came about.
Velasquez interviewed and studied several migrant workers in North Carolina and found there to be a common theme to why these people would drop out of school. The constant traveling and lack of an understanding of the American school system along with prejudice and unsympathetic teachers and faculty had a lot to do with there choosing to drop out of school. Most make an attempt at some point to return to school for higher learning but many did not gain there GED until programs like the HEP came along.
During this study Velasquez discovered several factors about migrant workers and there way of life, some key points of defining there culture. They have a strong sense of loyalty and honor within there families. They do not disrespect there elders and they have respect for authority.
I feel due to there values and "station in life" many of them do not make attempts to rise above or go against the grain if you will. Many have the belief that due to the difficulty of understanding the complex social system of America they don't stand a chance of ever elevating themselves to a better position in life. Therefore passed down through generations is a sort of this is who we are and what we do mentality. Programs Like the HEP that are specifically designed to meet there needs may be the only chance they have of breaking that cycle.

What is HEP?

"Federal Register" www.federalregistar.gov the daily journal of the united states government. N.P. web 26 Oct. 2010.


HEP stands for "High School Equivalency Program"
What does that mean? What does it do? Who is it for?

First off the HEP is a program implemented to help migrant and seasonal farm workers and there family obtain the skills necessary to gain a GED(General Educational Development) credential.

There are several programs after HEP to assist individuals in continuing there education after obtaining there GED.
As I delve deeper into my research some of the questions I hope to answer are. Does the program work and to what extent? Also how many individuals utilize these programs and to what end?
While looking through the federal website I came across this discussion.
" One commenter inquired as to whether HEP would only benefit farm workers and their families and stated that there were others, not necessarily in that group, who could potentially be helped by this program."
The response to this comment was "We appreciate the commenter's view that HEP could potentially help individuals who are not migrant and seasonal farm-workers. However, section 418A of the HEA, which authorizes both HEP and CAMP, requires that program activities focus on migrant and seasonal farm-workers and their immediate family. The Department does not have the authority to expand this statutorily prescribed requirement."

I found this to be very interesting and it poses the question for me that if this program is working why hasn't it been implemented for other people that do not fall into the category of migrant or seasonal workers.

There are a lot of Americans that would like to take advantage of programs like these to increase there education thus increasing work potential and income.