Running head: TELL ME YOUR STORY 1

Tell Me Your Story:

Mother’s Journey in Mexican Educational System from Late 1970’s to Early 1980’s

Adriana Granados

California State University, Fullerton

Introduction
TELL ME YOUR STORY 2

The purpose of this paper is to understand how my mother’s educational journey was

influenced by the existing system in place from the 1970’s to the 1980’s in Guadalajara located

in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Learning about her experiences and the meaning she made of

those experiences help me reevaluate the value we place on education in the United States and

whether that value should be placed differently. Secondly, this paper intends to analyze how my

mother formed her philosophy of diversity and identify ways that are similar/different to my own

and how it impacted my development of a diversity philosophy. Asking my mother, a minority,

to share about her experiences (which our society seems to consider of little value), I hope to

create a powerful narrative that has the ability to “ begin a process of correction in [your] system

of beliefs and categories by calling attention to neglected evidence [of injustice and inequity] and

reminding readers of our common humanity [regardless of our race]” (Delgado and Stefancic,

2017, p. 53). Ultimately, this paper aims to highlight issues of access, equity, and diversity in

educational systems and how these differ across generations and cultures.

Background Information

On Sunday, June 24th, 2018, I conducted an in-person interview in Spanish with Rosa Margarita

Razo, my mother. Rosa Margarita Razo is my mother; she was born on August 10, 1967. She

was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco. She considers herself a Mexican woman. She is also a mother

to a 32-year old man, 25-year old woman, and 14-year old girl. With her husband of 30 years,

she has lived in Southern California since 1995. She was an undocumented individual in the

United States for over two decades until recently.

For my interview, I used a semi-structured interview protocol in Spanish (see Appendix

A). It is a translated version of the one provided for me to use (as seen in Appendix B). As

needed, throughout the interview, I asked follow-up questions that would allow me to better

understand my mother’s responses and connect new details to previous responses. In order to
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facilitate my analysis after the fact, I took notes of our interview and also requested (and was

granted) verbal permission to record the interview. Because the interview was conducted in

Spanish, I wanted to preserve the value in diction. My notes in Appendix A and quotes in this

paper are in Spanish and have been translated into English as closely as possible; please note,

however, that many phrases and words do not have direct translation or have layered meaning

that cannot be fully captured by the translation.

Summary and Analysis

Right away, it was interesting to see my mother’s perspective on her family’s social

status growing up. Initially, she described herself as middle class because there she said “habia

[gente] mas pobre” which translates to “there were [people] much more poor” than her family

(R. Razo, personal communication, June 24, 2018). She never went without a home, food, or

opportunity to go to school. Conversely, she had the privilege of attending a private school for a

few years and was not forced to work at an early age. The reality, as was later described, was

that her father worked 16 hour days in a warehouse and was able to barely provide for his family

of seven. He prioritized having food on the table and the most essential items. I started to

realize she was much more poor than she could conceptualize, and I asked her to reconsider her

resources, opportunities, and privileges at that time. Then, she was able to see the fact that she

grew up low-income.

From Kindergarten to 6th grade, my mother described attending an elementary school

called “Primaria Ave Maria”. This school was a private, Catholic school of about 200 students.

Sessions, separated by gender, were held in the morning and afternoon/evening. The principal

and teachers were “madres” and “hermanas” (ie. nuns of the Catholic church). These teachers in

particular, she noted, were all women but not necessarily trained to be teachers and did not have

college degrees. On a religious level, one could argue, these teachers were all women because
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they were nuns; however, I question why priests were not teaching classes as well. I believe that

what Spring (2018) highlights is more likely true; these women were hired as teachers because

they could be paid lower wages and were said to have good behavior and good morals.

Regardless, these sisters taught her many things and helped guide her religious education,

morals, and values- something she looked back at with gratitude. In some instances, the leading

“madre” (principal) would help her parents- taking off pressure of making payments on time

when it wasn’t possible. The “madre” and “hermanas” emphasized that the most important thing

was that the children get an education. This compassionate gesture was how my mother could

“afford” a private education at such a young age; this leniency increased her accessibility to

resources. She described, with fondness in her voice: “las hermanas eran muy buenas con

nosotros. Me motivaban y empujaban para sobresalir. Me decian que debia de pensar en una

carrera” which translates to: “the sisters were very good to us. They motivated me and pushed

me to succeed. They would tell me to think about a career” (R. Razo, personal communication,

June 24, 2018). My mother appreciated this and shared that because of them her dream career(s)

were in: dentistry and marine biology. Interestingly enough, this was also the school where

students were separated by gender and the young girls were placed in a class where they learned

how to sew and cook for example.

Next, my mother attended “Secundaria #7”, a government run middle school for women

aged 13-15 years old. Her parents could not afford to send their five children to a private school

and the middle school had a strict policy on payment. So, she was enrolled at a government run

school. Because this school was for females only, most of her classmates’ families selected this

school intentionally. This meant that many of her peers were more well off and had the luxury

of choice in their educational experience. Physically, this school was an enclosed building with a

patio and court in the middle with classroom sizes up to 30-40 students each. She estimated
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about 300 students were enrolled per session. Her teachers were mostly women with the

exception of the physical education instructor who was male. As an all women’s school, she

vocalized that “[se] sentía cómoda y en confianza. Podía subir la mano y responder sin miedo en

las clases” which translates to: “here, [she] felt comfortable and in confidence. I was able to lift

my hand and respond without fear in my classes” (R. Razo, personal communication, June 24,

2018). In addition, she felt like her teachers inspired her look to forward and pursue personal

growth, becoming a better person. These forms of knowledge and development would not have

been considered valuable under the Americanized common school that Spring (2018) describes.

However, the way my mother spoke about what it meant for her emphasizes why we should look

at knowledge, tools, and capital from an asset minded perspective as Yosso delineates through

her Community Cultural Wealth model.

By the time she got to high school, she attended “Preparatoria #3”. She attended this

school from the ages of 15 to 18, until she got pregnant and left school. Only 2 semesters short

of finishing, she lamented not having gone back to finish like some of her peers were able to do.

Because this was the first time she had classes with male and female students, she expressed that

her attention shifted away from academics to what her male peers thought of her. It was difficult

to confidently respond in class without fear of judgment. At this school, there were about 500 to

600 students enrolled per session. Teachers were female and male; she noted that they did have

training and education which prepared them for the job. Because this preparatoria/universidad

was open to all genders and was also funded by the government, her classmates were most

different than her. While they were still similar on the level of race/ethnicity, she described that

they were much more wealthy than her and there was more religious diversity among them.

At this school, my mother described an odd phenomena that I still am trying to

understand. She described that the class president of the school had power to go on, or call, a
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“baje” (which directly translates as: “to get off”). My mother described this as something like a

walk-out where students had the ability to leave classes for the day, without being questioned,

and overtake community buses/trains for example. The passengers on the bus/train had to get off

and allow these students to get on. I was very confused by what she described; I asked if there

was any particular reason, goal, or purpose to these “bajes”. She said that there was none. They

would simply get called and students had the choice to join. There was one week, for example,

where she did not go to school at all because of this. In the same sentence, she noted that back

then and there, “no les importaba si estabas en la escuela” which translates to: “nobody cared

whether you were in school” (R. Razo, personal communication, June 24, 2018). At this point,

she shared how she appreciates knowing in the U.S. when her children have missed classes via a

phone call. I made the argument that schools get paid for students being in seats here, and how

this seemingly caring gesture to let parents know of their child’s safety may be due to schools

losing government funds when this is the case. Spring (2018) confirms this by saying that for

schools in the U.S. economic goals (of profit and progress) are central to their evolution.

As we moved on with our interview, I could not understand why these “bajes” were

pointless. To me, the described events that took place speak volumes of the power students held.

The problem is that these students had not been pushed to think in radical ways; they had not

developed a liberatory consciousness, for example. Barbara J. Love (2013) describes that the 4

elements necessary to develop a liberatory consciousness are: Awareness, Analysis, Action, and

Accountability/Ally-ship. Culturally Latinos are taught to respect their elders and not question

what is asked of them (Torres, 2003, as cited in Patton, Renn, Guido, Quaye, Evans, and Forney,

2016). In this case, these students were not pushed to gain awareness of issues regarding social

injustice, and if they were, they may not have felt safe moving this awareness to analysis, action,

or ally-ship. Had they been taught the importance of having liberatory consciousness, the
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“bajes” could have been a powerful tool to arrange well-planned walk-outs, sit-ins, or protests of

any kind to improve their school and community at large.

After closing our conversation about the “bajes”, I asked my mother about how her

education reinforced what she learned at home. She described that her education reinforced the

notion of hard work and responsibility. Her mother reminded her constantly that doing

homework was the most important task at home. Schooling also taught her the value and

promise in education, because this exposure allowed her to compare her teachers and career folks

to (1) her mother who struggled (as someone who did not know how to read or write) and (2) her

father who was exploited at an arduous job in a warehouse working long hours. Her parents

instilled in her a sense of responsibility and importance of fulfilling commitments despite not

having a formal education.

Next, I asked her to identify which identities were most important to her. She struggled

to wrap her mind around the idea of “identities”. She came to the conclusion that her role as a

Catholic woman and mother were most important for her. Because my mother has never been

taught to reflect on her identities, she also has not thought about the intersections of them and

how these could be “recognized sites of oppression” (Delgado and Stefancic, 2017, p. 58). I

would argue that as a Latina, woman, devout Catholic, and later in life undocumented individual,

she has been conditioned to accept what is, not questioning what authoritative figures have said

goes. This was much like what the Protestants believed should be stressed in the educational

system: obedience, restraint, self-sacrifice, for example (Spring, 2018). This fear instilled on

minorities through schooling takes on an additional layer for my mom who came to the United

States as an undocumented individual. Once here, she was reminded and conditioned further to

live in fear of speaking up and out, needing to blend in and avoid attention. Having been

socialized, she behaved in ways that preserved and perpetuated the system that oppressed her
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(Love, as cited in Adams, 2013), not knowing that was the case. Additionally, as a minority on

multiple levels, one could argue that doing so for her was a means for survival as is common in

minority individuals (Tatum, as cited in Adams, 2013).

I believe her layered oppressed and silenced identities combined with her (in)ability to

develop critical thinking define how she formed, or could not form, her philosophy of diversity.

In some ways, these concepts are “too advanced” for her because of where she is

developmentally as a direct result of her educational and personal experiences. I would argue

that my mother has been conditioned to think in a dualistic (Perry, 1981) manner- seeing the

world as good/bad, right/wrong, and black/white (as cited in Patton et al., 2016). This way of

thinking imposed upon her because she is a religious woman; in these two identities, there is

only good or bad, with blame being cast on her if she does not uphold moral values. Secondly, as

an undocumented woman I believe she lived through a silence perspective (Belenky, Clinchy,

Garule, and Tarule, 1986) in which she did not (and could not) question authoritative figures (as

cited in Patton et al., 2016). Lastly, in regard to faith development, my mother grew up in the

second stage of Fowler’s faith development (2000) called mythic-literal faith (as cited in Patton

et al., 2016). She accepted the narratives told to her (by family and school officials) and formed

the basis of her own religious beliefs. She never reached a level of thinking abstractly about

faith- also known as the synthetic-conventional faith stage (Fowler, 2000, as cited in Patton et al.,

2016). Even as she looks back and thinks about what the nuns taught her about morals and

religious studies, she values and appreciates it. Perhaps, had she the opportunity to question her

religious beliefs she may still come to the same conclusions.

Conclusion

Sharing multiple identities with my mother, I realize that much of the fear, naivety, and

dualistic ways of thinking I possess were passed on to me. As an undocumented woman, I too
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was instilled this sense of fear and obedience; and, it was compounded by having grown up as a

Catholic who believed very much in a dualistic manner, believing in good versus bad (Perry,

1981, as cited in Patton et al., 2016). My understandings about diversity and social justice work,

such as becoming an ally/accomplice and developing liberatory consciousness, are new concepts

for me. It’s interesting to note how long it took me to encounter such concepts because of my

current privileges afforded as a graduate student. This highlights the truth which is that I cannot

blame someone like my mother for not being aware and “woke” about issues of access, equity,

and social justice. All of us are on a “spectrum” and journey from naive and ignorant to aware

and in action. As a result of this interview, I’ve come to better understand and appreciate not

only who my mother is and how she thinks, but also how her experiences have shaped these two

things- embracing her as she is and acknowledging that is growing and learning everyday as I

am. In working with college students in the future, I believe this is a powerful lesson I have

learned and should keep in mind about everyone’s “placement” in their social justice

development journey, as I think about how to get them slowly but surely to a place of action.

References

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York:

New York University Press.

Love, B. J. (2013). Developing a liberatory consciousness. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, R.

Castaneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity

and Social Justice 3rd edition (pp. 601-605). New York: Routledge.

Spring, J. (2018). The American school: A global context from the puritans to the Trump era

(10th ed.). New York: Routledge.

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Tatum, B. V. (2013). Who am I?. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, R. Castaneda, H. W.

Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice

3rd edition (pp. 6-8). New York: Routledge.

Appendix A: Interview Protocol, Spanish

Sample Interview Protocol (Spanish)

CUENTAME TU HISTORIA
Gracias (nombre del entrevistado) por aceptar ser entrevistado/a. Esta tarea es para mi programa
de maestría. El propósito de esta tarea es aprender de las experiencias educacionales de las
personas de una generación diferente a la mía. Nos gustaría aprender cómo las escuelas/
universidades a las que usted atendió respondieron a sus diversas identidades, como su cultura,
idioma, raza, clase social, nacionalidad, religión, etc.

Me gustaría pedirle permiso para grabar el audio de la entrevista. Nadie escuchará la grabación
excepto yo y posiblemente mi instructor de curso. ¿Tengo su permiso para grabar sus respuestas?

¿Tiene alguna pregunta antes de comenzar la entrevista?

Preguntas demográficas
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¿Cual es su idioma principal?

Espanol

¿Cuál es su raza y / o etnia?

Hispana, latina 100%

¿Cómo describiría su clase social mientras usted crecía?

Clase baja - habia mas pobres, mas bajos; elementary = private, pay

¿Hay alguna otra parte de su identidad que considere importante que le gustaría compartir? (es
decir, religión, estado de discapacidad, orientación sexual, etc.)
Escuela - catolica

1. ¿A dónde fuiste a la escuela? Por favor describe los diferentes niveles y tipos. (Ex. Primaria:
Fullerton, CA.)
- Kinder - 6o = primaria , ave maria (uniform, all supplies all schools) building
with patio inside [morning and afternoon; seperated by gender; 200 about]
- 3 anos, secundaria - government school, #7 para señoritas, puras mujeres (13-15)
(uniform); enclosed, inside patio, canchas, classrooms, [30 - 40 per classroom,
300 students or more] PAY $$$
- universidad - govierno, 15-18; preparatoria #3; faltan 2 semestres (un año); not
open [500-600 students] PAY $$$$

2. Por favor, describa su experiencia educativa centrándose en sus experiencias y relaciones más
importantes.
- primaria = “madres”, in addition to teachers, guide religious education in
addition; monja would allow that they miss payments but continue with schooling
(late fees okay, accessible)
- secundaria = solo para mujeres, un maestro PE, all others women, comfortable,
confianza,
- preparatoria = hombres y mujeres, maestro amigo de papa, statistics - helped her
to understand, no termino- me arrepiento,
- no ingles; adults school de ingles (for work)

3. ¿Cómo describirías tu sentido de identidad durante tu carrera académica? ¿De qué manera
cambió tu identidad a medida que avanzas en tus diferentes niveles de educación?
- primaria = religious guidance, misa, retiros, prayer, give thanks,
- teachers - monja muy buena, opportunities, primero que siga aprendiendo,
- secundaria = helped her make next step, to keep succeeding, have a career, be
somebody; siblings good example
- preparatoria = lack of confidence, embarrassment, “baje”, president of school
could get all students to follow, have people get off train = students have power

4. ¿Cómo describirías a otros estudiantes en las diferentes escuelas a las que asististe? ¿Eran
similares a ti, diferentes a ti? Por favor explique?
- primaria = todos igual, low SES
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- secundaria = still some sim/diff; although all women, SES different (sought after
because only for women)
- preparatoria = diferencia, everyone from everywhere; notice difference, people of
different socioeconomic, hombres mujeres; mayoria like her, from lower SES,
mexican, latinos; not everyone catholic, christian and other religions

5. ¿Cómo describirías a los profesores en las diferentes escuelas a las que asististe? ¿Eran
similares a otros adultos en tu vida? ¿Diferente a los demás que conocías?
- primaria = good, young, monjas/sisters, 17 years old,
- secundaria = older, more studies under them (difficult material),
- preparatoria = teachers, some helpful, some that not so much; supposed to have
degree/titulo
- similar = dad’s friend, teachers, Latinos, spanish

6. ¿Cómo reforzó la escuela las cosas que aprendiste en casa?

1) grandma taught them to do homework first, project
a) did not miss
b) responsibility
2) difference in mother who did not know how to read/write; odontologa
(preparatoria, could not enter dental sciences area) went over to marine biology;
its too $$, animals, mar,
3) one class = manualidades, tejer, abordar, recorta, cocina, para mujeres solamente;
mother taught her (primaria only,
a) secundaria similar class about painting (educacion artistica)
b) preparatoria

¿Cómo fue lo que aprendió en la escuela diferente a lo que le enseñaron en casa? ¿Cómo
descubrió cómo pensar, sentir y comportarse dentro de esa diferencia?
- house = dad working in bodega,
- school = write, read, speak correctly (proper, pronunciation; change for good) think
deeper/better, aspire to be someone better (primaria, good girl ,religious, timid)

7. Al reflexionar sobre su desarrollo, ¿de qué manera su educación contribuyó positivamente a su

crecimiento? ¿Cómo se convirtieron tus experiencias educativas en obstáculos para tu
desarrollo?
- me hico mejor persona - defender, no dependía para decir como le hago; think more
critically, open-minded, courageous enough to do things,
- preparatoria = en bola se hiban, classes would stop, teachers would not give lessons;
- faltabas y nadie te diria nada; the stakes were not very high, schools did not care as much
(government, no; private did)
- could not identify how these stop her development -

8. ¿Hay algo de lo que no te he preguntado qué crees que debería saber?

- difference between her experiences in mexico versus ours here
● education = level in mexico is mas avanzado que aqui, when brother brought him
at 8 years old, enters and he knew (mathematics); here there is more opportunity,
no kid without school; want them to be there, no missing, care that he is not there;
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assistance to keep on studying; over there if there's no $, cannot be educated, need

to work;

Appendix B: Interview Protocol, English

TELL ME YOUR STORY

Thank you _(name of interviewee) for agreeing to be interviewed. This assignment is for my
Master’s degree program. The purpose is to explore how people of a different generation than
mine experienced the schools and colleges they attended and how those educational systems
responded to them based on their various identities, such as your culture, language, race, social
class, immigrant status, religion, etc.

I would like to ask your permission to audio record the interview. No one will hear the recording
except me and possibly my course instructor. Do I have your permission to record your answers?

Do you have any questions before I begin the interview?

Demographic questions

What is your primary language?

What is your race and/or ethnicity?

How would you describe your social class background growing up?
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Are there any other parts of your identity that you consider important that you would like to
share? (i.e. religion; disability status; sexual orientation; etc.)

What years did you attend school?

1. Where did you go to school? Please describe the different levels and types. (Ex. Elementary
school: Fullerton, CA.)

2. Please describe your educational experience focusing on your most important experiences and
relationships.

3. How would you describe your sense of self or identity within educational settings? In what
ways did your sense of self change as you progressed through your different levels of
education?

4. How would you describe other students at the different schools you attended? Were they
similar to you, different than you? Please explain.

5. How would you describe the teachers at the different schools you attended? Were they similar
to other adults in your life? Different than others you knew? How so?

6. How did school reinforce things that you learned at home?

How was what you learned in school different than what you were taught at home? How did you
figure out how to think, feel and behave within that difference?
7. As you reflect upon your development, how did your education contribute to your growth in a
positive way? How did your educational experiences become obstacles to your development?

8. Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you think I should know?

Thank you very much for sharing part of your life and helping with this assignment.