Copyright by Gilberto Peña Lara 2015
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Copyright by Gilberto Peña Lara 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Gilberto Peña Lara certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation The Complexity of Latino Male Bilingual Teachers’ Experiences Committee: ____________________________________ Cinthia S. Salinas, Supervisor ____________________________________ María E. Fránquiz, Co-Supervisor ____________________________________ Ramón A. Martínez ____________________________________ Luis Urrieta, Jr. ____________________________________ Victor B. Sáenz The Complexity of Latino Male Bilingual Teachers’ Experiences by Gilberto Peña Lara, B.A., M.Ed. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas a Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2015 Dedication “… and to all those who died, scrubbed floors, wept and fought for us.” José Antonio Burciaga José Lara Gutiérrez (1942 – 2012) Desde que yo era un niño tuvo la esperanza que algún día llegara a ser un hombre de bien, que se dedicara a defender servir y defender a nuestra gente. Acknowledgments Primeramente, es justo darle gracias a Dios porque de alguna manera u otra siempre me ha abierto puertas en los tiempos más oscuros. Antes de empezar, debo reconocer que este trabajo jamás hubiese sido posible sin el apoyo incondicional mi hijo e hija: Abraham e Itzabel. You two had to grow up quickly and practically raised Junajpu and Xb’alanke while we toiled on our dissertations. Sorry that we have dragged you through more than a decade of college. I promise you that I will do my best to make sure you don’t have to struggle or stress when it is your turn. Abraham, you have shown resilience through some very dark times. I admire your strength. Itzabel, you have grown to be a great young woman, I am proud of your leadership and resolve that you have shown in the face of adversity. María Guadalupe Leija, thanks for sharing this journey. Thanks for picking up the slack whenever I was stressed with deadlines. Alístate para lo que sigue que todavía quedan muchas aventuras más. Thank you for encouraging me to stick with this when I wanted to throw in the towel. Mi mamá, Socorro Peña Larreta, que toda su vida a trabajado y todavía sigue trabajando limpiando oficinas. Para sacar adelante a mi hermanito. Sin tu apoyo, fácilmente no estaría aquí. Gracias por hacer el sacrificio de venirme a ver. Y alivianarme un poco. Mi papá, que un día me dijo: “si no fuera por quererles dar una vida mejor a ustedes no estuviera aquí soportando discriminación sin poderme defender.” Nos enseñó a todos a trabajar, y ser gente honrada. Por tanto trabajar se nos fue de este mundo muy v temprano. Me has hecho mucha falta estos últimos tres años. Espero que este esfuerzo sea digno de tu sacrificio. This journey starts with a doctor. When we think of doctors encouraging us to purse a doctorate we tend to thing of an individual with a Ph.D., but my inspiration began with an MD. Dr. Edward Allen Savala was our family physician; he healed our ailments but also healed our souls. He encouraged María and I to pursue a Ph.D., he inspired us to get up every morning plow through the day, his words were, “when I was studying and the alarm rang, I didn’t sit on the bed feeling sorry for myself, I stood up and went straight to the shower to start my day.” He taught us that all we needed was ganas. These last six years have been a mix of tears and joy. After one relatively calm semester we endured many unimaginable trials, children with tumors, requiring several major operations, deaths of the most important men in my life: my father, uncle and grandfather, and the most challenging/rewarding event: becoming parents of multiples who came two months sooner than expected. Dr. Douglas E. Foley, you are right, I am still not sure how all these travails build character, but I guess they are a testament to the resiliency and the power of a community because the end it literally took a village for me to finish. The people in my committee represent people that are very important to me, who have shown me kindness, rigor and reassured me that I belonged in academia. Thank you for continuing to believe and never giving up on me. Dr. Salinas. I am not sure I will do justice with my words to attest the amount of conviction you have for the advancement of folks like us. Thank you for understanding that I had not a clue sometimes and sitting down with an incredible patience to break it vi down. Thank you for maintaining a high level of rigor throughout and expecting only my best. We are going to miss being able to have fresh brewed coffee and a spotless place to work, thank you for opening up your beautiful home, for our work sessions, gatherings and job talk practices. Without all your guidance I would not have finished this dissertation, applied for jobs, or even landed one. Thank you for all your advice throughout. Your humor and energy is what kept us going these past few years. I hope I can be as good a mentor to someone as you were to me someday. Dean Fránquiz, your love and patience throughout this journey has been tantamount. Who knew that by coming to NABE in 2009 we would take this leap. Thank you for believing we could do this. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to serve under you and learn. We missed you so much these last years, but are glad to know that you are only a call away, ready to help. It has been an honor to learn from a scholar that embodies humanizing pedagogy. Sorry I put you through having to write so many letters for jobs, I am sure that without your help I would not be ready to move to the next step. Dr. Martínez, you are a big brother to me. Thank you for taking me under your wing, you taught me about proposals, gave me advice, and always had your door open all the time. Thank you for always being willing to help and give feedback with my writing, presentations and for writing letters of recommendation. I learned so much from you while watching you teach. Thanks for opening up your home and for accepting our invitations para convivir. Ahora que vamos a estar cerca nos tendremos que juntarnos e ir a comer unas quesadillas de huitlacoche. I know the UT community is sad that you are leaving, you will be missed in Austin. vii Dr. Urrieta, a sido un honor haber trabajado con usted. Gracias por cuidar a la raza. I appreciate your willingness and devotion to helping me out with my work even in a pinch. Gracias por todos sus consejos, cariño y por su ayuda cuando buscaba empleo. Lamento no haber podido tomar su clase de oral histories, the identity class was awesome así que ya me imagino de lo que me perdí. A ver si un día me le pego de chicle cuando vaya a Michoacán. Le dejo encargado mis tres buenos amigos; Olmo, José y José. Dr. Sáenz, thank you for your thoughtful and critical feedback. I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn quantitative research from you. Keep up the great work with project MALES, it is much needed. I look forward to being an affiliate. Thank you for always making time for me. Chances are that without your support I may not have a job. To my informants, “Mr. Pedro Infante, Mr. Jorge Negrete and Mr. Javier Solís” y’alls’ work does not go unnoticed; I hope I have done justice to your experience. Thank you for opening up your classrooms and for the great friendships we have developed along the way. Keep doing what you do, your work is greatly needed. Este logro no es mío solamente. No puedo tomar mérito de haber echo esto solo. Fue una colaboración de el animo y apoyo de mi hermana Gladys que siempre me saca de apuros, Alejandro que me dice “puro pa’ delante” y Hugo que me dice que le “eche ganas.” Thank you all for making it all the way out here to visit us. A mi comadre María Trina Peña y Jaime Peña que tantos fines de semanas nos ayudaron a cuidar los niños cuando teníamos que trabajar o ir a conferencias, gracias por darnos un segundo hogar. Mis cuñados Cruz, Beto, Fernando gracias por todo su apoyo. Y a los plebes, Homero, mis medios herman@s: Fidel, Gustavo, Rosalba, Verónica, mis prim@s y tí@s que me siempre me han echado porras desde pequeño. viii A los empleados de UT, Concepción que siempre nos saluda y hace su trabajo de limpiar la biblioteca sin que le den las gracias, gracias. Rachel Santos, thank you for always giving us encouraging words while we checked out at Jester, you always brighten up our day by telling us how proud you are. You touched our lives. How can I forget Carolyn Williams, thank your for your encouragement and witty humor. It is often the least noticed people and the jobs that we take for granted that allow us all to do what we do. Dr. Douglas E. Foley, I was instructed to seek you our as soon as I got here, I am glad I did, thank you for always being so collegial, for the advice, kindness and cariño you showed us. Don’t worry; the secret of the ethnography is safe with me.