The Passionate Writer

Do you remember the first time you found something you were passionate about? I remember being in first grade and getting promoted to the advanced readers group. I remember sitting at the table and getting frustrated when other kids couldn't sound the words out because it lost the fluidity and rhythm of the sentence. I probably could have been nicer about that, but, as a young reader, I was so passionate about words. I remember the book fair coming to my school's library and asking my mom for money to buy Babysitter's Club and Goosebumps books. I would sometimes read them in one sitting, totally focused on the story, the sentences, the words. Writing became a passion later in high school. As I entered my teenage years I became obsessed with poetry and journaling, writing down everything my young mind could come up with. While visual arts eventually became my major focus, writing has been a part of my daily life for many years.

In chapter 9 of The Distance Between Us, Reyna is offered her first big writing assignment. It's a school wide contest in which each student would write there own book. Only 3 students could win. Reyna is immediately thrilled. "I will finally get my chance to make Papi proud!" (Grande 215) Reyna is helped by her ESL teacher Mr. Lopez. Reyna struggles to find a topic until she lands on her favorite story. The story of her birth. She works so hard with Mr. Lopez to write her story, revising it until it's as good as can be. She finally bind her book and hands it in. She's so excited to how her classroom teacher, Ms. Anderson, will react to her story. As Ms. Anderson makes her way through the pile of other students books, Reyna can barely contain herself. Finally, Ms. Anderson makes it to Reyna's book, flips through in seconds, and puts it into the discard pile. Reyna is completely crestfallen. Of the eight books chosen to move up in the contest, none of them were written by the English learners. Mr. Lopez, "There is no reason for any of you not to get ahead in life. You will learn English one day. You will find your way. Remember, it doesn't matter where you come from. You're now living in the land of opportunity, where anything is possible." (Grande 218) Upon hearing these words, Reyna promises herself, "One day, I will write a book that won't be rejected, one that will make my father proud." (Grande 218)

From this point on, Reyna works hard to improve her English reading and writing.By eighth grade she graduated from her ESL program and reads voraciously. She enters a writing contest and wins! She finds herself in college and discovers literature written by Latina authors. It's as if her passion propels her forward, through the abuse, through the uncertainty. Imagine what we could do if we could find what our students are passionate about and use that to help motivate and inspire them. I wonder how the achievement gap would look if students were taught with their passions and strengths in mind, rather than just test scores? 

Grande, Reyna. The Distance Between Us. 2012. New York. Washington Square Press.

The Journey to El Otro Lado...

I'm not going to lie. When I finished reading The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, I sat in my chair and sobbed. I cried for all of the pain and anguish Reyna went through as a child. I cried tears of joy for the success she has achieved as a writer. I cried for the thousands of Hispanic immigrants who make the treacherous journey every year into the United States to escape substandard living and try to make a better life for themselves and their families. I cried knowing that not every immigrants story has such a heartwarming ending as Reyna's.

When Reyna is just 4 moths shy of 10 years old, her father Natalio decides to take Reyna and her older brother and sister back to Mexico with him. Each attempt more harrowing and arduous than the one before. On the second attempt, Reyna goes behind a bush to relieve herself only to find a man sleeping not far from her. As she moves closer to him, she realizes that he is dead and screams. The family is caught shortly after and taken to Tijuana. "I am grateful now that back then I was too young to fully grasp the extent of the danger we were in. I am glad I did not know about the thousands of immigrants who had died before my crossing and who have been dying ever since." (Grande 154) The third try is successful the 4 make their way to a second smugglers house, just over the border, who will drive them to Los Angeles. It's an uphill battle for Reyna and her siblings once they arrive in LA, but a battle that results in Reyna having much success as a writer, educator, and speaker. Had she not come to the US, it is certain that her life would be vastly different. 

Just a few weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration's bid to dismantle DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Under DACA, children who were brought to the United States without immigration status were granted temporary legal status if they graduated from high school or were honorably discharged from the military and if they passed a background check. With DACA in place, thousands of young people were able to come out of the shadows  "to enroll in degree programs, embark on careers, start businesses, buy homes and even marry and have 200,000 children of their own who are U.S. citizens, not to mention that DACA recipients pay $60 billion in taxes each year." (Totenberg)

Not only do DREAMers have the terrifying experience of crossing the border, but each day have to worry about all of the ways that they could get ripped out of the lives they have built here in this country. DACA gives these young people hope. Many DREAMers are brought here when they are so young, they don't even have a connection to the place where they came from. 

When we look out at our classrooms, into the faces of the children we are teaching, we must ask ourselves: Where have these children come from? What have they experienced in their short lives? What do they need from us to survive?

Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court Rules for DREAMers, Against Trump." NPR. www.npr.org/2020/06/18/829858289/supreme-court-upholds-daca-in-blow-to-trump-administration. Accessed July 5, 2020.

Grande, Reyna. (2012) The Distance Between Us. New York. Washington Square Press.