Despite the rise in Latino population in the United States, academic achievement in schools is scarcely evident among Latino youth. Jason G. Irizarry, an assistant professor of multicultural education in the Neag School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, takes up this issue of underachievement in his recently published book, The Latinization of U.S. Schools: Successful Teaching and Learning in Shifting Cultural Contexts (Paradigm Publishers, 2011).
His inspiration came from a high school student of his, who told him on his first day of teaching that, “Latinos are not smart; we are just not smart.” After conducting his professional development research with Latino youth (through Youth Participatory Action Research), Irizarry collaborated with his students to write the text, demonstrating his trust in their abilities and further driving home his message that ethnicity should not limit achievement.
“I really felt committed that their stories had to be told,” he says.
Each of his students contributed an issue they felt needed to be addressed for a chapter in The Latinization of U.S. Schools, including tracking and the virtual exclusion of Latinos from the curriculum. And each chapter concludes with empirically based recommendations – drawn from Irizarry’s research and his students’ contributions – for educators who want to improve their practice with Latino youth. The author’s intention was not only to amplify the voices of Latino youth, but also to prove to his students that they were, in fact, smart.
The book provides inspiration and information for teachers, students, and those concerned with the future of education in the United States.
Commenting on the book, Sonia Nieto, professor emerita of language, literacy, and culture at the University of Massachusetts, says, “Articulating what many know from experience but do not find reflected in the studies on Latino education, Jason Irizarry and his high school coauthors provide readers an insightful, inspiring, and powerful view of the capabilities – and, yes, brilliance – of Latino students in America today.”
