遇到农民工子女的独特需要—外文翻译学士学位论文.doc

中文3610字
本科毕业设计（论文）
外文翻译
原文：
Meeting the Unique Needs of the Children of Migrant Farm Workers.
The migrant population is the most undereducated major subgroup in the United States. The high school dropout rate of the children of migrant farm workers is 43 percent, higher than any other group in the United States (National Council of La Raza 1990). It is estimated that over 70 percent of migrants have not completed high school, and 75 percent are functionally illiterate (Hodgkinson 1985). Inadequate education coupled with meager language skills limit their employment potential for jobs that offer nothing more than a low hourly wage. For instance, migrant farm workers earn less than $5,000 per year (Rothenberg 1998), well short of the U.S. median household income of $40,800 per year (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1999) and far below the 2002 U.S. poverty level of $18,100 for a family of four With that type of income, more than two-thirds of our nation's migrant households and roughly 75 percent of migrant children live below the national poverty line (Davis 1997). Without education, many of the estimated 800,000 migrant children will inherit their parents' occupation and lifestyle as they attempt to sustain themselves (Trotter 1992).
The reasons for the lack of education among migrant workers are many, but the migrant lifestyle's high mobility serves as the greatest impediment to educational success. Estimates indicate that students lose as many as two weeks of school per move with 25 percent of migrant students enrolling in school more than thirty days after the new school year begins (Research Triangle Institute 1992). Not only do they get a late start, but "some migrant families move in and out of school districts as many as ten times during a single school year" (Trotter 1992, 15). The frequent changes force the children to make numerous adjustments to new friends, academic expectations, and varying graduation requirements (Whittaker 1997).
Migrant families occupy a low status in communities because of their work, language differences, and ethnic background. The language barrier isolates migrant families and creates tension with local residents (Ford 1988). Migrant children sense that they do not belong, and their feelings of inferiority are often reinforced by their peers' thoughtlessness and teasing. The situation worsens when migrants become victims of stereotypes played out in the form of prejudice and discrimination. For example, teachers often believe that students with poor English skills are "slow" and therefore group them accordingly. This hinders the children's academic development and plays a significant role in promoting low self-esteem (Trotter 1992).
Migrant students "frequently find themselves in one traumatic situation after another. . . . Their confidence is shaken daily, and with each passing year, they show an increasing lack of trust in the school, community, and the larger society" (King-Stoops 1980, 21). The interruptions in their education and the inability of the school to understand their culture and meet their needs slowly deplete the child's perseverance toward graduation and play a major role in migrant students' dropping out of school (Velazquez 1996). With so many obstacles in the path of their educational success, rural migrant students may be the most disadvantaged student population in America (Perry 1997).
Findings and Results
The findings present several important problems that schools must understand and address to meet the needs of migrant students. Overall, findings indicate that there are several obstacles to the educational success of migrant students. First, many of the teachers were unaware of their own beliefs about migrant students and were influenced by stereotypes that guided their behavior and actions. In interviews, teachers pointed out that they often lacked insight into their own teaching and how their view of migrant students played out in the classroom through the formal, hidden, and null curricula. For example, one teacher who grew up in the county where the school was located talked about how he had become aware of the stereotype he once held that migrant parents and their children did not value education or the opportunities that schools provided. He believed that type of thinking lowered his expectations of migrant students, which clearly affected their education.
Although the teachers understood the importance of integrating migrant culture into their teaching, several fell short in developing complex understandings of not only migrant culture, but also how the use of migrant students' cultural backgrounds can enhance their self-concepts and improve their chances for educational success. Every teacher interviewed talked about the need to understand migrant culture and to attempt to integrate that culture into the classroom in a meaningful way. Later discussion demonstrates teachers' various levels of accomplishment in doing that.
Finally, migrant students voiced their views of the problem areas that hamper their education and create trouble with teachers and other students. The students provided insight into several aspects of migrant culture that cause conflict with teachers and fellow students who fail to consider migrant perspectives. In the following discussion, I address the above issues more fully, provide examples, and offer suggestions as to how teachers can better meet the needs of migrant students.
Critical Reflection: The Less Familiar Part of Teaching
The SMEP teachers who participated in this study indicated a need to engage in deliberate critical reflection to reveal their own prejudices or negative feelings, which are grounded in stereotypes about migrant families. Critical reflection is a deliberate, ongoing process of critically examining and refining educational practices, while considering the personal, pedagogical, social, and ethical aspects of teaching and schooling (Han 1995). The teachers argued that an essential part of this process is a conscious effort to examine some of the stereotypes that are embedded within a teacher's view of the world. More important is an understanding of the influence that those stereotypes have, because prejudices are not typically "expressed as simple exclusionary rules or hateful epithets. They are often cultural beliefs subtly enacted by well-meaning classmates and teachers, and their most devastating effects work from within the psyche of the affected person" (Oakes and Lipton 1999, 202). Because the teachers believe migrant stereotypes often influence their teaching, they point out that all teachers need to reflect on their views of migrant students and how stereotypes might affect their teaching.
From daily observations, it became apparent that classroom situations or derogatory comments by students, colleagues, and community members served as a catalyst for teachers' critical reflection. Teachers suggested that, based on those situations, educators must consider questions such as the following: What stereotypes do I hold of migrant students? Have those stereotypes influenced my thinking, decisions, or behavior? In class, what hidden messages do I transmit regarding migrant students? What role do I play in changing students' and other faculty's attitudes toward migrant students? To what degree should migrant students be forced to assimilate? Do I ever consider the cultural background of migrant students? How will I handle particular situations that might occur with migrant students? Not only should teachers reflect on their beliefs and views, but they must consider how educational practices might work to discourage or disadvantage migrant students.
Some of the teachers surveyed expressed the frustration, embarrassment, or feelings of inadequacy that often result from the reflective process. However, they believe that all teachers and administrators must engage in this process and, if needed, change their views and teaching practices. It seems that the more teachers reflect about their teaching of migrant students, the more aware they become of the unique needs of migrant students. This awareness enables them to make better sense of their work at school and in turn meet the needs of migrant students, which supports Palmer's argument that "the most practical thing we can achieve in any kind of work is insight into what is happening inside us as we do it" (1998, 5). Critical reflection provides us with the insight to guide our practice.
Cultural Conflicts: The Ways Migrant Students See the World
Prewitt-Diaz, Trotter, and Rivera (1990) argue that although migrant children come from different cultures and geographic areas, they seem to have developed common beliefs, values, norms, customs, and ways of seeing and understanding the world. Not only does a migrant culture exist, but it accompanies students to school and often serves as a source of conflict between migrant students and the school's values and beliefs.
In school, teachers praise students for such traits as being respectful, industrious, and obedient, or dressing and acting in a pleasing way However, many of the traits valued by schools are, to a great extent, culturally inscribed. Students whose cultural background and behavior harmonize with faculty expectations are considered academically and socially superior and are treated accordingly. Students whose cultural values are not as academically prized are labeled as disrespectful or unmotivated troublemakers, among other negative attributes.
This mislabeling often happens to migrant students in public schools. Both teachers and migrant students indicated that migrant culture includes a strong sense of family loyalty, a willingness to fight and defend family members, and a view of life situations as temporary. From student interviews, it was evident that migrant students embraced those values, and that at times their deeply ingrained beliefs conflicted with faculty, curriculum, and school rules. For example, from interviews with students, it was obvious that most migrant students are taught to defend family members, a value that can lead to fighting in school. Teachers agreed that, without an understanding of the students' reasons for fighting, many migrant students are labeled "violent" or "troublemakers." Migrant students pointed out that what the schools fail to consider is the difficult decision students face between obeying school rules and remaining committed to their family. Each choice has negative consequences--punishment from the school or punishment and disdain from parents and family members. However, not all fights are caused by students' "bad attitudes" or any other stereotype assigned them. Rather, cultural conflict could be the underlying reason for certain behavior.
Other cultural conflicts occur within school as well. For example, teachers made the case that the effects of frequent mobility on the way migrant students view school and their peers often caused conflict. The family's frequent uprooting leaves migrant children feeling unstable, that they have little control over their lives, and that many aspects of their lives are temporary. Why should migrant students invest time and energy in school or relationships and risk being hurt or disappointed when their situation changes so frequently? Teachers at the school pointed out that migrant students often withdraw from other students. They may not do as much academic work as they should, since they know they will be leaving soon. They are reluctant to get involved in sports or extracurricular activities because they will probably leave in the middle of the season. They might be more willing to challenge school rules, since it is doubtful they will face any long-term consequences.
Because of their willingness to challenge school rules, migrant students are accused of having a poor attitude, being lazy, not wanting to learn, and causing trouble. Teachers and classmates often consider migrant students' lack of involvement as rude and unfriendly, which reinforces previously held stereotypes and makes many migrant students easy targets for isolation, ridicule, and discrimination. In reality, this is how migrant students deal with the frustration, alienation, and lack of trust that accompanies their lifestyle's constant mobility.
Cultural conflicts can also arise within the curriculum. For example, the SMEP uses the Tough Guy program to reduce bullying and fighting in school. This particular program consists of a series of videotapes and followup materials. Students view the grade-appropriate tapes, which include various scenarios that illustrate the negative consequences of fighting and bullying students, and then teachers conduct a follow-up discussion.
The Importance of Cultural Relevancy
Because cultural conflicts are common between migrant students and teachers, the SMEP teachers acknowledged that they must be willing to learn about migrant culture and integrate that knowledge into the curriculum and student interactions. However, this means more than having an appreciation for Mexican food and holidays. Rather, some teachers indicated there is a need to construct understandings that not only include the objective aspects of culture, such as artifacts, food, and clothing, but also include the less tangible subjective dimensions such as ways of talking, acting, and socializing, styles of dress, likes and dislikes, tastes, competencies, behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs. In this sense, culture is viewed as "the particular ways in which a social group lives out and makes sense of its given circumstances and conditions in life" (McLaren 1998, 175).

Source:Romanowski, Michael.Clearing House,Sep/Oct2003, Vol. 77 Issue 1, p27-33

译文：
遇到农民工子女的独特需要
在美国，农民工人口大部分是未受良好教育的人群。农民工子女的高中退学率是43%,比美国其他任何群体的比率都要高。（拉美裔全国委员会，1990）据估计,超过70%的农民工没有完成高中,75%是半文盲。(霍奇金森，1985)缺乏教育加上微薄的语言技能可能限制他们的就业工作,没有什么比提供每小时工资还低的了。例如，外来农民工收入每年不到$5,000元。（罗滕伯格，1998）也达不到美国中产阶级收入每年$40,800。(美国统计局公布的人口普查，1999)该收入也远远低于2002年美国贫穷家庭层面四种类型的18 100美元，我们国家超过三分之二的农民工家庭和大约有百分之七十五的农民工子女低于全国贫困线。（戴维斯，1997）由于没有接受教育，大约80万农民工子女将继承父母的职业和生活方式,因为他们试图维持他们自己。（特罗特，1992）
民工缺乏教育的原因有很多,但是农民工生活方式的高度流动性是教育成功的最大障碍。估计表明，每次农民工转移，学生在校时间只有两周,而且农民工学生入学超过三十天并维持到下学年开学的只有25%（三角国际研究所，1992）。他们不仅起步较晚，而且一些农民工家庭一个学年搬进搬出的有10次多。（特罗特，1992）频繁的变化驱使农民工孩子要适应到新的朋友、学业期望和不同的毕业要求（惠特克，1997）。
移民家庭在社区内处于较低地位是因为他们的工作、语言的差异、种族背景。语言障碍使农民工家庭与当地居民的关系较为紧张。（福特，1988）农民工子女感觉自己不属于集体，他们的自卑感经常由于他们同辈的嘲笑和戏弄而加强。形势恶化时，对农民工的偏见和歧视已经定型了。例如，教师认为，英语不好的人是“迟钝的”，这阻碍了儿童的学业发展，也降低了他们的自尊。特罗特，1992）
农民工子女学生经常发现自己所受的创伤一个接着一个。每过一年，他们所显示的自信心在学校、团体、社会逐渐减少。农民工子女教育的中断和学校的无奈使他们无法了解他们的文化和满足他们的需要，这样就慢慢消耗孩子的毅力，这对农民工子女的辍学也扮演了重要的角色。（委拉斯开兹，1996）
发现与结果
研究结果表明了几个重要的问题，学校必须认识和解决问题，以满足农民工学生的需求。总体而言，调查结果表明，农民工学生的教育成功存在一些障碍。首先，很多教师都不清楚自己对于农民工学生应该抱以什么样的态度，他们受到陈腐观念的影响以至于行为和行动都受到摆布。在采访中，老师指出，他们教学缺乏洞察力，他们对农民工学生的看法通过在课堂上的正式的、隐藏的表现出来。例如，一个在农村长大的老师，他曾经认为农民工父母和他们的孩子不重视教育或学校提供