U.S.-Mexican Youth &
the Politics of Caring
Angela Valenzuela
Ingrida Barker
Sonja Cantrell
Melissa Farrish
Lee Ann Porter
Sherri Stepp
Jill Wood
CI 706 Dr. Lassiter
Biography
• Director of Texas
Center for Education
Policy
• Professor, Visiting
Scholar, and
recipient of awards
• Research and
teaching interests in
education
• Author
Themes

Caring

Subtractive Schooling

Social Capital
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Caring
Nel Noddings’s concept of caring in education permeates Valenzuela’s work.
The following ideas promoted by Noddings are applied by Valenzuela to Seguin
students:
• Focus on teacher and student orientations towards each other
• A teacher’s attitudinal predisposition is essential to caring
• Privileging expressive over technical discourse:
Expressive discourse as “a broad and loosely defined ethic of caring that
molds itself in situations and has proper regard for human affection,
weakness, and anxieties” (Noddings, 1984, p. 25).
• Teachers’ ultimate goal of apprehending their students’ subjective reality is
best achieved through involvement into the “students’ welfare and emotional
displacement” (Valenzuela, p. 61)
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Caring
• Teacher expectation for students caring about school in the absence of a
relationship is juxtaposed to the student view of caring as the basis for all
learning.
• Students face a double standard that asks them to make sense of schooling
when schooling does not want to make sense of them.
• Material, physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of students should guide
the educational process thus calling for the need to avoid giving the same kind
of education to everybody.
• Priorities in education should lie in dedication to full human growth, not just
focus on student achievement.
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Subtractive Schooling
Valenzuela (1999) makes connections throughout the text that illustrate how schooling subtracts resources from
Mexican-American youth, but in her closing comments she mentions this is applicable for all minorities.
•
How is school subtractive to youth? (Valenzuela, 1999, p.20)
1. Dismisses their definition of education
Educación—cultural term that encompasses both educational and
familial relationships and the way to be in society; huge focus on
respect, caring, responsibility, manners, and social skills
When teachers reject this by refusing to have authentic reciprocal
relationships, they are essentially rejecting Mexican culture
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Subtractive Schooling
2. Assimilative nature of school policies and practices
• Attempts to remove or erase their Mexican culture and language
– Curriculum is not sensitive or relevant to Mexican Americans and their heritage
• Non-neutral process—divorcing them from their communities
– Youth resist schooling in an effort to stay loyal to their people
• Creates cultural divisions between youth through scheduling
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– College Track, Regular Track (ESL & Non-ESL)
– Relationships don’t form between various groups which could improve achievement
• Essentially, this results in the “…erosion of students’ social capital…” (p.20)
Social Capital
• Based on Social Exchange Theory
• Social capital comes into being whenever social interaction makes use of resources
residing within the web of social relationships.
• Social capital is defined by its function in group or network structures.
• Enables attainment of goals that cannot be attained individually.
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Social Capital
Valenzuela looks at academic achievement as a collective process.
• This collective process is “one that issues from non-rationalistic, emotional
commitments among individuals who are embedded in support networks.”
•
“Academic competence is human capital that becomes social capital in the
context of the group.”
•
The immigrant students have the highest level of social capital. These
friendship groups consist of two or more students who share.
•
School-related information, material resources, school-based knowledge
•
Though less obvious, U.S.-born groups also experienced social capital
•
Strongest level of social alienation was in mixed-generation groups
•
Yet … “social capital is clearly no match against an invisible system of
tracking that excludes the vast majority of youth”
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Relationships - Ellis
Assimilation –
 “De-Indianization is a manifestation of the
subtractive assimilation processes that operate at
a transactional level wherever indigenous
communities are viewed with contempt”
 “Contrasts in language, clothing, demeanor, &
other cultural markers” (Valenzuela, 1999. p. 89).
Social Capital –
 Their social networks have
value. Students continue to
speak their native language.
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Relationships - Spatig
Subtractive Curriculum –
 Guidance Counselors mishandle schedule;
taking unnecessary coursework
 Weakened academic coursework
Caring –
 Similar to Rick MacDowell & Shelley Gaines, Mr.
Sosa worked to develop strong bonds with
students.
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As an illustration of “caring”,
enjoy your Mexican dishes!
Discussion
1.Does Valenzuela’s Latina ethnicity allow her a
certain level of social capital within the groups,
particularly the immigrant groups?
2.Is Valenzuela’s research biased because of her
ethnicity?
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Discussion
3. Valenzuela believes schools subtract resources from
youth in two ways –
i. By dismissing their definition of education and
ii. Through assimilationist policies and practices that
minimize their culture and language
Do you agree? If so, is this negative?
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Discussion
4. As we just finished the Girl Box in the last class, in regard
to gender roles, did you notice any similarities in the
Subtractive Schooling book? Any similarities to Invitation
and/or Rainy Mountain?
5. If a teacher earned the respect of the students (ie.
cared), what essential characteristics did these teachers
have? Why do you think the other teachers
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did not have these characteristics/care?
school
Discussion
6. In her book, Valenzuela reinforced the importance of caring
and dwell on a couple of examples of caring teachers. In terms
of teacher preparation and professional supports, what role
should the teacher prep programs and professional
development at schools play in supporting, challenging, and
developing skills and background for caring teacher
development? Is it the responsibility of teacher colleges and
schools? Or is it something that every teacher should aspire to
become as an individual, on his or her own?
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Discussion
7. Have their been any significant changes at Seguin
as a result of Valenzuela's three-year
ethnographic investigation of academic
achievement and schooling orientation? How has
this book opened your eyes to similar problems
at your school?
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Discussion
8. Valenzuela mentions that the curriculum is not relevant
to Mexican-American youth and their system of cultural
tracking further divides the immigrants and U.S.-born
youth. What, if any, possible solutions could change this
situation? Is curriculum and scheduling too rigid to make
substantial and meaningful changes?
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