Empowering Spanish-speakers, interview with the author

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: Today we are speaking with Dr. Jacqueline Mackenzie, author of Empowering Spanish Speakers just published by Summerland Corp. and being distributed by Ingram Book Company, making it available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and on their non-profit website. Thank you for taking the time to join us and talk about her book.

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: Thank you for reading and reviewing my book. I am sure you now have a much clearer understanding of the reasons why Mexican life is full of underemployment, discrimination, and restricted opportunities for them to reach their full adult potential, mainly because they are native Spanish speakers.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: My first question, or rather comment, is how personally impressed I am with your lifestyle of moving in with your Mexican hosts and living with them for such a long period of time. Please tell us a bit about how this came about.

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: When I went to central Mexico in 2005, I already had 35 years of experience working alongside marginalized Mexican American immigrants (immigrants with native roots). My attitude was that I was going to spend time within a heritage that I respected. The time had come to learn more about the culture to define why for years I had felt so socially accepted when I was with Mexicans. Ethically, he had to know that everything he published was accurate. I had to be part of a small rural community of subsistence farmers to find valid answers. I simply recorded what I observed, qualitative data, and analyzed the quantitative data. The new information gave me an idea. Having been a certified teacher and a school principal, I already knew something about what was misaligned in business management and education systems in the US. After my research in Mexico, I learned what misalignment existed in both countries in relation to both Mexican-American immigrants as with indigenous Mexicans.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: You have a lot of statistical data on the population, ages, nutrition and education of the indigenous Mexican tribes. What trend stands out to you the most as a wake-up call for us, that is, native English-speaking Americans, to pay attention to?

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: What I found were native mothers and children hungry for both food and access to information. My best friend and translator traveled to 18 rural towns, several times during a year. We examined 665 infants, children, and youth. We found no statistically significant disabilities. We found that almost a third of the children were malnourished; so were his parents. We listened to mothers telling us that what they wanted and asked us to help them acquire was a means of helping themselves.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: From the internet I have seen the Summerland Monastery website. I notice your “book drive” for children’s books in Spanish and English. What are some of the other programs your organization is running?

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: We offer free equine therapy and hydrotherapy to children with disabilities; train local students on how to do the same. We open the homemade pool of our landlord to children or adults so that they can empower themselves by learning to swim. We allow access to our library of 3,000 books; about 15% Spanish or bilingual. We teach English and art regularly. We designed and built a local community center that was funded and owned by another non-profit organization from Central Mexico. By example, we teach organic farming techniques and other green lessons. In the winter, we assist a non-profit organization in western Mexico with a youth sailing program. Finally, we receive travelers and volunteers from inside and outside of Mexico.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: How did you come to choose the main categories of cultural aspects to dissect in your chapters? Also, how do you define your objective analysis techniques?

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: I looked at the fundamentals of indigenous culture and recorded them bluntly. I then analyzed the rules and academic materials established by public school administrations in both the US and Mexico. I discovered that there is a mismatch for native Mexicans. I found, to quote Representative John Kline, Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, stated on February 14, 2011:

Website design By BotEap.com“Over the past 45 years, we have increased our investment in education, but the return on that investment has failed to improve student achievement. Throwing more money at our nation’s broken education system ignores reality and hurts students and taxpayers “.

Website design By BotEap.comThe logical response is to make research-based changes in administrative teaching methods and the materials that are taught, as well as enlighten teachers with research-based cultural information and techniques to improve learning.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: Please tell us about your itinerary for your presentation and book tour.

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: I will travel by bus and train to universities, libraries, public school boards, corporate offices, military bases, unions, and anywhere else I am welcome. I’m flying from my home in central Mexico to Seattle right after Easter, then heading south by bus or train to Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Tucson. In late summer, I’ll be traveling to Chicago and then south by bus or train to San Antonio, stopping along the way to talk. In the fall, I’ll start in Miami, travel by bus or train north to New York and back to Atlanta, stopping both ways to talk before returning home to central Mexico. My journey will be based on doing everything in my power to share the latest scientific research on how to help marginalized Spanish-speakers learn in academic and work settings, regardless of where they reside. My tour will highlight that in the same way that nonimmigrant Mexican-Americans cannot imagine living without public services, rural Mexican citizens cannot imagine living without low cost public transport.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: What do you hope to accomplish with your book tour and speaking engagements, and how can people reading this interview get more involved?

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: Quoting Helen Keller, “The greatest result of education is tolerance.” My dream is that the months of travel result in English speakers learning alternative practical techniques to apply when interacting with marginalized Spanish speakers. A miracle would happen if public school and higher education administrators, corporations, agricultural and service businesses, politics, and the military took note of this research.

Website design By BotEap.comPBR: Once again, thank you for your time today and we wish you every success with your book.

Website design By BotEap.comJZM: I thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain the factors that prompted me to write this book.