People are often unsure what to call an individual that speaks spanish as a first language and was born in Central America, South America or the Caribean.
All are appropiaate and accepted.
If an attempt is made to list the characteristics of a particular race, one will note that there are individuals of that race who don’t have all of the characteristics.
Some examples to share: Jimmy Smits is Hispanic as is Cameron Diaz. The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, is of Asian descent. He grew up in Peru, is a Spanish speaker and considers himself Peruvian, not Japanese.
Ej stud. does not assist to school to go to Mexico for a relative’s funeral The bahabior does not mean family does not value education It shows that the extended family member(aunt) is valued as a member of the nuclear family (Family Oriented)It also demonstrates colectivism the student is asked to sacrifice his wellbeing for the good of the family (attending the funeral)
Simpatico means also a nice person. You may hear a hispanic individual saying “Que simpatico” meaning what a nice person.
They may show the value of education differently. Traditionally in Hispanic culture the teacher is viewed with great respect
Story about the child with the parent that went out everyday to wait for the school bus and they have not filled out the form. They thought the teacher would take care of it
As a result parents do not interfere with the experts job. This view is sometimes perceived as a lack of interest in the children’s education
Example of the mother that did not come to school because she did not have appropriate clothes.
Imagine yu are holding a literacy workwhop for hispanic families at your library. What implications would some of the characteristics of hispanics would have in your workshop? You may have more people than expected (nuclear and extended family) and you may not be able to start on time
You may want to identify a couple of parents to help you during the meeting, talk to them ahead of time, tell them what the purpose of the meeting and what you expect And tell them some of the questions that you may expect so that they can interact and have other parents interact and ask questions.
We are more complicated than any cultural norm could suggest. Check your interpretations if you are uncertain what is meant.
Direct them to Title I parent engagement person, PTO or PTA Often parents are not aware of the school structure. As a cultural thing, parents would not volunteer to do anything, unless you ask them to. They feel they may be interfering