Meredith Kaly 2430 Reflection on Research Project Mequette Sorensen Dec, 9, 2013

Throughout this course I have learned so much about the injustices and challenges faced by the Mexican-American people. In addressing Learning Outcome #1, I learned not only the history between the Aztec and Mayan people but the European conquistadors and the resulting loss of great societies as a result. Learning about the civil rights movement and being able to understand the pressures faced by those of Mexican-American descent regarding assilimilation and acculturation really helped me to see how that all plays into the current situation we are in with our Mexican-American students failing behind in school and not graduating. The fact that the state we live in used to be part of Mexico until the unfair Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was passed really highlights how difficult it might be for some people to feel as if they want to become a part of our culture. Unfortunately, education is often set aside when immigrant families suffer from the consequences of lower socio-economic living. Students often drop out of high school in order to get a job to help support their families. Through the program I proposed we are trying to find a way to show them that both working to help their families and finishing high school are obtainable goals. Learning Outcome #5 states that a student should develop the knowledge to be civically engaged and be able to demonstrate the awareness of the need for social justice among disenfranchised, discriminated, and oppressed groups. By developing a mentoring program to address students who fit those categories I feel I have accomplished that learning goal. The idea of the program I developed was specifically to help create a community of culturally competent students who are aware of their cultural heritage and embrace it as strength. I volunteer in my daughters first grade class and see the kids who are behind due to their lack of English language skills and I am now in such a better place to reach out to those kids. I am finding new ways to get

them excited about learning English. Elementary school is where the problem begins that I try to address through the mentoring program. I believe this course and the research project will ultimately make me a more culturally competent social worker. Learning Outcome #4 addresses a students ability to think critically and I believe that with the mentoring program I developed we have identified certain culturally acceptable interpersonal skills that will be necessary for the mentors to have in order to get the students who are credit deficient on board. The student mentors will be culturally competent and sensitive students who are aware of the racial development model and how where someone is on that scale can affect their ideas of self and community.