Making sense of disability: low-income, Puerto Rican parents' theories of the problem.

Making sense of disability: low-income, Puerto Rican parents' theories of the problem. In the face of the rapidly increasing cultural diversity of theUnited States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the special education system is faced with the challengeof explaining its services and practices to people who may holdradically different types of cultural understanding, assumptions, andexpectations regarding education. Current demographic projections forthe 21st century (Hodgkinson, 1985) have underscored the urgency offinding radical solutions for the evident mismatch mismatch1. in blood transfusions and transplantation immunology, an incompatibility between potential donor and recipient.2. one or more nucleotides in one of the double strands in a nucleic acid molecule without complementary nucleotides in the same position on the other between schoolsystems and many of those they serve. This article is concerned with one aspect of this mismatch--thepotential impact on parents of cross-cultural misunderstanding. Themandate for the participation of parents in the placement process shouldserve as a protection to students who might be inappropriately placed inspecial education programs and should provide assistance to educators inthe decision-making process. However, unless professionals working withculturally different parents can find effective means of ensuring ashared understanding of the meaning of special education placement, theintent of the law will be seriously undermined. Using the findings of an ethnographic eth��nog��ra��phy?n.The branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.eth��nog study of low-income PuertoRican Puer��to Ri��co? Abbr. PR or P.R.A self-governing island commonwealth of the United States in the Caribbean Sea east of Hispaniola. parents' views, this article demonstrates both the impact ofcross-cultural misunderstanding and the tremendous potential of parentsas effective collaborators in the education process. The concerns ofthe parents centered on conflicting interpretations of the concept ofdisability and on parents' provision of alternative explanationsfor their children's learning difficulties. Cultural differencesnot-withstanding, the parents' explanations of theirchildren's difficulties were very much in line with some of themajor debates current in the field, that is, arguments concerninglabeling as well as the debate on appropriate assessment and instructionof cultural and linguistic minority students. PARENTS' VIEWS OF LABELING Official definitions of mild mental retardation mental retardation,below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. emphasize that theconcept does not include the expectation of biologically based,permanent, and comprehensive incompetence. Nevertheless, the termcontinues to evoke such an impression, partly because the same term isused for individuals with much more severe intellectual limitations(Reschly, 1987), and partly because the term disability inevitablysuggests a deficit within the individual. A small but consistent body of literature on parents'reactions to labeling reflects this concern. Parents have been shown tobe more accepting of terms such as brain injured (Barsch, 1961),learning disabled, and slow learner (Wolfensberger & Kurtz, 1974)than of retardation-related labels. The greater social desirability ofthe term learning disabled generally reflects the notion of animpairment that is specific rather than global in nature and thereforeless stigmatizing to the image of the child as a whole person.Parents' preference for this type of description was observed bySmith, Osborne, Crim, and Rhu (1986). These researchers compared thedefinitions of learning disability given by 129 parents and 137 schoolpersonnel and found that parents tended to describe theirchildren's difficulties in terms of physical disorders andattention span. The authors interpreted this tendency as a protectivedevice on the part of parents to "neutralize neutralizeto render neutral. " the socialstigma Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms. Social stigma often leads to marginalization.Examples of existing or historic social stigmas can be physical or mental disabilities and disorders, as well as attached to broader interpretations. On the other hand, Pollack pollack:see cod. pollackor pollockEither of two commercially important North Atlantic species of food fish in the cod family (Gadidae). (1985) pointed to potential negative effects if parents cling to Verb 1. cling to - hold firmly, usually with one's hands; "She clutched my arm when she got scared"hold close, hold tight, clutchhold, take hold - have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of suchdefinitions to escape facing children's real needs. In casestudies of upper-middle-class professional families, Pollack found thatparents actively sought the "learning disabled" label, in whatseemed to be an effort to deflect responsibility for negative familialdynamics underlying the child's difficulties. Meanwhile, it is also likely that parents might be influenced byterminology they perceive to be negative. For example, Coleman (1984)found that mothers of children labeled learning disabled estimated theirchildren's self-concept to be lower than the ratings actually givenby the children themselves, perhaps because of the mothers'knowledge of social judgments. In addition, Kaufman (1982) found thatmothers rated video-taped children more negatively when they wereinformed that the children were labeled mentally retarded Noun 1. mentally retarded - people collectively who are mentally retarded; "he started a school for the retarded"developmentally challenged, retarded rather thandevelopmentally delayed. It is important to distinguish between parents' reactions tothe labels per se, and their estimations of their children'scapabilities. Wolfensberger and Kurtz (1974) found that althoughparents' estimations of children's mental age and functioningagreed with those of professionals, they tended to rejectretardation-related labels. Thus, parents' disagreement over anyparticular label does not necessarily mean that they do not recognizetheir children's difficulties, but rather that they interpret andname them differently. These findings are in keeping with commonsense com��mon��sense?adj.Having or exhibiting native good judgment: "commonsense scholarship on the foibles and oversights of a genius"Times Literary Supplement. expectations ofparents' need to protect their children and families from stigma.Further, it is in keeping with Goffman's (1963) well-knownconsideration of stigma, in which he observes that labeled personsthemselves may engage in actions designed to camouflage their differenceso as to "pass" for normal. This theory was applied byEdgerton (1967) to his findings that previously institutionalized in��sti��tu��tion��al��ize?tr.v. in��sti��tu��tion��al��ized, in��sti��tu��tion��al��iz��ing, in��sti��tu��tion��al��iz��es1. a. To make into, treat as, or give the character of an institution to.b. persons labeled mentally retarded rejected the label and expendedconsiderable energy in disguising their deviance. Edgerton referred tothis self-defensive mechanism as a "cloak of competence." Hisfollow-up study 10 years later, however, found that this concern was nolonger central in the lives of these persons; he concluded that thisrelated to their increased distance from the stigma of the institution.More recently, Zetlin and Turner (1984) identified different types ofself-perceptions among such persons, which included both"acceptors" and "deniers" of the label, and arguedthat one significant source of such reactions was the way parents hadexplained their children's limitations to them. It is important to understand the meaning of the concept of"passing." A standard that has been established by societyfor the identification of deviance does not represent objective realityor "truth," but simply a social agreement as to the definitionof deviance. Indeed, labeling theory, as set forth by theorists such asLofland (1969) and Becker (1963), emphasizes that definitions ofdeviance are social constructions negotiated by those with officialpower to label. Bogdan and Taylor's (1982) life histories ofpersons labeled mentally retarded have demonstrated that suchpersons' self-identifications may differ sharply from the waysociety has identified them. Bogdan and Taylor pointed out that theseindividuals' rejection of society's label simply reveals theexistence of differing perspectives, thus underscoring the sociallynegotiated nature of the labeling process. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , because aperson engages in denial in denialPsychiatry To be in a state of denying the existence or effects of an ego defense mechanism. See Denial. , one cannot assume that the denier de��ni��er?1?n.One that denies: a denier of harsh realities.denierNoun isinherently wrong, and the official labeler is right, since theapplication of the label is but a social decision reflecting a societalvalue. To attempt to "pass" is simply to assert one'sself-definition over the definition imposed by society. Parental rejection of labels for their children underscores thehighly differentiated response of individuals to their loved ones, whomthey see as individuals with behaviors that may be recognizablydifferent, but which do not necessarily render the whole individual"deviant" and therefore warrant a deviant classification.Thus, when professionals say that parents do not accept a child'sclassification, it should not be assumed that the professional is rightand the parent wrong, but rather that both are using different criteriafor describing the child. It would be more appropriate to describe theparent as disagreeing with the label than as failing to accept it. Most studies of parents' views of labeling were eitherconducted with white populations, or else did not specify differences inresponses between racially different groups. Studies of non-whiteparents' views of the mental retardation label per se are few, thebest known being Mercer's (1972) report of interviews with Blackand Hispanic parents who explicitly rejected the appropriateness of thelabel for their children. These parents felt that the special educationclasses into which the children were placed offered no remediation totheir learning difficulties. Marion (1980) has also reported that Blackparents have expressed resentment at the disproportionate classificationand special education placement of their children. Although the impact of the "mild mental retardation"label is important for all students and their families, the decades-longcontroversy has been fueled by the overrepresentation of minoritystudents in special education programs (Dunn, 1968; Mercer, 1973). Thiscontinuing concern has more recently focused on the pressing need formore appropriate and effective methods of assessment and instruction forcultural and linguistic minority students (Duran, 1989; Figueroa, 1989;Ortiz & Polyzoi, 1986). The intensity of the debate reflects theelusive nature of the search for a dividing line Noun 1. dividing line - a conceptual separation or distinction; "there is a narrow line between sanity and insanity"demarcation, contrast, linedifferentiation, distinction - a discrimination between things as different and distinct; "it is necessary to between special andregular education, while the arbitrariness of the designation"disability" for many students with mild learning disorders Learning DisordersDefinitionLearning disorders are academic difficulties experienced by children and adults of average to above-average intelligence. illustrates that the concept is more a reflection of social values thanof objective reality. For many minority students, underachievement isthe point at which regular and special education meet, with manystudents from what has been called the "mental withdrawal--graderetention--drop-out syndrome" (Stein, 1986), crossing the borderfrom "normalcy" to "disability." HISPANIC PARENTS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION Since Mercer's (1972) study of parents' opinions, whichwas conducted before the passage of Public Law 94-142, literaturefocusing on Hispanic parents has centered on their knowledge of andparticipation in the education process. Documentation so far indicatesthat parents place great value on education and express faith in theschools, but that their knowledge of what actually goes on in schools inthe United States may be minimal (Condon, Peters, & Sueiro-Ross,1979; Delgado-Gaitan, 1987). Studies focusing on special education showa similar pattern, indicating that there is often no parallel in thefamilies' home countries (Figler, 1981; Lynch & Stein, 1987)and that cultural meanings attached to concepts of disability may bevery different from those in the United States (Condon et al., 1979;Correa, 1989; Figler, 1981). Further, a recent ethnographic study byBennett (1988) concluded that the discourse of parent-professionalinteractions is so structured as to render parents effectively powerlessas partners in their children's educational careers. The present study offers an additional dimension to the literatureon Hispanic families' interaction with special education by seekingparents' actual definitions of disability, as well as theirreactions to the experience of their children's classification andplacement in special education programs. Further, the study shows thatsuch parents can be very perceptive about their children'sdifficulties and, therefore, have a great deal to contribute to aneffective parent-professional partnership. DESIGN OF THE STUDY The findings reported in this article are part of a larger data setfrom an ethnographic study of low-income, Puerto Rican-Americanparents' views of special education (Harry, 1992). The primary aimof the study was to examine the role of culture in parents'interpretations of their children's special education placement. Asecondary aim was to examine the extent and quality of the parents'interaction with the special education system, as well as factors thatfacilitate or obstruct their participation. This article addresses onlythe findings related to the first of these aims. Participants were 12 Puerto Rican-American families residing in alow-income, largely Hispanic community, in a medium-sized city in thenortheast. In three families, both fathers and mothers wereparticipants, while in the other nine, only mothers and one grandmotherparticipated. Spanish was the language of the homes; only one mother,who was born on the mainland, was a native speaker of English. Thefamilies had lived between 2 and 12 years on the mainland, and 11families were currently receiving welfare benefits. Only two of themothers had completed high school, most having left school between thefourth and ninth grades, while few of the fathers had gone beyond thefifth grade. Although the sample number was small, these 12 families represented17 children in special education programs, which amounted to 35% of the48 Puerto Rican students enrolled in special education programs in theschool district. All but one of these 48 were classified as having milddisabilities, while among the sample children 6 were classified asmentally retarded and 11 as learning disabled. The parents were contacted by two Hispanic social workersaffiliated with a neighborhood voluntary agency. This approach wasimportant because it allowed the researcher to be presented as anindependent agent, not affiliated with or accountable to the schoolsystem and therefore in a better position to gain parents' honestopinions of the system. Selection of the families was based on personaljudgments by the social workers concerning which families they feltwould be most accessible and most willing to participate. Families werenot chosen because of any prior knowledge regarding the parents'experiences with the school system. The researcher was introduced tothe parents by the social workers and subsequently proceededindependently of them. Over a period of 9 months, information was collected throughrepeated unstructured interviews, conducted in the ethnographictradition (Spradley, 1979; Bogdan & Biklen, 1982), with recurringfeedback from researcher to participants to ensure accuracy and correctinterpretation. At least three taped interviews were held with eachfamily. The interviews were conducted by the researcher inparticipants' homes in Spanish or a mixture of Spanish and English,as appropriate; further, additional informal interviews were held withmost parents. A second method of data collection was participantobservation participant observation,n a method of qualitative research in which the researcher understands the contex-tual meanings of an event or events through participating and observing as a subject in the research. , conducted primarily in the style of "observer asparticipant" (McCall & Simmons, 1969). These included sevenmeetings between parents and school personnel, as well as a variety offamily and community activities. Triangulation triangulation:see geodesy. The use of two known coordinates to determine the location of a third. Used by ship captains for centuries to navigate on the high seas, triangulation is employed in GPS receivers to pinpoint their current location on earth. of data was achieved byexamination of students' school documents and by interviews with 12district professionals involved in special education policy or servicedelivery to Spanish-speaking families. The findings of this study are based on the views of a small groupof parents from a particular background, that is, Puerto Rican familiesof low income and relatively little formal education, who might bedescribed as being in the early stages of acculturation acculturation,culture changes resulting from contact among various societies over time. Contact may have distinct results, such as the borrowing of certain traits by one culture from another, or the relative fusion of separate cultures. to the cultureof the U.S. mainland. Their voices cannot be expected to berepresentative of all culturally different parents, or even of allHispanic parents. However, though the study cannot claim to begeneralizable gen��er��al��ize?v. gen��er��al��ized, gen��er��al��iz��ing, gen��er��al��iz��esv.tr.1. a. To reduce to a general form, class, or law.b. To render indefinite or unspecific.2. to other populations, the in-depth, recursive See recursion. recursive - recursion nature ofthe interview and observation methodology ensures that an accuratepicture of parents' views has been obtained. In other words, oneof the main strengths of this methodology lies in its claim tovalidity--the notion that what it claims to demonstrate is in fact whathas been studied, and therefore that one might expect similar findingswith a similar population under similar circumstances. Patton (1980) has offered a thoughtful discussion of the relevanceof generalizability to qualitative data and concludes that the strengthof the method lies in the provision of perspective and of well-groundedinformation that can lead to action. In the case of this study, theclarity of participants' perspectives demonstrates the principle ofcultural relativity cultural relativity,n technique for understanding the various ways in which people explain their behavior. , which goes beyond the particular views of a givengroup and which can serve as a guide for professionals working with anysignificantly different cultural group. FINDINGS This article focuses on two central findings: first, importantways in which the meaning of disability differed along cultural linesfor these families and, second, that the parents held their own theoriesexplaining their children's difficulties. With regard to the issueof culturally based meanings of disability, the data showed twoparticular trends: 1. The parameters of "normalcy" in terms ofchildren's developments were much wider than those used by theeducational system. 2. Different designations for disability led to parents'confusion of terms like handicapped and retarded with more extreme formsof deviance. This section outlines, first, the meaning of the labels and,second, parents' theories of their children's problems. The Meaning of the Labels Francisca, a woman of 55, had years of experience with the specialeducation system. Her daughter, Angelica angelica(ănjĕl`ĭkə), any species of the genus Angelica, plants of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Northern Hemisphere and New Zealand, valued for their potency as a medicament and protection against , had been placed in a programfor children labeled "educable educable/ed��u��ca��ble/ (ej��u-kah-b'l) capable of being educated; formerly used to refer to persons with mild mental retardation (I.Q. approximately 50�C70). mentally retarded" when she wasbetween the ages of 8 and 13. At the time of the study, she hadreturned to the regular class, but Francisca's granddaughter,Rosita, was currently in special education, classified as "mildlymentally retarded." The following is Francisca's account ofher daughter's initial referral to special education. This storyis representative of the way in which many families described theinitial referral of a child for special education services. For many itwas a moment of crisis, marking the onset of a period of confusion anddistress. When the children were small I always used to go and collect themfrom school. One day, when my youngest daughter was in the secondgrade, I went to get her and as I was walking along Spruce Street thechild came running toward me screaming. I was very frightened andthought that something terrible had happened. When she got close to meshe grabbed me and threw herself on me and shrieked shriek?n.1. A shrill, often frantic cry.2. A sound suggestive of such a cry.v. shrieked, shriek��ing, shrieksv.intr.1. To utter a shriek.2. , "Mammi!"I said, "My God! What has happened to you?" And she said tome, "The teacher told me that I must not come to her class anymore,that she is not going to struggle with me anymore because I amcrazy!" So I went to the school and I told them the child is not crazy butthey started sending me these letters and I took them to the LatinAmerican Association and asked someone what they said and they told meit said the child is retarded. They put her in the special classalthough I told them at the meeting that no person who is retarded, whodoes not have a good mind, can do the hard school work she does. I toldthem to stop sending these letters because the child sees them, sheknows English and she reads them and she gets very upset and says,"I am not going back to the school unless they stop saying I amcrazy because I am not crazy." Now they are saying the same thing about my granddaughter, but shehas nothing wrong with her mind either. She behaves well and she speaksclearly in both Spanish and English. Why do they say she is retarded?... They say that the word "handicap" means a lot of things,it doesn't just mean that a person is crazy. But for us, PuertoRicans It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome.This list of Puerto Ricans , we still understand this word as "crazy." For me, aperson who is handicapped is a person who is not of sound mind or hasproblems in speech or some problem of the hands or legs. But mychildren have nothing like that, thanks to God and the Virgin!(Francisca) Most parents were initially as incredulous in��cred��u��lous?adj.1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers.2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare. as Francisca at theassignment of the label "mentally retarded." Coming from abackground where daily affairs can be managed by a healthy body, commonsense, and elementary academic skills, parents explained that the label"retarded" or "handicapped" would be applied only tosomeone whose competence is severely impaired or who is consideredmentally deranged de��range?tr.v. de��ranged, de��rang��ing, de��rang��es1. To disturb the order or arrangement of.2. To upset the normal condition or functioning of.3. To disturb mentally; make insane. . Thus, the labeling of Francisca's daughter andgranddaughter seemed a contradiction in terms Noun 1. contradiction in terms - (logic) a statement that is necessarily false; "the statement `he is brave and he is not brave' is a contradiction"contradictionlogic - the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference : How could a person whois retarded read and become incensed by the very letter that describesher as retarded? How could a 6 1/2-year-old who speaks both English andSpanish be retarded? In addition to different parameters for normal development, theword "retardado" was tied to the general category of mentalillness--a tremendously stigmatized form of social deviance. Thus theterm would only be used to denote behavior and a functional levelseriously different from the norm. One mother, Ana, speaking in termsvery similar to those of Francisca, made a clear distinction between"retarded" and "handicapped": For me, retarded is crazy; in Spanish that's"retardado." For me, the word "handicap" means aperson who is incapacitated in��ca��pac��i��tate?tr.v. in��ca��pac��i��tat��ed, in��ca��pac��i��tat��ing, in��ca��pac��i��tates1. To deprive of strength or ability; disable.2. To make legally ineligible; disqualify. , like mentally, or missing a leg, or who isblind or deaf, who cannot work and cannot do anything . . . a person whois invalid, useless. . . . But for Americans, it is a differentthing--for them, "handicap" is everybody! (Ana) For parents to accept the use of the word retarded they had tostart by differentiating it from the word loco/crazy, and most parentswho made this transition substituted the word slow. However, to reachthis level of agreement with the school, parents would still need to seethe child as significantly different from their own expectations. Thisbecame confusing for parents whose own level of education was at thethird or fourth grade and who had a child already in the fifth or sixth,or who was bilingual while the parent found English difficult to learn.One mother, Carmen Carmenthrows over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190]See : FaithlessnessCarmenthe cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. , exclaimed angrily that the work her daughter wasdoing was sometimes so hard that "neither her father nor I can doit!" The term learning disabled did not evoke the same confusion forparents, but neither did they accept it as an appropriate description oftheir children's difficulties. They readily understood the intentof the term, and did not find it offensive since it acknowledged theoverall developmental competence of the children. However, with onlyone exception, the notion of a deficit intrinsic to the child wasrejected by the parents; in other words, they did not interpret thedifficulty as a "disability." Their explanations aredescribed in the next section. Parents' Theories Parents' interpretations of their children's difficultiesvaried in specific ways; but from all the interviews there emerged threedistinct themes: the importance of family identity in the interpretationof a child's developmental patterns; the detrimental effects ofsecond-language acquisition on school learning; and the detrimentaleffects of educational practices such as frequent changes in placement,out-of-neighborhood placement, an unchallenging curriculum, andinflexible reading instruction. Family Identity. The strong familism of Hispanic cultures is welldocumented (Condon et al., 1979). With reference to Puerto Rican peoplein particular, Canino (1980) has described the typical family as tendingto show an "enmeshed en��mesh? also im��meshtr.v. en��meshed, en��mesh��ing, en��mesh��esTo entangle, involve, or catch in or as if in a mesh. See Synonyms at catch. " rather than a "disengaged dis��en��gage?v. dis��en��gaged, dis��en��gag��ing, dis��en��gag��esv.tr.1. To release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles. See Synonyms at extricate.2. "structure. In this pattern, there is a strong emphasis on thefamily's identity as a group rather than as a collection ofindividuals, which, Canino says, may lead to features such as,"prolonged mother-child interaction," overlapping of nuclearand extended family roles, and a perception of illness as a problem thatresides within the family rather than solely within the individual. This concept of the family became a crucial factor in someparents' interpretations of their children's being describedas "handicapped." For example, some parents said they feltthat their families had been disgraced because the social historieswritten about the children gave the impression that the children'sdifficulties resulted from immorality IMMORALITY. that which is contra bonos mores. In England, it is not punishable in some cases, at the common law, on, account of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions: e. g. adultery. But except in cases belonging to the ecclesiastical courts, the court of king's bench is the custom morum, and in the family. In addition tothese families' traditional association of "retardation"with mental illness, disability thus took on an extra stigma, that ofbeing tied to bad family character. Parents' comments also demonstrated that although a strongconcept of group identity makes the whole group vulnerable, there is aresilience created by these same assumptions. That is, inasmuch as in��as��much as?conj.1. Because of the fact that; since.2. To the extent that; insofar as.inasmuch asconj1. since; because2. theindividual may bring shame to the group, so may aspects of thegroups's identity serve to protect the individual. Thus, allparents spoke of their children's strengths and weaknesses in termsof family characteristics. There is a certain acceptability in a child's difficulties"coming from the father," or being "just like hisaunt." Some mothers modified the term "retarded" andother rejected it outright; but in either case they described thechildren in terms of marked family traits not considered to be outsidethe range of normal behavior. Thus, they felt that the school'slabeling process did not recognize the child's individuality andfamily identity. Francisca, for example, explained both herdaughter's and her granddaughter's difficulties at school interms of the school's preference for more expressive types ofpersonality. Her children, she said, were very quiet, both by heredity heredity,transmission from generation to generation through the process of reproduction in plants and animals of factors which cause the offspring to resemble their parents. That like begets like has been a maxim since ancient times. and because of the family's life style: As I told them at the school, the only problem my child has is thatshe is very quiet. She does not talk much. But this quietness comesfrom the family because the father of these children is very silent. Ifyou speak to him he speaks, if you greet him he greets you, if not,nothing!. . . So this is by heredity; the child has no problem in speechnor is she retarded or anything. . . . And my granddaughter--she is very timid, you know. I brought herup here and she does not play with other children outside, only atschool. At home I only let her go outside if she goes with the family,but alone, no. (Francisca) In a similar vein, another mother, Ramona, acknowledged that her10-year-old daughter was progressing more slowly than most children inacademic work, but did not agree that this meant she was mentallyretarded. Rather, she described her daughter as very unsure of herselfbecause of extreme shyness, similar to that of her "father'sfamily" and of Ramona herself. Ana, whose 9-year-old, Gina, wasalso classified as "mentally retarded," agreed that herdaughter needed a special class because she was slow in learning and herbehavior was very erratic. Ana understood what "Americans"mean by "retarded" but considered it irrelevant: Gina, shesaid, is simply "like her father." He never did learn to readand write and has a quick temper Noun 1. quick temper - a feeling of resentful angerirascibility, short temper, spleenbad temper, ill temper - a persisting angry mood . He has always been like that, and shefeared that Gina would be too: I think she won't change because she is the same thing as myhusband. He is always "con coraje" (quick to anger). Youtell him something, he talks to you back. He can't stay quiet. Hespoils Gina--he says, "I love her because she is just likeme!" (Ana) Learning Disability: "A causa del idioma/Because of thelanguage." Parents of children in both learning disability andmental retardation classifications tended to place their children'sdifficulties in the context of family identity. Beyond this, however,parents also placed a great deal of responsibility for children'sdifficulties on the school. Here a noticeable pattern emerged regardingthe disability label. Parents of children labeled learning disabledfocused on the common theme of "confusion" resulting from thechange from Spanish to English, and one parent specifically charged themethod of teaching reading as the source of her daughter'sdifficulties. Parents of children labeled mentally retarded, however,focused on other detrimental educational practices. Because Spanish was the primary language in all homes in the study,even those children born in the United States learned Spanish as theirfirst language. Thus, English became a requirement only upon entranceinto school, which, for most, was between kindergarten and the thirdgrade. These children were placed directly into regular educationEnglish-speaking classes with varying amounts of "pull-out"for the "English as a Second Language" (ESL (1) An earlier family of client/server development tools for Windows and OS/2 from Ardent Software (formerly VMARK). It was originally developed by Easel Corporation, which was acquired by VMARK. ) program. Thoselabeled mentally retarded were identified within a year or two, andthose labeled learning disabled were referred to special educationbetween the second and sixth grades. All of the latter group hadrepeated one or, in several cases, two grades before being referred. Parents said that the children had been "doing fine" inprekindergarten and kindergarten and that their problems began when thechild entered the elementary grades. Of those children who had startedschool in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico(pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. , most of the parents said that the child had noproblem in school there. Only two children, who had behavior problems,had been considered for special education placement in Puerto Rico. Some parents interpreted the second-language difficulties in schoolas a reflection of teachers' intolerance and unreasonableexpectation. Josefina, for example, whose 14-year-old son had been in aspecial education class since the fourth grade, pointed to an unduefocus on students' accents, a point which has also been made byresearchers Moll and Diaz (1987). To quote Josefina: It is all because of the language--nothing more! At first my sondid not know English, but he had to learn to read it and write it. Thenwhen he learned it, his pronunciation was not perfect like an Americanbecause he must have a Puerto Rican accent, but they wanted him to knowit correctly. When I went to the meeting they said that the child is ata high level in math but the reading.... So I told them that I supposethat a child from Puerto Rico could not learn English so quickly--he canlearn to read it but not so perfectly as an American! (Josefina) Another mother, Delia, illustrated the impact of the languageproblem by drawing a comparison between her older children, who beganschool in Puerto Rico and were doing "all right" until theyentered the first and second grades in the United States, and heryoungest child, who was born in the United States and went toprekindergarten here. She said that at the end of the semester therewas a family joke when the little girl came home from her kindergartenclass with a certificate for good reading; the older children laughed,but were really embarrassed because they were behind in reading. Deliaconcluded that the difference was that "the little girl startedhere in the pre-k, not like the others starting in Puerto Rico and thencoming to this country to meet with a new language." Although parents were adamant regarding the role of languageconfusion, it was evident that they did not have a clear idea of exactlyhow this worked in school. Parents used the terms ESL and bilingualinterchangeably and expressed the belief that this program was thesource of the children's confusion. However, none of the childrenin the study were old enough to have been in the district'sbilingual program, which had been discontinued about 8 years before thestudy began. Another aspect of the comment that "bilingual or ESL"classes confused children is that this belief presented a dilemma formost of the parents: They felt that a choice had to be made betweenEnglish and Spanish, and all were adamant that they would choose Englishfor their children. Yet they thought it a shame that the children werenot learning to read and write in Spanish, and might even forget thelanguage after a while. For families who thought they might like toreturn to Puerto Rico, this was particularly worrying. Others simplyfelt that the ability to speak two languages should be an advantage. Teaching of Reading. The teaching of reading became the focus ofone mother's concern. Dora, whose daughter, Maria, was labeledlearning disabled, was pursuing an understanding of the methodology usedto teach reading and had concluded that inflexible use of adirect-instruction, phonic phon��icadj.Of, relating to, or having the nature of sound, especially speech sounds.phonicpertaining to the voice. method, along with repeated grade retention,had compounded her daughter's language-induced difficulties. Doradid not consider her daughter as learning disabled, because, she said: When I started teaching her to read in kindergarten, I taught herto read the whole word and she was learning, but the way they areteaching her now is confusing her. All children are not the same, andshe is not learning by this method. For one thing, it is onlyphonetics phonetics(fōnĕt`ĭks, fə–), study of the sounds of languages from three basic points of view. Phonetics studies speech sounds according to their production in the vocal organs (articulatory phonetics), their physical properties ; and she became confused when she started school and had tolearn the difference between the letters ABC, and the sounds you have tosay in English. (Dora) Both Dora's account and her daughter's school recordsshowed that although Maria had passed the first reading level at the endof the second grade, in repeating the grade she had, somehow, been putback to the same level. Toward the end of her repeating year,Maria's report indicated that she still had not mastered thisreading level. Her mother was incredulous: It is a very hard thing to understand! It is impossible that Mariacould stay a whole year on the same reading level, especially when shehad passed it the year before! (Dora) Placement and Curriculum in the Special Class. Although parents of children labeled mentally retarded generallyagreed that their children were slow in development, they argued thattwo aspects of special education programming had exacerbated theirchildren's difficulties and, in Ana's words, had done thechildren "a lot of harm." The detrimental practicesidentified were, first, frequent changes of school and, second, aninfantile infantile/in��fan��tile/ (in��fin-til) pertaining to an infant or to infancy. in��fan��tileadj.1. Of or relating to infants or infancy.2. and repetitive curriculum in the special class. The frequent changes of placement reflected the schooldistrict's pattern of moving children labeled mentally retarded towhatever was considered the most appropriate self-contained program.This was devastating dev��as��tate?tr.v. dev��as��tat��ed, dev��as��tat��ing, dev��as��tates1. To lay waste; destroy.2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. for some children and for their parents, who, forthe most part, spent most of their time in their own neighborhood andgenerally considered the city at large dangerous and alien. Rita'sdaughter, Marta, for example, had been moved to five different schoolsbetween ages 6 and 9, and had finally been placed in a school where thedistrict said she would remain until age 12. Similarly,Francisca's granddaughter, Angelica, had been placed in threedifferent schools between the ages of 5 and 7, and Francisca hadrecently refused to allow her to be moved to a fourth. Ana'sdaughter, Gina, had experienced four school changes by the age of 9. Theparents were angry about the moves and about the children's beingplaced in schools outside of the neighborhood. These parents were also angry about the nature of the curriculum inspecial classes, which they all said taught only kindergarten activitiessuch as painting and coloring. In Francisca's words: They give her a little paper with animals and she has to mark if itis a cow or a dog, and things like that! I see her as much more alertthan that and she could learn to count and write.... All day long sheis wasting time, because they are not teaching her anything. If sheneeds to learn to paint I could teach her at home! (Francisca) Ana had encountered the same problem when her son had been placedin special education some years before in another city. Uponrelocating, she found her own way of solving the problem: When I moved down here I was tired of Jose staying down in thespecial class. He was always in kindergarten; they never let him passto the first grade because they say he doesn't know the work. Buthow can Jose know something if you don't tell him how to do it?All they did was painting and some little stuff--every day the samething. So when I came here I told them I lost the school papers and Iput him in regular first grade. He failed one year, but the next yearhe passed.... He never failed since then, and he gets As and Bs in theregular class because he is very intelligent. (Ana) Parents' Views of Children's Progress Despite disagreement with the school's interpretations of themeaning of their children's difficulties, parents'satisfaction with the effectiveness of special education varied. Asindicated previously, the exigencies of special class placement weregenerally seen as a deterrent to children's progress for thoselabeled mentally retarded. On the other hand, some parents of childrenlabeled learning disabled felt that the resource room program washelping their child. Margarita Margarita(märgärē`tä), island, 444 sq mi (1,150 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. With many smaller islands it constitutes the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta (1990 pop. 263,748). and Delia, for example, who bothexplained their children's problems in terms of second-language"confusion," said that the children were progressing better asa result of the special attention. Ines, the only mother who said shehad come to the United States because of her son's learningdifficulties, felt that the school was doing its best and she wasgetting the services she came for. Others, however, such as Dora andJosefina, were skeptical, believing that a combination of intoleranceand inappropriate methods continued to hold the children back. Yet it is important to note that the parents did not object tospecial assistance as such. On the contrary, they all said thatsmall-group instruction should be the main benefit of special education.Even parents who considered the curriculum or the teaching methodsinappropriate also felt that the child "would not make it" ina large class. In sum, parents mostly agreed that the children werehaving difficulty and were willing to accept appropriate and effectivehelp from special education, but varied in their assessment of theactual success of these programs. DISCUSSION This study of parents' views makes two crucial points forprofessionals in special education: first, it illustrates the argumentthat conceptions of disability are socially constructed (Bogdan &Knoll, 1988) and that, in the words of Irving Goffman, "The normaland the stigmatized are not persons but rather perspectives"(Goffman, 1963, p. 138). Second, the study shows a cluster of folktheories that are very much in line with certain current arguments inthe field of special education. Parents' Theories as Cultural Perspectives The perspectives of these 12 Puerto Rican families should sharpeneducators' awareness of the potential for cross-culturalmisunderstanding inherent in the culturally specific classificationsystem used by special education. As professionals, we need to bereminded that any deviance classification is based on the values andexpectations of a society in a particular era. Indeed, it is likelythat, in a more rural and less technological America, mainstreamconceptions of disability may have been considerably different. The language of the law (the Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act This article or section is currently being developed or reviewed.Some statements may be disputed, incorrect, , biased or otherwise objectionable. ), however, and the medical model it espouses, reflect noneof this ambiguity. Indeed, the process of reification re��i��fy?tr.v. re��i��fied, re��i��fy��ing, re��i��fiesTo regard or treat (an abstraction) as if it had concrete or material existence.[Latin r , by which atheoretical construct is treated as objective reality (Bowers Bowers is a surname, and may refer to Betty Bowers Bryan Bowers Charles Bowers Claude Bowers Dane Bowers David A. Bowers Elizabeth Crocker Bowers Graham Bowers Henry Francis Bowers Henry Robertson Bowers, (1883 - 1912), polar explorer , 1984), isevident in the conception of disability inherent in special educationtheory and practice--the belief that a child's failure to mastercertain skills is indicative of an objectively identifiable intrinsicdeficit. The limitations of the assessment process are recognized bythe law in its call for measures to ensure unbiased assessment, yet thesubjective nature of the process is inescapable and becomes most evidentwith students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The interpretation of parents' disagreement as a reflection ofcultural difference may be challenged in a number of ways. First, it isappropriate to ask whether these parents' views differsignificantly from those of mainstream American parents; second, whetherparents are simply engaging in a process of denial to protect theirchildren's and their families' identities; third, whetherparents' disagreement simply represents a difference innomenclature--in this case, a mistaken translation of the term retardedto mean crazy. Wolfensberger (1983) described the process of stigmatizing in termsof the negative valuing of a characteristic, the subsequent attributionof that characteristic as the defining feature of an individual, and,hence, the ultimate devaluing of the whole individual. Similarly,Goffman (1963) spoke of this process as the "spoiling" or"disgracing" of individual identity. As was indicated by theearlier review of literature, parents' desire to protect theirfamilies from such stigma could explain the commonly observed preferencefor milder, more specific, rather than global labels. The literaturealso showed that parents disagreed with professionals mostly at thelevel of naming the problem, not at the level of describingchildren's performance or behavior. In this regard, the parents inthis study showed a pattern similar to what is known about mainstreamparents, in that they rejected the labels while acknowledging that theirchildren have difficulties. The reasons for their rejection of theselabels, however, were complex. First, like the mainstream parents in the literature, they foundthe label "mental retardation" too stigmatizing. This wasexacerbated by the fact that the traditional Spanish used by thesefamilies does not have a word for retarded, but rather identifies mentaldisability with mental retardation, under the vernacular term loco(crazy). It is not simply a matter of mistranslation mis��trans��late?tr.v. mis��trans��lat��ed, mis��trans��lat��ing, mis��trans��latesTo translate incorrectly.mis , but a reflectionof an absence of distinction between mental illness and intellectualimpairment, the latter being considered an impairment only at the moreextreme end of the spectrum. The avoidance of stigma, however, is not the only reason thatparents may reject a label. The parents in this study genuinelydisagreed that deficits in mastering academic skills were tantamount tan��ta��mount?adj.Equivalent in effect or value: a request tantamount to a demand.[From obsolete tantamount, an equivalent, from Anglo-Norman toa handicap, as was made clear by Francisca's incredulity that achild who can read and who can speak two languages could be consideredretarded. The use of academic learning as a criterion for normalcy isclearly related to differing societal norms. Beyond the issues of stigma and varying societal norms, there isalso the question of assumptions about etiology in mild disabilities.The concept of disability, by definition, suggests some impairmentintrinsic to the individual. Mainstream parents have argued for morerestricted, less global interpretations of children's difficulties,but have not rejected the notion of disability as such. Indeed, it iswell known that parents have been a powerful force in the recognition ofthe existence of learning disabilities. In this study, parents ofchildren labeled mentally retarded, when they accepted theirchildren's delay as an intrinsic characteristic, tended to acceptit as falling within the normal framework of the family's identity,and did not define it as a disability. Parents of children labeledlearning disabled, on the other hand, explicitly rejected the notion ofwithin-child etiology, identifying the source as extrinsic EVIDENCE, EXTRINSIC. External evidence, or that which is not contained in the body of an agreement, contract, and the like. 2. It is a general rule that extrinsic evidence cannot be admitted to contradict, explain, vary or change the terms of a contract or of a to the child.This is in keeping with the previously mentioned work of Mercer (1972)and of Marion (1980) with Black and Hispanic parents. Thus, the views of culturally different parents may differ in someimportant ways from those of mainstream parents. This study shows howintense can be the stigmatizing effects on families whose cultural baseis different, whose knowledge of the school system is minimal, and whoalready feel powerless and alienated. Correa (1989) made the point thatacculturation must be a two way, "reciprocal" process, withprofessionals in education becoming sensitized sensitized/sen��si��tized/ (sen��si-tizd) rendered sensitive. sensitizedrendered sensitive.sensitized cellssee sensitization (2). to the values and normsof the cultures from which their students come. First, however,professionals must become aware of their own values, and of the factthat most human values Human Values is the universal concept that preserves and enhances Homo Sapiens as a species, this applies to every human being on the present universe, anything against this values brings the consequence of a Self Species Extermination Event (SSEE) like hate, racism or war. are not universal but are generated by the needsof each culture. Such awareness is not too much to ask: It is throughthe eyes of the school that a child officially comes to be defined as asuccess or a failure; the school system must, therefore, accept thetremendous responsibility that accompanies such power. Folk Theories and Professional Arguments The ability of these parents to identify weaknesses in theeducation system exemplifies the validity of the law's intention toinclude parents in the decision-making process, yet it is notable thatthe discourse between parents and professionals provided no forum forparents' theories to be heard. Indeed, as has been observedelsewhere (Harry, 1992), such discourse is structured so as to excludeand delegitimate views that fall outside the framework of the law'sconception of disability. Marion (1980), in discussing the subordinate role often accordedminority parents, stated that professionals often withhold informationon the assumption that such parents are too unsophisticated to benefitfrom much professional information. Similarly, Sullivan (1980) chargedprofessionals with assuming that low-income parents will accept anyevaluation of their children. This study illustrates the perceptivenessof a group of low-income parents who spoke neither the literal nor themetaphorical language This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.This article has been tagged since September 2007. of the school. The study offers a small buteffective challenge to the recent charge of Dunn (1988) that Hispanicparents' lack of interest is partly responsible for the poorperformance of their children. The theories of these parents reflectongoing debates current among professionals in the field--debates onlabeling, on appropriate instruction for bilingual students, and on theefficacy of special class placement. Labeling. Arguments against the current classification system areno less than 20 years old (Dunn, 1968; Mercer, 1973) and have continuedto gain momentum (Gardner, 1982; Reynolds & Lakin, 1987) with regardto both the mild mental retardation construct and learning disabilities.One recommendation for change has been a call for new designations, suchas "educational handicap" (Reschly, 1987), or"educationally delayed" (Polloway & Smith, 1987),reflecting the fact that students' difficulties are largely relatedto academic learning. Indeed, Reschly's argument that studentsclassified as mildly retarded are "inappropriately stigmatized byimplicit use of the same continuum for all levels of mentalretardation" (Reschly, p. 37) is identical to that of the parentsin this study. Goodman (1989), in a study of third-graders'perceptions of the term mentally retarded, has recently demonstratedthat this label is a "poor diagnostic term ... embedded inerroneous thinking" (p. 327) and has called for new terminology orclassification criteria. More radical, however, are challenges that call for rejection ofcategorical That which is unqualified or unconditional.A categorical imperative is a rule, command, or moral obligation that is absolutely and universally binding.Categorical is also used to describe programs limited to or designed for certain classes of people. eligibility criteria based on the concept of within-childdeficits. Such arguments call for a system of service that would reflectthe programmatic pro��gram��mat��ic?adj.1. Of, relating to, or having a program.2. Following an overall plan or schedule: a step-by-step, programmatic approach to problem solving.3. needs of students or that rely on curriculum-basedapproaches and dimensional rather than categorical diagnosis (Gerber& Semmel, 1984; Reynolds & Lakin, 1987). These arguments are even more urgent when applied to students fromracially and culturally diverse backgrounds. It is not enough to saythat many people misunderstand mis��un��der��stand?tr.v. mis��un��der��stood , mis��un��der��stand��ing, mis��un��der��standsTo understand incorrectly; misinterpret. disability classifications and that it istherefore simply a matter of nomenclature nomenclature/no��men��cla��ture/ (no��men-kla?cher) a classified system of names, as of anatomical structures, organisms, etc.binomial nomenclature . It is now widelyacknowledged that our assessment system is severely limited in itsability to identify the true nature of students' learningdifficulties, especially when these students' cultural experiencespredispose pre��dis��posev.To make susceptible, as to a disease. them to linguistic, cognitive, and behavioral styles that maydiffer in important ways from what is considered normative on mostassessment instruments (Cummins, 1984; Figueroa, 1989). Particularlyrelevant to the views of parents in this study is the observation thatthe "learning disability" label is often applied to childrenwhose difficulties are really a reflection of normal second-languagedevelopment (Ortiz & Polyzoi, 1986). This study supports the argument that it is time for us to abandonour reliance on a model whose main effect is to locate the source offailure in the child. The concept of disability in the case ofunderachieving children is simply inadequate and inappropriate in thecontext of the tremendous diversity of American schools. Instruction and Efficacy. Research on instruction and efficacy inspecial education also parallels the interpretations of parents in thisstudy. Cummins (1979, 1984) has argued convincingly that children maydemonstrate adequate basic interpersonal competence in a second languagewhile their level of cognitive academic language proficiency Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) is a language-related term which refers to formal academic learning, as opposed to BICS. In schools today, the terms BICS and CALP are most frequently used to discuss the language proficiency levels of students who are in the process of may beinadequate to the task of literacy or psychological assessment in thesecond language. Indeed, the literature on this topic overwhelminglyconcurs that to move children to second-language literacy too soon is toset them up for failure in both languages, thus preparing them forlow-status roles in the host society, as well as alienation from theirnative culture (Cordasco, 1976; Lewis, 1980; Ovando & Collier, 1985;Spener, 1988; Stein, 1986). A crucial outcome of the premature introduction of children toinstruction in the second language is grade retention, a featurefrequently observed among bilingual students, with a common pattern of"overage OverageApples mainly to convertible securities. Difference between how much common stock one party must sell and the other wishes to buy for the same amount of convertible in a swap. " students (Walker, 1987). Among the families in thisstudy, it was not uncommon to find children as much as 3 years olderthan the usual age for their grade, and it was the rare child who hadnot repeated at least one grade level. Besides language of instruction, research is increasingly focusingon the need for culturally sensitive instructional approaches. Incontrast to the direct instruction, phonic-based approach used withDora's daughter in this study, are more holistic, meaning-basedapproaches recommended currently for students from different cultures(Au, 1981; Ruiz, 1989). Indeed, Figueroa, Fradd, and Correa (1989), insummarizing the findings on assessment and instructional services, callfor a paradigm shift A dramatic change in methodology or practice. It often refers to a major change in thinking and planning, which ultimately changes the way projects are implemented. For example, accessing applications and data from the Web instead of from local servers is a paradigm shift. See paradigm. from "decontextualized, acultural andasocial a��so��cialadj.1. Avoiding or averse to the society of others; not sociable.2. Unable or unwilling to conform to normal standards of social behavior; antisocial. " interventions, toward conditions of high context, both inassessment and instructional approaches. Along with this shift, otherresearchers recommend targeting curricula toward the "upper rangeof bilingual children's academic, linguistic, and socialskills" (Ruiz, p. 130), and viewing the culture from which studentscome as a resource rather than a deficit (Moll & Diaz, 1987). Likethe parents in this study, professionals in the field of specialeducation are calling for effective, challenging, and culturallyappropriate programs. In his proposed framework for the empowerment of minority students,Cummins (1989) has used a sociohistorical perspective to analyze theunderachievement of students from what John Ogbu John Uzo Ogbu (May 9 1939 – 20 August 2003) was a Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor known for his theories on observed phenomena involving race and intelligence, especially how race and ethnic differences played out in educational and economic achievement. (1978) has called"caste-like minorities." Cummins argued that only throughholistic interventions, incorporating cultural/linguistic, community,pedagogical ped��a��gog��ic? also ped��a��gog��i��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. , and assessment needs, will minority students be empoweredto achieve to their potential. The input of parents is essential inthis process. Most of the parents in this study said that their children werefine until they started school. This should not be relegated to thestatus of parent/folk lore: It is, increasingly, the comment of carefulscholars who have focused their attention on students from low-statusminority groups. Henry Trueba (1989) has put the case succinctly suc��cinct?adj. suc��cinct��er, suc��cinct��est1. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse: a succinct reply; a succinct style.2. : These disabilities are an attribute of schools. Children'sseeming "unpreparedness" for mainstream schooling is only ameasure of the rigidity and ignorance of our school system, whichcreates handicap out of social and cultural differences. (p. 70) This study shows that the power of parents may be seriouslyundermined by culturally different ways of understanding. Yet it alsoshows that poor parents, with little formal education, and a differentlanguage and culture, may, through their own analysis of theirchildren's difficulties, have a significant contribution to make tocurrent debates in the field of special education. This can onlyunderscore The underscore character (_) is often used to make file, field and variable names more readable when blank spaces are not allowed. For example, NOVEL_1A.DOC, FIRST_NAME and Start_Routine. (character) underscore - _, ASCII 95. Cummins' (1989) call for a collaborative versus anexclusionary approach to defining the roles of families. Students fromwidely differing cultural backgrounds already comprise the bulk of thepopulation in certain school systems; in the coming century they will nolonger be in the minority nationwide. If their parents' voicescannot be listened to, vast numbers of students will be caught betweenirreconcilable worlds of home and school. Two years after the completion of this study, a limited follow-uprevealed that parents' opinions of their children'sperformance had not changed. In the words of one mother, Dora, whoseapparently very bright 6-year-old was about to fail kindergarten: Algo esta pasando en la ensenanza, porque la chiquilla es muynormal, y despues de un ano, no pudo aprender a leer ni una palabra! Yolo siento, pero, es imposible que yo crea una cosa asi! Y siempre lamayoria de los ninos Hispanos tienen problemas en la lectura. Eso yo nocomprendo! (Something is going wrong in the teaching, because the little girlis very normal, and after one year, she has not been able to learn toread even one word! I am sorry, but it is impossible to believe such athing! And the majority of Hispanic children continue to have problemsin reading. I do not understand it!) (Dora) REFERENCES Au, K. (1981). Teaching reading to Hawaiian children: Finding aculturally appropriate solution. In H. T. Trueba, G. P. Guthrie, &K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom (pp. 139-154).Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Barsch, R. H. (1961). Explanations offered by parents and siblingsof brain-damaged children. Exceptional Children, 27, 286-291. Becker, H. S. (1963). Studies in the sociology of deviance The sociology of deviance is the sociological study of deviant behavior, the recognized violation of cultural norms, and the creation and enforcement of those norms. The sociology of deviance is related to, but also distinct from the field of criminology. . 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