Mexican and Indian-Americans – Free Online Dating Wiki
The classroom is truly a reflection of the surrounding community. Coming from all walks of life, the students who enter the classroom bring with them a unique site of circumstances that impact how they learn. Home life, economic status, and ethnic background are all factors that affect how children learn. Typically, children whose economic status is low and those who are first or second generation immigrants do not fare as well in school as their counterparts. For teachers, understanding their students translates into conception each student’s background. Having a thorough knowledge of the cultures represented in the classroom is the first step a teacher can take in understanding her students. When a teacher is well versed in the ways and customs of various cultural groups, the door to learning is thrown wide begin for the students. It is my intent to gain both an understanding and respect for the cultures researched for this project that will enable me to educate my students to their full potential.
The United States has become a melting pot of cultures. Every state, county, and city is well represented by the world’s numerous cultures. Nowhere is this more evident than in the place of Delaware. As business and commerce thrives in this exiguous state, more and more people are making it their home. As Delaware’s population burgeons and immigrants flood our borders, the state’s ethnic communities have begun to expand and grow beyond the major cities into the suburbs. Two of the most rapidly growing ethnic communities in Delaware are those of the Mexicans and Asian Indians.
I am fascinated by these two groups of people and enjoy taking any opportunity possible to learn more about them. Perhaps I derive them so interesting because they live and work within the community yet remain separate from it. As a teacher I also realize that their lack of assimilation poses difficulties for the education of their children. In the classroom, their native cultures often clashes with that of the community, and makes learning difficult for the children. Their native cultures affect the way they think and act and what they have. Many times this places the children at odds with the teacher or the curriculum. Through the research conducted for this paper, I learned much about both the Mexicans and Asian Indians and have gained great insight to these special people. I hope that the insight gained will help me as a teacher to better understand my students.
Materials and Methods
Research for this paper was begun on the internet. I started by “fishing” for information on Google.com. I fished using keywords such as “Mexican Americans,” “Asian Indian Americans,” “Mexican culture,” “Indian culture,” “social customs in Mexico,” “social customs in India.” The search engine directed me to numerous online encyclopedias and articles. I began gathering my information by reading articles relating to the cultures I wanted to learn about on Wikipedia.com. From the articles I was able to narrow my scope of research and decide which aspects of the cultures I wanted to address. The internet was also widely used to find government documents and other famous sources to meet the requirements of the research. Again, I fished for information on Google.com under keywords like “Mexican population in Delaware,” “Asian Indian population in Delaware,” and “Census 2000 statistics.” These keywords led me to the Delaware.gov website and the U.S. Census Bureau website. After gathering preliminary information from the internet, I then visited my local library. Using the electronic card catalog I searched for books on my chosen topics using many of the same keywords that I used for my initial internet search.
As I reviewed my sources, I found that those gathered from the internet contained all of the information I was seeking. Encyclopedia articles, journals, book excerpts, and numerous homepages dedicated to educating others about the cultures I chose were readily available on the internet. Everyculture.com was extremely helpful as it contained discussions on many of the aspects I chose to address for each culture. The Library of Congress’ cultural studies website also contained worthy needed information and was widely used. On the other hand, it was quite difficult locating books at the library. However, I did come across a few books from which I took much information: Salsa: A Taste of Hispanic Culture, Transplanting religious Traditions: Asian Indians in America, and Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History.
Choosing the aspects of each culture that I wanted to address was challenging and took great conception. I began by thinking about the purpose of the paper and its application to my career. I listed all of the different aspects of culture I could think of and then began to eliminate those that I felt had no bearing on gaining a deeper understanding for the people of each culture. Once I decided on the aspects I would address, I then began to gather my information. I skimmed the articles and books in search of information for the chosen aspects. I then drew a rough sketch of a concept intention and noted the details on it. I began each notion map with three major categories: immigration history, culture which was given sub-categories of family structure, coming of age ceremonies, courtship and weddings, and literature, and community impact.
The immigration history of the Mexicans and Asian Indians to the United States began during the latter half of the nineteenth century as they sought better opportunities for themselves and their families. The Mexican and Asian Indian peoples brought with them a rich cultural heritage which is steadfastly maintained in their new homeland. They remain, for the most section, uninfluenced by the design of life in the United States. Family and children are of utmost importance to Mexican and Asian Indian Americans, and they maintain weak family structures. Their coming of age celebrations are unique and mark important events in the lives of their children. Despite the influence of the community around them, they continue to follow the age-old traditions of courtship and weddings; they have held fast to the cultural traditions of their ancestors. Their numbers alone have greatly impacted the local community; however, both the Mexican and Asian Indian populations have made important contributions to the community that cannot be overlooked.
Mexican Americans
The history of Mexicans in the United States is a long one, occurring nearly four hundred years ago. Long before the founding of the United States, Mexicans began colonizing the areas of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, California, Utah, and Wyoming and made them a part of the Mexican Republic (Wikipedia). These established communities lived among the Native American populations and integrated with them. The first major movement of Mexicans into the United States occurred after the Mexican-American War in 1848. This movement was involuntary due to the acquisition by the United States of the lands stretching from Texas to California (Coerver, Pasztor, & Buffington, 2004). However, most of the Mexicans living in these territories stayed and became American citizens. Following the war and for the next fifty years, there was itsy-bitsy immigration to the United States by Mexican citizens. In the late 1890’s Mexico began to experience economic changes that brought about the displacement of rural populations and depressed agricultural wages. Simultaneously, in the Southwestern United States the expansion of the railroad, mining, and improved agricultural developments offered work alternatives to Mexico’s unskilled workers, thus attracting large numbers of workers to the United States (Coerver, et al, 2004).
The United States looked favorably on the influx of Mexican into the United, as Mexican laborers supplied much of the needed workforce in the agricultural Southwest. During the 1920’s when the United States began to tighten immigration laws by establishing quotas for immigration, the Western Hemisphere was exempted from the quotas, thus allowing Mexican citizens free entry into the United States (Coerver, et al, 2004). Mexicans would enjoy this dwelling until 1965 when new immigration laws placed quotas on the number of immigrants entering the U.S. from the Western Hemisphere and again in 1976 when Mexico came under general restrictions.
Despite immigration restrictions for Mexicans entering the United States, amnesty provisions enacted in 1986 in the Immigration Reform and Control Act allowed for over one million Mexicans in the U.S. illegally to become full citizens (Coerver, et al, 2004). Again additional changes in 1990 increased Mexico’s annual quota. Mexico figures very prominently in apt immigration to the United States. However, in recent years the focus has been on illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States. Rapid population growth and economic crises in Mexico have pushed larger numbers of Mexicans north into the United States seeking employment and better living conditions.
Traditionally, illegal Mexicans entering the U.S. were from rural backgrounds and were seeking seasonal employment in agriculture with no intentions of remaining for long periods of time. Today, most illegal Mexican immigrants arrive from urban backgrounds looking for employment in the non-agricultural job market. These workers arrive in the United States intending to stay for a long period of time or permanently. Of all the immigrant groups arriving in the U.S., Mexicans have, historically, been the least likely to examine citizenship. Recent trends show that higher numbers of Mexicans are now seeking U.S. citizenship (Coerver, et al, 2004).
Despite the long history of Mexican immigration to the United States, the ragged cultural heritage of the Mexicans remains virtually unchanged. Resistant to assimilation, due, mainly, to the large numbers of Mexican Americans residing in the U.S. and their close proximity to Mexico, they believe fiercely to the cultural values of their ancestors.
Family is highly valued by Mexican Americans; the ties between family units are very strong. Mexicans newly arrived in the country usually seek out relatives already established in the U.S. and often depend on them for a residence to live and assistance in finding jobs. Mexican families include not only immediate family members but also extended family members which are typically grandparents, great-grand parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, adopted children, and close friends. Also included in the family unit are godparents. Godparents are close friends of either the mother or father of a child and at the time of the child’s baptism begin a close relationship with the child providing emotional and financial assistance to their godchild.
Older generations are held in high regard by. Respect towards and dependence on their elders creates close-knit families. In times of difficulty, family members can rely on both their immediate and extended family to lend a hand (Keefe & Padilla, 1987). When important decisions must be made, consideration is first given to the needs of the family group and then to the individual. The integrity of the family is of utmost importance.
Mexican households are traditionally male-dominated. The husband as the head of the household is the authority figure and breadwinner. All decisions, social and financial, are made by the husband. The wives typically have control over household affairs but are expected to be both obedient and submissive to their husbands. Wives are the family nurturer. Rarely are they employed outside of the home; their primary job is to care for the home and family. Children are taught to recognize the division of authority. From an early age, girls are taught to have aspirations differing from those of boys and that motherhood is the ideal unbiased of all young girls. From an early age, girls are taught how to take care of a home and a family. They are often given the responsibility of caring for younger siblings.
The passage from childhood into young womanhood, coinciding with a girl’s fifteenth birthday, is marked with a special celebration called el quinceañero. It is the traditional coming out party for Hispanic girls. While the form of celebration varies from community to community, it usually involves a large fiesta either held in the girl’s home or in a rented banquet hall complete with a hired orchestra. The quinceañera dresses in a gown specially chosen for the occasion and is accompanied by several of her closest friends dressed in matching gowns. Family and friends gather for food, conversation, and dancing. Dancing does not begin, however, until the young woman requests a dance with her father or another valuable father-figure in her family (FalcÓn, 1998). It is not uncommon for the event to be covered in the local newspaper or announced on the local radio station. This special event symbolizes the opportunity to act like a grown-up and wear make-up, high heels, and to inaugurate dating.
Dating traditionally begins around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Mainly a group event, friends, classmates, and acquaintances will go together in large groups (FalcÓn, 1998). It is not until the high school years when the groups will begin to break up into couples. Once this occurs, and a young couple has made a more serious emotional commitment to each other, the term “novio(a)” is used. The term holds a more serious meaning than boyfriend or girlfriend and holds the couple to clearly defined expectations as courtship begins (FalcÓn, 1998).
During courtship, it is not uncommon for a chaperon to accompany the couple when they are together. In homes, someone is usually with them at all times. At the end of a date when the woman is escorted home, it is preferred that she invite him into the house rather than have a long good-bye at the front door, so that neighbors are given no reason to make comments and embarrass the family. When the time comes to consider marriage, it is archaic for the man to ask the woman’s father for her hand in marriage. If the father gives his consent, the couple then begins their engagement period which may last several years.
The culmination of courtship is the wedding ceremony. Weddings may be either civil or religious. A religious ceremony is held at the church and is attended by family and friends. Distinguished like American weddings, a bridal party is often a part of a formal religious ceremony. Usually, the bridal party is comprised of the father of the bride, mother of the bride, and friends of the couple. If the wedding takes place in a Catholic church, there may also be a padrino and madrina de velaciones whose job is to place a veil and string over the bride and groom as a symbolic uniting (FalcÓn, 1998).
Mexican American literature began to flourish during the turbulent days following the Mexican American War. As the Mexicans living on the lands annexed to the United States suddenly found themselves immigrants in their own land, they began an oral tradition of literature that reflected the difficulties they faced. Passed from generation to generation, the songs and stories have evolved into a unique acquire of poetry (Mexican American Voices, 2007).
From the cultural conflict of this time period, a style of song called a corrido began to flourish. They are very much like the blues songs and poetry of the African Americans. Corridos expressed the anger and resentment felt by Mexican immigrants because of the discrimination and oppression they faced at the hands of their Anglo-Saxon neighbors. They recount the history of the Southwest through the eyes of the Mexican American. The corridor has remained a popular form of literary expression and continues to entertain with subjects that range from bandoleros to bullfighting (Mexican American Voices, 2007).
“El Coyotito”
When I left HermosilloMy tears fell like rain,
But the little red flowerConsoled my pain.
I am like the coyoteThat rolls them, and goesTrotting off side-ways,
And nobody knows.
The green pine has fallen,
Where the doves used to pair;
Now the black one may acquire on returning
Little tow-heads with sandy hair!
The adobe is gone
Where my sword hung suspended;
Why worry- when everything’sAt the last ended? T
The adobe is gone
Where my mirror was bright,
And the small cedar treeIs the rabbit’s tonight.
The cactus is bare
Where the tunas were sweet;
No longer need you be jealous
Of the women I meet.
Friends, if you see her
In the hills up above,
Don’t tell her that I am in prison-
For she is my love.(Valdez, L. & Steiner, S. 1972, p. 134)
While the corridor was to be a creative outlet separate and distinct from American culture, some Mexican literary writers began attempting to reach out to their Anglo neighbors. Prior to 1900 a majority of Mexican American literature was written in Spanish thus limiting who could read their works. After the turn of the century, authors such as Maria Christina Mena began writing in English for various magazines opening the doors of Mexican American literature for Anglos (Mexican American Voices, 2007).
Today’s unique Mexican American authors have the unique ability to maintain the aspects of their native culture while intersecting with mainstream America (Mexican American Voices, 2007).
Today Mexican Americans make up the largest Hispanic community. They comprise roughly 12.5 percent of the country’s population (U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000). In all, 28.3 million listed their ancestry as Hispanic on the 2000 census. In Original Castle County, Delaware, approximately 7.1 percent of the population is Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). As more Mexicans immigrate to the United States in search of better opportunities, the Hispanic communities in the U.S. will continue to grow.
Community impact occurs on various levels. Perhaps the most notable is the job market. No longer are Mexican Americans small to agriculturally based employment, but for many, there is a wide array of employment opportunities available. By 1990 less than 2.9 percent of the Mexican American working population was employed in the agricultural field. A majority of the Mexican American population fetch themselves working within the service sector. However, a small percentage [less than 3 percent] of the population continues to work as farm laborers. Other areas of gainful employment, such as professional, health, and education are seeing increases in Hispanic applications. With the exception of many second and third generation Mexicans, most work for wages that descend well-below the national average.
Asian Indian Americans
Asian Indians began immigrating to the United States in the 1890’s. Through the remaining years of the nineteenth century and the first twenty years of the new century, approximately 7000 Asian Indians entered the U.S. Nearly 75 percent of those entering the country during this time were from the Punjab [northwest region of India] (Fenton, 1988). Most were farmers and laborers in search of economic opportunity. They settled mainly on the west coast and found employment in agriculture and construction. Others came and worked as merchants and traders or in western logging camps and lumbar mills (Wikipedia). These first immigrants arrived in America with the intentions of earning money to send befriend to their families in India and eventually returning home. However, a few planned to stay permanently and eventually earned enough money to lease or purchase their possess farms and property (Fenton, 1988).
A second wave of immigrants from India began arriving on the shores of America in 1965. Between 1965 and 1974, immigration from India increased at a rate higher than that from any other country. This wave of immigrants was vastly different from that of the first. Those that arrived in the U.S. after 1965 were mainly highly educated, urban professionals. In the ten years after the start of the second wave, approximately 100,000 professionals and their families made the United States their home (Tinaz, 2006).
West glide Americans did not observe favorably on Asian immigrants. While Japanese and Chinese immigrants bore the brunt of their prejudice, life for Indian immigrants was not very safe (Fenton, 1988). In 1906, Asian Indians were no longer permitted to become U.S. citizens because they were considered non-white. In 1917 steps were taken to block all future immigration from India, thus stemming the flow of immigrants into the country (Fenton, 1988). As America’s fears for the “Yellow Worry” continued, Indians and other Asians living on the West Coast found themselves excluded from private clubs, denied service in restaurants and hotels, and prohibited from purchasing residential property (Fenton, 1988).
In 1946 Congress passed legislation that permitted naturalization for Indians, and in 1965 U.S. laws governing immigration were once again transformed when many of the quotas and restrictions for immigration were lifted (Tinaz, 2006). Asian Indians were now once again free to immigrate to the United States.
The words best used to describe the Indian family are close-knit and nuclear. Ties between family members are very strong, and the extended family is expected to provide support in times of need. Well-to-do family members often are given the responsibility of looking after their less well-to-do relatives (Tinaz, 2006). As immigration to the United States increases, it is not uncommon for relatives living in the U.S. to encourage siblings and other family members to immigrate. They will even offer financial assistance and emotional relieve until the family members are settled in the United States (Tinaz, 2006).
Mainly patriarchal in nature, the husband is the family’s provider. In traditional families, the wife performs household tasks and cares for the children. However, a growing number of women are beginning to pursue their own careers and life choices (Tinaz, 2006). Children are raised to perceive and respect the authority of those above them whether it be father, mother, sibling, grandparent, etc (India).
Children are considered a blessing by Indian parents, and many of the social traditions observed by the Indian people center on the life stages of children, mostly boys. The first ceremony, naamkaran, takes place on the tenth or eleventh day after the birth of a child. It is at this special ceremony that the child receives his name. Boys, it is believed, should be named after a god or indicate a devotee of a god (Customs and traditions, 2000). Girls are usually named after a goddess, a sacred river, or a celebrate woman. The child may be given three names: a secret name, a common name, and an astrological name.
The second rite of passage is called the munjan; it is celebrated when a boy child receives his first haircut. The manner in which the ceremony is carried out varies from caste to caste. In lower castes, it may be carried out without grand fanfare. In higher castes, the ceremony is cause for a feast. It is believed that the ritual has the ability to purify the child’s character (Customs and traditions, 2000).
Janehu, another rite of passage ceremony, takes place at approximately eight years of age. It is the ceremony that marks the start of a boy’s education with his spiritual guru. Like the munjan, the manner in which the ceremony is carried out varies from lower castes to higher castes. However, it holds the same significance for each caste. A boy cannot grasp part in any religious service or right until they have gone through janehu. The Hindus value this ritual above all others, for the social status of boys are determined by this ritual (Customs and traditions, 2000).
Unlike most other cultures, dating is not commonly practiced among Asian Indians. Instead, Indian parents prefer to select the marriage partner for their children. They typically select a partner from within the subgroup of the larger community (Tinaz, 2006). Marriages are arranged only with the full approval and consent of the parents. It is not outlandish for other family or community members to be involved in the selection process. Indian parents possess that a happy marriage is founded on commonality in social caste, religion, and economic status.
Weddings are elaborate affairs that at times may span three days. Traditional wedding ceremonies occur in a series of stages. The steps often vary by region and community. On the day of the wedding the bride and groom take part in ablutionary rituals in their homes. Their bodies are cleansed with turmeric, sandalwood paste, and other aromatic oils. The bride’s hands and feet may be painted with elaborate henna designs. The groom along with his family and friends arrive in a procession at the home of the bride’s parents where they are greeted by the bride’s family and friends. The marriage is commenced under a specially decorated canopy where the priest invokes blessings from the gods. The bride and groom then place garlands around each others necks. The priest may then tie their clothing together symbolizing a sacred union. They will then exchange rings. After the exchange of rings, the couple will circle three times around the marriage fire while offering prayers to the gods for prosperity, excellent fortune and conjugal fidelity (Customs and traditions, 2000). Now the couple will circle seven more times around the fire while making seven promises to each other. At the extinguish of the ceremony, the bride and groom become husband and wife. The parents of the groom will now bless the couple and offer flowers or a cloth to the bride symbolizing her joining the family. A feast with dancing and music will follow the ceremony. Traditionally, the bride will wear a red sari with gold ornaments. The groom will usually wear the traditional leggings and long suit.
Indian literature has taken on many forms through history. Early Indian literature is primarily verse that was passed orally down through the generations. Mainly religious or reworked legends from Sanskrit epics or mythological writings, they were composed to be sung or recited. It was not until the sixteenth century that written literature began to appear, due mainly to religious movements attempting to arrive the masses. With the establishment of vernacular schools and the growing importance of the printing press, by the nineteenth century, popular prose began to appear. English literature was widely read and studied, and it eventually found its way into classical Indian themes. With the great influx of Indian immigrants to the United States in the years following 1946, many Indian Americans have emerged as indispensable authors (Tinaz, 2000). Through the works of fiction writers such as Gita Mehta, Ved Mehta, and Kirin Narayan, and poet A.K. Ramunujan, mainstream America has gotten a gaze into the life and culture of Asian Indians.
“A River”By: A.K. RamanujanIn Madurai,
city of temples and poets,
who sang of cities and temples,
every summer
a river dries to a trickle
in the sand,
baring the sand ribs,
straw and women’s hair
clogging the watergates
at the rusty bars
under the bridges with patches
of repair all over them
the wet stones glistening like sleepy
crocodiles, the dry ones
shaven water-buffaloes lounging in the sunThe poets only sang of the floods.
He was there for a day
when they had the floods.
People everywhere talked
of the inches rising,
of the precise number of cobbled steps
run over by the water, rising
on the bathing places,
and the way it carried off three village houses,
one pregnant woman
and a couple of cows
named Gopi and Brinda as usual.
The new poets collected quoted
the former poets, but no one spoke
in verse
of the pregnant woman
drowned, with perhaps twins in her,
kicking at blank walls
even before birth.
He said:
the river has water enough
to be poetic
about only once a year
and then
it carries away
in the first half-hour
three village houses,
a couple of cows
named Gopi and Brinda
and one pregnant woman
expecting identical twins
with no moles on their bodies,
with different coloured diapers
to tell them apart.
The Asian Indian community is one of the fastest growing cultural groups in the United States. Today there are approximately 1,645,150 Asian Indians living in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census). That number comprises nearly .58 percent of the country’s population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census). In Delaware, the exploding Asian Indian community is a reflection of its growth in the rest of the country. In comparison, the population of Asian Indians in New Castle County, Delaware is about 3.7 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census).
While the first Asian Indian immigrants to reach in this country found menial jobs in agriculture and manual labor, the same cannot be said for today’s Asian Indian Americans. Most have found employment in professions such as medicine, accounting, and engineering. No other ethnic group has as many in managerial positions as the Asian Indian community. Collected others have become merchants and business owners. Many families own small businesses such as donut shops, liquor stores, motels, clothing stores, restaurants, and Indian grocery stores.
Discussion and Conclusion
The people of Mexico and India are enchanting, and the cultural institutions that have followed them to the United States have helped to make American culture unique. Though thousands of miles separate Mexico and India, the cultures that developed in these two countries are remarkably similar and, yet, vastly different.
Similarities within the two cultures are evident in family, family structure, and immigration history. At the heart of each culture is the importance of family. Family is highly valued; each generation depending on the next for love and support. The family structure of the Mexican Americans and Asian Indians are patriarchal. In both instances, the husband is the head of the house and the family provider, and the woman is the family nurturer. A quick study of the immigration history of both peoples shows that immigration to the United States began at nearly the same time and for much the same reason: financial success.
Despite the common aspects shared by both cultures, they are also quite different. Their differences lie mainly in rituals such as coming of age ceremonies, courtship practices, and community impact. Children are highly valued in each culture, however, it appears that the Mexican culture focus quite a bit on the importance of a girl turning fifteen. Mexico does not have a specific coming of age ritual for boys. On the flip side, India has few coming of age rituals for girls. With the exception of the naamkaran ritual, all other coming of age ceremonies and rituals in India focus on boys. For the most part, courtship is frowned on in India, as most people continue to practice arranged marriages. Yet in Mexico, it is a very necessary to boys and girls, as they are given the freedom to socialize with each other and get to know their peers before making any serious commitment. For new immigrants entering the United States, life is different for the Mexicans and Indians. Mexicans seem to find jobs that lie primarily within the bottom of the spectrum. Most Mexican men are arriving in the states with little or no money and no education probably making minimum wage working in service centered jobs. Indians on the other side seem to be arriving in the country with excellent educations. They are arriving in the U.S. highly educated and with enough cash to purchase their hold diminutive business or enter into the professional or medical fields.
Teachers and schools are often guilty of lumping all students together and not recognizing their innate differences. Through cultural studies, teachers such as myself can catch new ways of implementing cultural diversity. Cultural diversity can foremost be applied in the classroom when assumptions about others are left outside the door. Ignorance regarding the cultural backgrounds of others usually leads to assumptions. Teachers and others wrongly assume that the children of Mexican immigrants cannot be educated in American schools, and the children of Indian immigrants are very intellectual and do not need our encourage. We can never assume anything about our students. Another way cultural diversity can be applied in the classroom is recognizing that each student is equal regardless of their background or social status. A Mexican American child from an economically dismal family is unprejudiced as important as an Asian Indian child from a well-to-do middle class family. Each child is a well-known asset and can make a difference in the classroom and in the community. Lastly, Subjects like geography and social studies can be enhanced through cultural studies. The valuable information garnered can be obsolete to sing more than just the basics about other lands and cultures, thus making the people from those lands and cultures more real to the other students. The more knowledge children obtain of those perceived as different, the greater level of understanding and acceptance they develop for them.
I have learned much from this research paper and hope to utilize the information in my teaching. Understanding the cultures of these two countries will help me understand any students I may have from them. Understanding their cultures will enable me to understand why the children think like they do and seek ways to help them excel in school. Knowledge of the cultures is important in teaching students about other countries and cultures. One cannot educate if one is not educated in the material to begin with.
Resources
Coerver, D. Pasztor, S. & Buffington, R. (2004). Mexico: An encyclopedia of contemporary culture and history. ABC-CLIO: California. [Secondary, Library]
Customs and Traditions of India. (2000). Retrieved on February 27, 2008, from http://www.indianodysseys.com/cnt/cnt.asp. [Secondary, Internet]
Englekirk, A. & Marín, M. (2006). Mexican Americans. Retrieved on February 26, 2008, from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Mexican-Americans.html. [Secondary, Internet]
FalcÓn, R. (1998). Salsa: A taste of Hispanic culture. Praeger Publishers: Westport, CT. [Secondary, Library]
Fenton, John. (1988). Transplanting religious traditions: Asian indians in america. Praeger Publishers: New York. [Secondary, Library]
History of Mexican Americans (n.d.). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on February 20, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mexican-Americans. [Secondary, Internet]
India. (n.d.). U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved on February 27, 2008, from http://countrystudies.us/india/83.htm. [Secondary, Internet]
Indian American. (2008). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_American. [Secondary, Internet]
Indian Wedding. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 28, 2008, from http://www.toursoperatorindia.com/gifs/wedding-india.jpg. [Primary, Internet]
Keefe, S. & Padilla, A. (1987). Chicano ethnicity. University of New Mexico Press: Albuquerque, NM. [Secondary, Librbary]
Mexican American voices. (2007). American literary voices part 2. Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://www.beyondbooks.com/lam12/3f.asp. [Secondary, Internet]
Mexican wedding. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://images.google.com/imgres? imgurl=http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/uploaded_images/wedding2-732249.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/labels/Mexican%2520weddings.html&h=300&w=400&sz=32&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=WpzPYyXnGSmoMM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmexican%2Bweddings%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DSUNA,SUNA:2006-07,SUNA:en%26sa%3DN. [Primary, Internet]
Population Profile of the United States: 2000. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 26, 2008, from http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/2000/chap02.pdf. [Primary, Internet]
Ramanujan, A.K. (2000). A river. Retrieved on February 29, 2008, from http://poetic.wetpaint.com/page/A.K.+Ramanujan? t=anon. [Primary, Internet]
Space and County Quick Facts. (2008). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 25, 2008, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/10/10003.html. [Primary, Internet]
Tinaz, P. (2006). Asian Indian Americans. Retrieved on February 27, 2008, from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Asian-Indian-Americans.html. [Secondary, Internet]
Valdez, L. & Steiner, S. (1972). Aztlan: An anthology of mexican american literature. Alfred A. Knopf: Unique York. [Primary, Library]
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