Empowering Spanish Speakers, Author Interview

PBR: Today we’re talking with Dr. Jacqueline Mackenzie, author of Empowering Spanish Speakers just published by Summerland Corp. and being distributed by Ingram Book Company, making it available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and on their non-profit website. Thank you for taking the time to join us and discuss your book.

JZM: Thanks for reading and reviewing my book. I’m sure you now have a much clearer understanding of the reasons why Mexican life is full of underemployment, discrimination, and restricted opportunities for them to reach their full potential as an adult, mainly because they are native Spanish speakers.

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

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

PBR: You have an abundance of statistical data on the population, ages, nutrition and education of the Mexican indigenous tribes. Which trend stands out the most to you as a wake-up call for us – English-speaking Native Americans – that we need to pay attention to?

JZM: What I found were native mothers and children hungry for both food and access to information. My best friend and translator traveled to 18 rural towns, several times during a year. We observed 665 babies, children and young people. We did not find statistically significant disabilities. We found that almost a third of the children were malnourished; their parents too. We heard how mothers told us that what they wanted, and asked us to help them acquire, was a means of helping themselves.

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

JZM: We offer free equine therapy and water therapy for children with disabilities; train local students on how to do the same. We open our landlord’s home pool to children or adults to empower themselves by learning to swim. We allow access to our library of 3,000 books; about 15% Spanish or bilingual. We teach English and art regularly. We designed and built a local community center that was funded and owned by another non-profit organization in central Mexico. For example, we teach organic farming techniques and other ecological lessons. In the winter, we help a nonprofit in western Mexico with a youth sailing program. Finally, we receive travelers and volunteers from inside and outside of Mexico.

PBR: How did you choose the main categories of cultural aspects to dissect in your chapters? Also, how do you define your objective analysis techniques?

JZM: I looked at the basics of indigenous culture and recorded them bluntly. Then I analyzed the rules and academic materials established by public school administrations in both the United States and Mexico. I discovered that there is a mismatch for native Mexicans. I found, to quote Representative John Kline, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, stated on February 14, 2011:

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

The logical answer is to make research-based changes to administrative teaching methods and materials taught, in addition to enlightening teachers with research-based information and cultural techniques to enhance learning.

PBR: Please tell us about your itinerary for your presentation and tour reservation.

JZM: I will travel by bus and train to universities, libraries, public school boards, corporate offices, military bases, union halls, and anywhere else I am welcomed. I’m flying from my home in central Mexico to Seattle just after Easter, then heading south by bus or train to Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Tucson. In late summer, I’ll travel to Chicago and then south by bus or train to San Antonio, stopping along the way to talk. In the fall, I’ll start in Miami, travel by bus or train north to New York and return to Atlanta, stopping both ways to talk before heading home to central Mexico. My journey will be based on doing my best to share the latest scientific research on helping underserved Spanish speakers learn in academic and work settings, regardless of where they reside. My tour will point out that in the same way that nonimmigrant Mexican Americans cannot imagine living without public services, rural Mexican citizens cannot imagine living without low cost public transport.

PBR: What do you hope to accomplish with your book and talk tour and how can the people who read this interview get more involved?

JZM: Quoting Helen Keller, “The highest result of education is tolerance.” My dream is that months of travel will result in English speakers learning practical alternative techniques to apply when interacting with underserved Spanish speakers. A miracle would occur if public school and higher education administrators, corporations, agricultural and service companies, politics, and the military became aware of this research.

PBR: Again, thank you for your time today and we wish you every success with your book.

JZM: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain the factors that prompted me to write this book.