[EDLING:1469] fmhult at dolphin.upenn.edu has sent you an article from HoustonChronicle.com Teacher stresses importance of being bilingual

[fmhult at DOLPHIN.UPENN.EDU]

 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3795123.html

 HARLINGEN - Anita Garcia said she is a product of her former teachers'
work.

The San Benito native became the second Hispanic teacher in the
district and the first Hispanic teacher at San Benito High School after
she graduated from the high school in 1944.

"I had a feeling of pride to teach alongside those who taught me the
values I have today," the now retired Garcia said.

Throughout her childhood, Garcia said, she was inspired to teach by "La
Maestra Carmen," her aunt, and by her mother Catalina, or "La Maestra
Cata," as she was better known.

After graduating from high school, Garcia attended Texas Woman's
University in Denton to pursue her bachelor's degree in Spanish.

But life had a longer path in store.

During the summer following the completion of her freshman year, the
San Benito School District needed a teacher immediately and offered
Garcia a position.


In urgent need

She was issued an "emergency certificate" to allow her to teach without
a degree and began teaching in September 1945.

Garcia returned to school the next summer but continued teaching during
the school months for several years because the district "continued to
issue me contracts," she said.

She taught second grade and music and eventually transferred to the
high school.


Earned doctorate

After several years of going to school in the summers and teaching
during the school year, Garcia received not only her bachelor's degree,
but her master's in education and Spanish, and a doctorate in bilingual
education through the same process.

Throughout her teaching career, Garcia received many honors and
supervised several school and community programs, such as the Migrant
Program, the Spanish Department and the International 300 Social Club,
to name a few.


Advice for parents

In her 37 years of teaching, Garcia said, she continually emphasized
the importance of being bilingual.

"People in Europe speak four to five languages," she said. "Spanish
should be preserved, especially if they are already born into it."

Garcia said that parents are so eager for their children to learn
English properly that they stop speaking Spanish in their homes, and,
pretty soon, the students forget their native language.

"If they would just speak English at school and Spanish at home, they
would get both languages," she said.

"The knowledge of the Spanish language is not a handicap but an asset
upon which to build one's education."


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