Mexico Travel Seminar, 2016. 

Red Flags

During the Mexico travel seminar there were many moments in which I experienced strong emotions. The initial moment I heard our guest lecturer speak of the sterilization of Mexico’s indigenous people I felt like throwing up. Seconds later I had to excuse myself from the classroom to work through the overwhelming sadness I was feeling. The Human Rights representative Jose Martinez’s information also led me to experience an overwhelming disgust and heartache. Hearing about the violations of human rights was so emotional that I had to once again excuse myself from the classroom. Although I had learned in a previous lecture that 43 students and 27,000 people had disappeared in recent years, hearing that a dear friend of Jose was one of the 43, made the connection to the horror Mexican people are currently experiencing tangible.

Each class during the seminar delivered distressing information that reinforced my value in justice. Additionally, the economic status of Mexico presenter and the human rights representatives informed the class that 98% of crimes committed in Mexico remain unsolved. The injustice, lack of transparency, and corruption amongst the government, state, and local authorities is abominable to say the least. The practice of injustice, violations of human rights, and sterilization of marginalized and/or indigenous people are familiar considering the history of the US, Germany, Austria, and Poland. However, to learn that Mexico also has a long list of indecencies is a daunting realization of the cruelty found in humanity.

The knowledge I gained during the travel seminar was sourced from class lectures of instructors, guest speakers, and the migration panel. Due to my limited Spanish speaking skills, my homestay provided very little probing or perspective exposure on key issues that the class was studying. My extended research of the status of Mexico’s human rights violations is sourced from online sites including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Huffington Post, WOLA, UN News Centre, and the Comision Nacional de la Derechos Humanos.          The findings of my research on the underlying values of my “Red Flags” points to the devaluation of people rather than a specific cultural value. The knowledge I gained from my experience during the seminar supports my belief that the  “saving face” or high context value system may be linked to the issues that caused my emotional alarms to sound. I believe the only link to a cultural value is that the people of Mexico are more likely not to say something directly to the cause of a violation, and may value/impose the traditional roles that women have played in their society. Historically, women have been submissive and I believe that because of the treatment of women in Mexican culture, women may feel scared to speak out. The women in Mexican society may not speak out because they are afraid of loosing their menial means of survival. The avoidance of expressing alternative views or anti-communal sentiments is clearly a reaction to cultural norms (e.g., oppression).

I don’t believe that a value system is the root of the atrocities, however, if I were to link one value it would undoubtedly be the value of communal prosperity through passive measures. That concept however is contradictory to the actions of those that are in currently power. If the government system and its “civil servants” truly valued the Mexican people, as they have been represented in our class lectures, then the values are incongruent, contradictory, and lack conformity to the basic high context value of family and community. I don’t believe that Mexican culture can be classified as high context due to the rampant brutality conducted by Mexican authorities.

The implications of what I have learned from my red flags and the investigation of the red flags on my future teaching practices include empathy for students and families who have experienced human rights violations. I will respect students who may not be innately outspoken and support those students in developing self-confidence to talk about their opinions and voice their beliefs. I want to create a classroom that respects students of different cultures and their beliefs. Celebrating traditions, reading books of authors from different parts of the world, and open a dialog about real world current events. I want to create global citizens who are aware of the world and its problems beyond the US. The red flags have helped my belief that a classroom should be a strong community of members who respect and stand up for each other.

Stereotypes

            Possible perceptions that my future students and their families may have towards US citizens are, 1) the majority of the US backs the anti-islamic and anti-Mexican sentiments of political candidates, 2) teachers may not inherently believe that migrant families need support to ensure the prevention of mistreatment, 3) teachers may not be aware of the cultural differences and values of migrant families, and 4) teachers may not be willing to adapt their teaching techniques based on the ability of migrant students or students of migrant families.

            My previous bias toward Central American migrants was that most of Mexican culture was fairly similar. I now understand that there are many ethnic and cultural differences among people who consider themselves culturally Mexican. My Mexican native family members have offered many insights into the culture of Mexico and why migration is often sought after. I didn’t have many biases that would prevent my teaching practices from being effective, however, I understand the difficulty of adapting to a new culture better now that I have returned from the travel seminar. My empathy for learning a new language and feeling welcome in a new land has been reinforced due to my travel seminar experiences. I want to ensure that I reach out to migrant families and create bonds of trust and support.