Quinn Kendall
May 31, 2024
Las Vegas Valley Family Portrait: A Field-Based Activity
I chose two very different families to interview. The first family is a multi-ethnic, affluent family residing in Henderson, while the second is a low-income Black family in North Las Vegas. The article mentioned that white supremacy is embedded in school systems, so this key point guided some of my interview questions, as the first family is white passing despite the multi-ethnic background while the second family is not. I also wanted to investigate the degree that the families care about their children’s education. The article analyzed data and concluded that Families of Color equally care about their children’s education, which I, too, wanted to investigate as a second key point. As such, the third key point I took away related somewhat to the second in that I wanted to compare the two family’s views on college, since the article mentioned that, “Families of Color positively influence the college and career decisions of Youth of Color despite their marginalization.”
First, I asked each family to describe their family. The first family described themselves as multi-ethnic. The father is Mexican and the mother is Japanese. They have five children and live in Henderson. The second family described themselves as Black. They live in North Las Vegas, two blocks from Jim Bridger Middle School.
For my second question, I asked the families to describe their experiences with CCSD. The first family has enrolled all five of their children in the school district. Two have graduated already, and the other three maintain high GPAs and are on track to graduate on time. They said that they had not had negative experiences with the school district and their children have not needed to attend summer school. The second family has had less encouraging experiences with CCSD. The daughter often fails classes and will choose not to go to school without her mother knowing, because the daughter has to walk to school while the mother works.
I then asked about the aspirations for their children. The first family expects each child to go to college, and expects scholarships for good grades and hobbies, as they emphasize to their children that it is important to maintain hobbies and a healthy social life. The two children who graduated from CCSD are enrolled in colleges. The second family hopes for their daughter to have a change in her mindset towards school, and hopes that college is something in her future, but her current grades and discipline record might prohibit those hopes.
When I asked about family values and how those values get passed on, the first family brought up their faith. They belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a branch of Christianity. Attending services is a big part of their lifestyle. Family values are very important to them and they maintain a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise. They often band together when one member needs extra support and also have extended family in the area that they can rely on. The second family said that they primarily value accountability, honesty, and ambition. The mother then went off on a short tangent about the recent struggles in mothering her daughter, who she does not believe holds those values.
I asked each family about their cultural heritage. The first family, despite having Mexican and Japanese ancestry to draw upon, does not connect much to their heritage. The father grew up speaking Spanish, but has since lost the language. The mother primarily engages with her culture only for a yearly Japanese New Year celebration. The family commented that they were somewhat “white-washed” Asians, and seemed to tether themselves more closely to their Japanese heritage than their Mexican heritage. The second family did not reference a connection to a cultural history and in fact was very hesitant to speak about relatives. With a little prying, the mother did say that religion had always been important to her parents, and that as soon as she can find stable transportation again, it was something she’d like to introduce into her daughter’s life.
I then moved the conversation to family participation in schools. This included asking about parental involvement perceptions and the level that the parents are currently involved. I also asked each family how their lifestyle either prohibited or encouraged their ability to be involved in their children’s education. The first family’s mother stays at home, so they have a reliable adult to monitor educational progress amongst their children and attend parent-teacher conferences as needed. They define involvement as a parent assisting children with homework and making sure that they are on track to complete their classes to an acceptable standard. There are punishments for not meeting expectations and they regularly communicate with their children’s teachers. The second family has many barriers to being involved. The mother has to work at the times that the school is willing to schedule meetings between parents and teachers, and the mother does not know how to contact all of her daughter’s teachers. She said that in an ideal world, she would be able to be at home with her daughter to assist on homework or make-up work, but it isn’t realistic with the work schedule she needs to maintain to provide living expenses. She expressed that she wished more teachers would take the time to engage her daughter the way that I did this past year, because she feels that she cannot do it without help and care from the teachers.
Each interview had a few other questions, but these were the ones I selected to write about because they had the most notable comparisons to make between the two families for the next assignment. I took light notes during the interviews, but did not record and tried to be minimal to keep the conversations informal and comfortable. As such, I do not have any direct quotes from the families, but believe this summary of the conversations to be accurate to their experiences with education and accurately depict their culture and diversity.
References
Marrun, Norma A., Rodriguez-Campo, Marcela, Plachowski, Tara J., & Clark, Christine. “Divergent Values: A Family Critical Race Theory Analysis of Families of Color and Their Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching as a Profession.” Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education 20, no. 3 (2021): 11-36.
Quinn Kendall, Educator 