Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she was educated in the New York City Public Schools. She attended St. John's University, Brooklyn campus, where she received a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1965. Upon graduation, she attended New York University's Graduate Program in Madrid, Spain, and received her MA in Spanish and Hispanic Literature in 1966.

A junior high school teacher of English, Spanish, and ESL in Ocean Hill/Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1968 she took a job at P.S. 25 in the Bronx, the first fully bilingual school in the Northeast. Her first position in higher education was as an Instructor in the Department of Puerto Rican Studies in Brooklyn College, where she taught in a bilingual education teacher preparation program co-sponsored with the School of Education.

Moving to Massachusetts with her family in 1975, she completed her doctoral studies in 1979 with specializations in curriculum studies, bilingual education, and multicultural education.

 

1. Frameworks

"I want to speak with you today about bilingualism and multiculturalism in order to develop powerful learning communities."

2. Quality Education

"Quality education for linguistic minority students is about access and equity. Some people say it's a palliative, it's about feeling good.."

 

3. Multiculturalism 1

"Too often when people think of multiculturalism they think about celebrations, they think about boosting self-esteem."

4. Multiculturalism 2

"Multiculturalism is not just for "urban," "minority," "at-risk," and "disadvantaged" students."

5. Teaching as Solidarity

"Promoting bilingualism and multiculturalism, what does it mean? I'm going to give you some examples."

6. Teaching as Advocacy

"I teach because I believe young people have rights, including the right to their identities and their languages." (A. Lima)

7. Teaching as Socio-Cultural Mediation

"I'm a white, middle-class woman who grew up in a white, middle-class neighborhood who went to a white, middle-class college." (M. Ginley)

8. Lessons Learned

"What are some of the lessons learned from teachers and from research that we have done over the years?"