Teachers gather to understand immigration
Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008
ROGERS — The easiest colors to spot were the red, white and green of the Mexican flag, a small one sitting at each seat, next to books and papers and a map with colors so bright they gave the impression of an elementary-school classroom.
The students, while not unfamiliar with school settings, were not used to sitting among the class members. Teachers during the day, the students wore their school’s names on their chests: Kirksey, Greenland, Grace Hill and a slew of others. At the Arkansas World Trade Center on Monday evening, they were expected to learn.
Rita Littrell stood at the head of the class. The director of the Bessie B. Moore Center for Economics Education at the University of Arkansas, her goal was to “ help teachers integrate economics into the curriculum, ” but she started with bingo.
With icebreaking out of the way, Littrell dove into a discussion of Mexico. The topic for Monday was “ The Costs and Benefits of Immigrants to the United States. ” Some of the classroom materials included facts related to immigrants from various countries, but most of the material was specific to Mexico.
Javier Reyes, an immigrant from Mexico who is now at the University of Arkansas, said immigration continues despite improvements within Mexico. Cell-phone use has increased exponentially in Mexico, and so has the Internet. And that old stereotype of one-room homes with dirt floors has almost disappeared, he said.
“ There’s progress, ” Reyes said. “ Why do we still find immigration ?”
His answer was not surprising. There is still more money to be had in America. Mexico’s minimum wage equates to about $ 120 (in U. S. dollars ) each month, Reyes said. Mexican immigrants to America are sending home a monthly average of $ 348 each.
“ You don’t have access to your family. You give up your culture. Those are costs to you, ” Reyes said. “ But you have an opportunity to send money back. ”
And the amount of money sent back to Mexico continues to rise. In 1996, it was $ 13. 2 million. In 2007, it was $ 68. 7 million.
“ It’s the biggest source of funding for Mexico as a country, ” Reyes said. “ The reason people come to the U. S. is to send money back. ”
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