Of Borders and Dreams: A Mexican-American Experience of Urban Education

by Chris Liska Carger

Of Borders and A Mexican-American Experience of Urban Education is the story of Alejandro Juarez, Jr., a Mexican-American youth, his family, and their experiences in a bureaucratic and frustrating public school system. Located in Chicago’s west-side neighborhood, replete with crime, violence, and gangs, we first come to know Alejandro as a shy, good-natured fifth grader, the oldest child in a close-knit Mexican family. We follow Chris Carger, the author and Alejandro’s ESL teacher, as she sets forth with his mother on a journey to provide him with the education he needs and deserves. Of Borders and Dreams is an intelligent, probing portrayal of the problems that face bilingual and bicultural children. Through Alejandro’s story, we are moved and enraged by the failure of the American school system to offer better opportunities for all children regardless of race, sex, or class. This book is of enormous importance to teachers and educators on all levels, and anyone interested in the future of education in America. “The dominant theme in this book is of crossing borders ... the boundaries of ignorance, the borders of literacy, the frontiers of full participation. It is about walls erected between reasonable dreams and unreasonable worlds .... Most important, it is about Chris Carger’s own effort to push the limit of what counts in teaching and in researc h .”
—From the Foreword by William Ayers

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Teaching

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 1996

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this quickly, which is good because I have to write a critical essay about it that's due soon. It's a good illustration of the difference between caring about our students and caring for them, as well as the great deficits in ELL education. (This book was published in 1996, so I am certain many of the issues are different, if not better, now). I wrote "savior?" in the margins a few times because the author could be a little bit of a swooper-inner, but considering the situation she was working with, I need to reflect on whether or not that was completely appropriate

[blakely june · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quick read, but it was still so so amazing! It did a fantastic job highlighting the story of a family that typically goes unnoticed. The struggles of Alejandro’s family were heartbreaking, but a sad reality that many immigrant families face on a day-to-day basis. This book is definitely a must read.

[Abby Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent read

[Khalil Barahaoua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative and compelling book I read for my ESL/Bilingual Ed course. Will leave a lasting impact on my pedagogy and teaching career. RIP Dr. Carger. Shout-out Dr. Cappaert.

[Maryell Caraveo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a quick but very reflective read.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 1st and last paragraph of my critical analysis of this book for class...

Many children coming to the United States face many obstacles or borders, as Chris Liska Carger may refer them to. In Carger’s book, Of Borders and Dreams: A Mexican-American Experience of Urban Education, Carger looks into the life of Alejandro Juárez, Jr. and narrates his journey through eighth grade, gives us a glimpse of his high school career, as well as his home life. Carger met Alejandro through the English as a second language (ESL) program Sorrowful Mother, a parochial school where Alejandro attended through eighth grade, provided. She noticed that Alejandro had difficulty reading and was able to get him tested and found out that he had “special learning needs and significant memory and literacy difficulties” (Carger, 1996). This hindered Alejandro’s comprehension of many assignments given by his teachers and prevented him from participating in class. Alejandro held back because of the difficulties he had in English and because of his learning needs, never believing he could truly do something, sometimes giving up in class. Yet, Alejandro did his best in all assignments given, even if those assignments may not have had any real value to him or lacked background knowledge.

Through Carger’s study, one is able to see the difficulties a student can have not only because they have ESL difficulties, but because of other special needs not being met in school. The goals and dreams of students, such as Alejandro, get altered by the opportunities and support they receive in school, or lack there of. Carger wishes she could have a better ending for Alejandro, yet dropping out of high school seems to be best for him. She realizes that not all stories have a happy ending no matter how hard someone tries. Carger (1996) hopes that Alejandro’s narrative, “will serve to encourage that teacher to listen (with heart) to another student’s story and create connections between lives and schools of his or her own for that student’s journey” (149). She wants educators to be more sensitive to diversity by making connecting their home and school culture in order to give all students the opportunity of a better future.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

read this book for grad school. It's ok if you want to understand the experience of a mexican american family has with urban education in the inner city of chicago.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required for a class and an ok read. Better than the textbooks I've been reading.

[Tiffany]

Education/teaching

[amber [ cozynaturereads] ☁️🌞💗]

I had to read this for class and I read 4 chapters and then my professor spoiled the ending for me so I decided to dnf it