(Personal analysis based on my studies and experience as school psychologist and family life consultant as well as the articles of S.E. Smith “Don’t Blame the Mentally Ill. Blame the Guns” and MercatorNet article of Carolyn Moyniham “Isn’t father loss part of Nikolas Cruz’s story?”).
What makes young men like Nikolas Cruz become homicidal?

1.- Lynda and her husband, Roger P. Cruz, bought a house in 1996 in Parkland, Florida. Years later, they would adopt Nikolas Cruz and his brother, Zachary. In 2004,

A multitude of issues may arise when children become aware that they have been adopted. Children may feel grief over the loss of a relationship with their birthparents and the loss of the cultural and family connections that would have existed with those parents. Such grief feelings may be triggered at many different times throughout the child’s life including when they first learn of their adoption, during the turbulent teen years, upon the death of other family members, or even as when becoming a spouse or parent. There can also be significant concerns about feeling abandoned and “not good enough, ” coupled with specific hurt feelings over the birthmother’s choice to “reject” the child” to “give me away” or “not wanting me enough.”

In addition, as rated by their teachers and tests, adopted children tend to have worse behavioral and academic outcomes in kindergarten and first grade than birth children do, according to a new research brief from the Institute for Family Studies written by psychologist Nicholas Zill. One clue might be attachment theory, which holds that a strong bond with at least one nurturing adult—usually the mother—is essential to a child thriving. That adult can be the adoptive parent, but the adoption itself might mean that the bond with the birth parent was disrupted or never formed, Zill writes. In the worst cases, these children might have experienced a traumatic event prior to their adoption. Early trauma can affect the parts of the brain that control mood and learning.

2.- Nikolas and his younger brother Zachary “were raised largely by their mother, especiall yafter their father, Roger P. Cruz, died suddenly in 2004 at the age of 67.”

A study published last year found that whatever the reason for separation – imprisonment, death, separation or divorce – the loss of a father even has a biological effect on a child, especially in the case of boys and if the child is younger than 5 – the age approximately at which Cruz lost his father. As sociologist David Popenoe wrote on the father-son relationship: “fathers are important to their sons as role models. They are important for maintaining authority and discipline. And they are important in helping their sons to develop both self-control and feelings of empathy toward others, character traits that are found to be lacking in violent youth.”

3.- Mrs. Cruz died on November 1st, 2017, due to health complications with Pneumonia. According to certain reports, her adoptive son, Nikolas Cruz, did not take well the passing of his mother.

In his later teenage years, Nikolas Cruz, became a troublesome individual to deal with and abused his mother in several occasions. During the episodes, she could not bear the violent outbursts, threats, and destructive behavior Many times, Nikolas acted in defiance against his mother and one time, he injured her with a plastic tube/hose that is used on a vacuum cleaner. Nikolas also behaved destructively as he threw chairs, dog bowls, and in one instance threw a drinking glass around the home.

The death of his only close family member who gave him sense of meaning and security probably was devastating for Nikolas. According to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Counseling Center, factors such as the quality of the relationship, the amount of “unfinished business”, feelings of guilt, as well as the difficulties of personality of the bereaved can lead to different ways of coping with grief.

Nikolas became more needy of help, his acts of violence were his screams for help and his expressions of grief . Nikolas was really alone, misunderstood, rejected, angry towards himself and towards those who surround him.

4.- And the school system Nikolas attended since kindergarten….?

Are SCHOOLS in a position to make a difference to people like Nikolas Cruz?
What about his teachers and support staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School?
Was there no adult in that huge school of 3000 students who could be a friend, mentor or father figure to Nikolas, who could make the troubled adolescent feel accepted? Was there a professional who COULD teach social and emotional skills?
HOPE President Trump has understood his mistake when he repealed an Obama regulation that would have made it easier to block the sale of firearms to people with certain mental illnesses.

HOPE this painful event become a sign for the FBI so they act in information like the one they received about a comment on YouTube suggesting Cruz wanted to be “a professional school shooter” — especially in the light of his psychological and behavioral history, for which there were ample witnesses.

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Who are sitting in the pews of our parishes and / or attend liturgical and other services in Spanish?

Probably half or maybe more the half of them are the immigrants, -or first generation or new comers- single individuals -who are singles or who have left their families behind-. It could be families whose parents were born outside the United States and children were born either outside or inside the US -legal and illegal-, “abuelitos y/o abuelitas” whose children and grandchildren attend Liturgical Services and other services in English or maybe who don’t practice their faith in community after receiving the three sacraments: couple’s marriage, and children’ baptism and Holy Communion.

One four of them are: Second generation parents with younger children, who wanted to hold the language and culture of their children through institutions like the Church -they could also be illegal.

At the rest will be lay people committed to work with the Latino Population liturgy, religious education, and other Parish leaders.

Their characteristics and needs are diverse as are diverse their ethno-cultural background, their length of time in the United States, their exposure to the mainstream culture as well as their means and reason behind migration.

All have in common: the catholic faith, the hispanic cultural heritage and the language.

And these three -faith, culture and language- needs to be the instruments used for ministering them.

WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS AND CHARACTERISTICS:

By birth every individual and every family belongs to a defined cultural community which serve as social psychological referents in which create -through historical circumstances- a sense of peoplehood (Gordon, 1964).

These relationships between the individual and the family with its social- psychological-cultural community involve:

mutuality and reciprocity,
social articulation and recognition;

these two relationships create a sense of belonging and of historical continuity for the individual and for the family.

First need: remove the roots…. and find a transitional social cell where there are affinity … and there, learn the why, the how, the what, of the new environment … by respect and experience learn to belong to the new social psychological referent.

Transitional social cell? -friends or members of the community of origin, school, church.

This first step is not only fundamental for the individual and for the whole family but it becomes a requisite :sine qua non”..

WHY?

Because every family is interwoven in a continuous interchange with its own economic and socio-cultural environment to accomplish its tasks (Bronfenbrenner, 1986).

UNIVERSAL TASKS OF THE FAMILY: 

(Familiaris Consortio, 11-22-1981: Pope John Paul II)

PART THREE
THE ROLE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY

Family, Become What You Are

17. The family finds in the plan of God the Creator and Redeemer not only its identity, what it is, but also its mission, what it can and should do. The role that God calls the family to perform in history derives from what the family is; its role represents the dynamic and existential development of what it is.

Accordingly, the family must go back to the “beginning” of God’s creative act, ..since in God’s plan it has been established as an “intimate community of life and love, ”(44) the family has the mission to become more and more what it is, that is to say, a community of life and love, in an effort that will find fulfillment, as will everything created and redeemed, in the Kingdom of God….we must say that the essence and role of the family are in the final analysis specified by love. Hence the family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride.

…with love as its point of departure and making constant reference to it, the recent Synod emphasized four general tasks for the family:

1) forming a community of persons;

2) serving life;

3) participating in the development of society;

4) sharing in the life and mission of the Church.

Through the process of socialization parents conform their children with culturally specific ways or preferred modes of perceiving and relating to others, of understanding the verbal and non-verbal symbols essential for communicating, remembering and thinking, as well as for problem solving and for the use of meaning and logic.

This inculturative or socializing process shapes children’s self-concept and self-esteem while they “absorb” the culture of their parents and “locate” themselves within the first and minute sample of society -their homes and its socio-cultural expectations.

Thus, how a Hispanic family isolated from its socio-cultural environment can perform the above tasks?

The central point of this topic is the understanding of the concept PROCESS OF TRANSITION.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN EVENT AND A PROCESS

EVENT                                           PROCESS

Encourages decisions          Encourages development

Motivates people                     Matures people

Is a calendar issue                 Is a cultural issue

Challenges people                   Changes people

Is easy                                          Is difficult

(John Maxwell’s cited by Sean Taylor Simpson)

Event is an every day To-Do list while the Process is investing in time to modify or change ways of thinking, feeling and being -end product is adjustment to a new task/environment to act more effectively on it.

The Process of Transition (John M Fisher)

How we deal with that change depends on : who initiated the change and what control we have over the events in question.

Any change, no matter how small, has the potential to have a major impact on an individual, their self view (IDENTITY) and subsequent performance.

The anticipated outcome may generate conflict between one’s existing actions, values and beliefs and the anticipated new ones.

One common metaphor for this transition process is that of bridging the gap between two peaks one representing where we are now and the other the goal.

SUCCESS: Depends on how much support, communication, and ownership we feel we have during the journey and our understanding of what the new peak represents.

Much of the speed of transition will depend on the individual’s self perception, locus of control,
past experiences, and how these all combine to create their anticipation of future events.

Much of the actual transition through the stages is done subconsciously.

It is important for an individual to understand the impact that the change will have on their own personal view of the world; and for them to be able to work through the implications for themselves.

One danger for the individual occurs when an individual persists in operating a set of practices that have been consistently shown to fail (or result in an undesirable consequence) in the past and that do not help extend and elaborate their world-view.

Another danger area is that of denial where people maintain operating as they always have denying that there is any change at all.

To help people move through the transition effectively we need to understand their perception of the past, present and future.

What is their past experience of change and how has it impacted on them?,

how did they cope?

Also what will they be losing as part of the change and what will they be gaining?

The process of transition or of progressive change from own cultural set to the host one (acculturation) is possible only through the cumulative interaction between both cultures, and it follows various stages before immigrant person feels again a sense of belonging to the new environment.

Additionally, during the transition from one culture to the other, immigrant person needs to do over and over again, selective adaptations and to undergo processes of differentiation not only for inculturative and position conferring functions but also to help their children to achieve a sense of proper dignity and of unconditional self acceptance as well as affirming their worthiness as individuals.

To migrate is to be born again, not only because of the social nature of human personality and its inextricable relationship to the cultural environment in which person design its own identity but because person has to restructure its cognitive and affective abilities by introducing new meanings, gestures, words to function effectively and to develop the necessary coping mechanisms between itself and the new place.

What happens with the individual members of the family… MUST HAPPENS ALSO WITH THE FAMILY ITSELF:

Immigrant Hispanic families IN CULTURAL TRANSITION must undergo changes that parallel society changes so they can

(1) ROOTS: continue being the matrix of their members’ psychological development,

WINGS: accommodate to the new society and its culture;

to insure some continuity to their own culture.

And this process of learning a new set of coping mechanisms and strategies must be done overtime, in such way that family continuity is maintained while the members go through the process of accommodation.

The ability of immigrant Hispanic families to live their identity and to meet their tasks has been weakened by circumstances beyond their control. 

It is: Although in opportunities these families are capable of playing an important role as agents of evangelization and of constructive change in society, there are negative aspects of the same society –domestic violence, migration laws, discrimination, substance abuse among others– that worked to the detriment of their actions and weaken family relationships too.

However, focusing primarily on the numbers could very easily lead us to see immigrant Hispanic families simply as a large social and pastoral PROBLEM, while overlooking the even more important fact that they represent a UNIQUE PASTORAL OPPORTUNITY (US Bishops Pastoral Letter on Hispanic Presence, 1983).

WHAT TO DO AND HOW WE COULD HELP?

CUARTA PARTE

PASTORAL FAMILIAR: TIEMPOS, ESTRUCTURAS, AGENTES Y SITUACIONES

I – TIEMPOS DE LA PASTORAL FAMILIAR

La Iglesia acompaña a la familia cristiana en su camino

65. Al igual que toda realidad viviente, también la familia está llamada a desarrollarse y crecer. Después de la preparación durante el noviazgo y la celebración sacramental del matrimonio la pareja comienza el camino cotidiano hacia la progresiva actuación de los valores y deberes del mismo matrimonio.

A la luz de la fe y en virtud de la esperanza, la familia cristiana participa, en comunión con la Iglesia, en la experiencia de la peregrinación terrena hacia la plena revelación y realización del Reino de Dios.

Por ello hay que subrayar una vez más la urgencia de la intervención pastoral de la Iglesia en apoyo de la familia. Hay que llevar a cabo toda clase de esfuerzos para que la pastoral de la familia adquiera consistencia y se desarrolle, dedicándose a un sector verdaderamente prioritario, con la certeza de que la evangelización, en el futuro, depende en gran parte de la Iglesia doméstica[165].

La solicitud pastoral de la Iglesia no se limitará solamente a las familias cristianas más cercanas, sino que, ampliando los propios horizontes en la medida del Corazón de Cristo, se mostrará más viva aún hacia el conjunto de las familias en general y en particular hacia aquellas que se hallan en situaciones difíciles o irregulares. Para todas ellas la Iglesia tendrá palabras de verdad, de bondad, de comprensión, de esperanza, de viva participación en sus dificultades a veces dramáticas; ofrecerá a todos su ayuda desinteresada, a fin de que puedan acercarse al modelo de familia, que ha querido el Creador «desde el principio» y que Cristo ha renovado con su gracia redentora.

La acción pastoral de la Iglesia debe ser progresiva, incluso en el sentido de que debe seguir a la familia, acompañándola paso a paso en las diversas etapas de su formación y de su desarrollo.

The Catholic Church has historically been an advocate of family life.

Historically too, the United States Catholic Church has been an immigrant Church. It is extremely important that the different organizations and components of United States society and Catholic Church become aware and sensitive to the cultural conflicts and demands that immigrant Hispanic families face.

As Church we must be aware that the disintegration of immigrant Hispanic families implies the non-operation of a basic support system within the society, and within the basic faith community of the Church.

The development of a comprehensive Hispanic family life ministry must be a priority for all dioceses with strong Hispanic presence.

It is not sufficient to bring member of the Hispanic community to the office Staff.

It is not sufficient to translate to Spanish the sacramental preparation and i ts liturgy.

There is a need for a Hispanic Family Life minister who accompany these couples, parents, children and to provide means to strengthen their marriages, their families, their parenting skills.

A minister that plays a role not only as cultural translator but as mediator and model.

A minister who foster positive feelings toward immigrant families cultural identity and who simultaneously help them develop a social commitment to the larger society.

A minister who celebrates and proclaims those Hispanic values that constitutes their major gift to the American Church and Society.

Christian family must stand as a CENTRAL PRIORITY in the life of the Church:

Each Immigrant Hispanic Family in Cultural Transition the IS first small faith community,

IS the source of spirit and of life, that provides the natural framework for the emotional and essential for the faith growth and for the religious development of its members.

The Immigrant Hispanic Family Cultural Transition  IS the vital means for preserving and transmitting Gospel values.

As Church,

▪  we need to encourage programs that support, enrich, enhance and care for Hispanic families in cultural transition,

▪  we need to support families in the fulfillment of their functions, 
rather than provide substitutes for such functions, ▪

▪  we need to promote the inherent strengths of immigrant Hispanic families, including their great capacity for self-reliance, and stimulate self-sustaining activities on their behalf,

▪  we need to provide family life education which highlights the importance of family in the church and in the society, which increases a better understanding of their functions and problems, which promotes knowledge of the economic, social and demographic processes affecting immigrant Hispanic families and their members, and focus attention upon the rights and responsibilities of all family members,

▪  we need to provide opportunities for Hispanic parents to make them an integral part of the spiritual and psycho-educational faith  development process of their children,

▪  we need to provide provide interventions for broken and hurt immigrant Hispanic families but we too need to begin to prevent these situations to happen .

AS CHURCH WE NEED TO CHANGE THE TRADITIONAL ACT OF HELP-GIVER FOR THE EMPOWERMENT PROCESS  FOR IMMIGRANT HISPANIC FAMILIES IN CULTURAL TRANSITION.

References

Fisher J M, (2005), A Time for change, Human Resource Development International vol 8:2 (2005), pp 257 – 264, Taylor & Francis

Marquez G (2000), Immigrant Hispanic Families in Cultural Transition, Thesis Doctoral, Fordham University.

(2011), Finding Myself, Trafford Press.

 

 

 

 

 

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Just a few years ago, in preparation to enter the 21st century, the United Nations proclaimed the year 1994 as the official International Year of the Family. At that moment, it was the United Nations understanding that by providing the widest possible protection and assistance to this basic unit of the society thy were promoting the basic human rights and the fundamental freedom that all human beings are entitled. Following that spirit, Pope John Paul II write his first message of the year 1994 focusing on the family as the primary agent of peace. He entitled it “the family creates the peace of the human family” and on it he stated “the value of peace… more than being “taught” must be witnessed to in a family setting which lives out “self-giving love”.

In the same way that years ago the world turned its eyes to the family as the natural source for a society with peace, with fundamental freedom, with human rights, it  is, for a PERSONALIZED AND HUMANIZED SOCIETY, I would like to begin this presentation with a brief discussion about why every family has being called to achieve this goal and how by its very nature every family is a source of spirit and life, and an agent for a future of love, justice, peace.

WHY? By the nature of its identity, which resembles the inner nature of God’s mystery  the family is called to be an intimate community of persons bound together by love and life. Family members of the family are called to mutual self giving throughout its life together, are called to respect each other uniqueness and dignity. Since the family has the mission of providing the context and the content for the formation of its members, the family is the first and principal school of training of social virtues, it is the most effective means for humanizing and personalizing society. Consequently, the family is the essential agent of development and constructive change in society. Only the family can turn around the current world conditions.

in addition, not only the family is at the very beginning of human existence, but it is also at the very beginning of the Church ad of the Society. “Family brings into being a set of interpersonal relationships by which each human being can be introduced into the human family and into God’s family” (Familiaris Consortio, 15). The family has a unique mission: it is at the service of building up God’s Kingdom in history.

How is this calla accomplished in time and in space? An understanding of how a family function requires not only knowledge about the family’s internal structure and processes but also to give attention to the environment in which these family interacts. This includes neighborhood, peer group, church. school and workplace that touch family members directly, as well as the larger political, governmental and economic situations. It is we need to give attention to the “culture” where this family lives and interacts and how the cultural environment shapes the family internal structure and external activities and projections.

Every family belongs to a defined cultural community by identifying itself with a common group as set off by race, religion or nationality, or some mixture of these categories which serve as social psychological referents in which create -through historical circumstances- a sense of peoplehood (Gordon, 1964). These relationships between the family and its cultural community involve mutuality and reciprocity, social articulation and recognition; they create a sense of belonging and of historical continuity not only for the family but also for its members.

Therefore, every family is interwoven in a continuous interchange with its own economic and socio-cultural environment to accomplish its tasks (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). Culture primarily expresses how people live and perceive the world, one another, and God. Culture is a set of values by which a people judge, accept, and live what is considered important withing the community…, therefore, the cultural values and the ethnicity of the family mediate its interactions with the external world, which in turn affects family’s mechanisms for coping with and for adapting to its ethnocultural environment (Ho, 1987).

Consequently, through the process of socialization parents conform their children with culturally specific ways or preferred modes of perceiving and relating to others, of understanding the verbal and non-verbal symbols essential for communicating, remembering and thinking, as well as for problem solving and for the use of meaning and logic. Similarly, this inculturative or socializing process shapes children’s self-concept and self-esteem while they “absorb” the culture of their parents and “locate” themselves within the first and minute sample of society -their homes and its socio-cultural expectations.

Are also the immigrant Hispanic families called to be a source of spirit and life and an agent of love, justice and peace?

The central concern of this workshop is to identify external factors that place immigrant Hispanic families at risk for negative outcomes, and consequently, challenge its identify and its mission as peacemakers and truly believing and evangelizing communities within the society.

Current data suggests that as the percentage of minority people increases negative consequences accrue for that minority, specifically with regard to occupation and income (Blalock, 1967). Additionally, research asserted that members of a minority live within disadvantage social, cultural and economic communities. The perception of this segregation could rise discrimination against them. Also minority children are subject to poorer school/teacher quality, as well as more barriers to employment upon leaving school, along with the experience of general frustration as an outcome to their efforts to integrate into the larger society

it is a fact: The majority of Hispanic families live at a low socio-economic level. Some Hispanic scholars and community leaders suggest that many problems affecting the nation’s Hispanic population stem from the fact that members of the poor, ill-educated immigrant segment tend to settle in crime-ridden, gang-infested inner cities, where a culture of easy money might be difficult to resist. Additionally frequent mobility, poor education, and limited economic life and racial prejudice are some of the factors that result in low participation in political activities.

Hispanic are also severely underrepresented in higher levels of education and in occupational and professional jobs. Research had shown that Hispanic families “suffer the full impact of the “culture of poverty”… low income, unemployment,   underemployment, low levels of education, poor housing, prejudice, discrimination, and cultural/linguistic barriers” (President’s Commission on Mental Health, 1978, p. 905). Moreover, as Padilla et al. (1982) put in writing: ” Most of the Hispanic families living in the United States are only partially acculturated and marginally integrated economically, living the poverty cycle, with poor educational achievement, lack of skills, unemployment, low income depressed social status,   reliance on public welfare, deteriorated housing, minimal political influence. Since they have not completed the healthy cycle of adaptation and adjustment, they experience feelings of deprivation and loss of prestige, and are subject to a number of high stress indicators that will be correlated with personality disintegration”.

However, focusing primarily on the numbers could very easily lead us to see immigrant Hispanic families simply as a large pastoral PROBLEM, while overlooking the even more important fact that they represent a UNIQUE PASTORAL OPPORTUNITY (US Bishops Pastoral Letter on Hispanic Presence, 1983).

For the better understanding of why immigrant Hispanic families are affected by migration and by acculturation we must remember that immigrant family members have been conformed, shaped, socialized by one specific culture which had provided the context and the content of their personality development, consequently, migration  induced changes which ruptures the continuity of experiences in the immigrants people.

Consequently, migration and acculturation cause tremendous stress for any family: Family members are faced with learning a new language and the new social and political ways of life. Traditional role-model that have been functional in the past, will become dysfunctional in the new setting, thus, changes within the family roles are frequent which bring to the family the need to restructuring roles, functions and transactions.The faster rate of acculturation of children increase stresses and conflict in many families. Lack of support outside the family system and fears of crime and drugs often cause parents to be strict and overprotective with adolescents Children often rebel against their parents’ rigid discipline and reject traditional customs that they consider inferior to American ones. Women working outside home frequently present role confusion and conflict with the men’ perception of himself as a bread provider.

In sum, the fact that each person in the family has to deal with tow or three different tasks at the same time (sometimes without readiness for any one of them) under cultural, economic and social pressures usually produces ambiguity toward self, the new society and the group left behind. Additionally, conflict arises when values from basically incompatible cultures are mixed and, unless resolved, the resulting anxiety and stress interfere with the performance of day to day tasks (Anderson & Ellis, 1980).

Moreover, the process of transition or of progressive change from own cultural set to the host one (acculturation) is possible only through the cumulative interaction between both cultures, and it follows various stages before immigrant person feels again a sense of belonging to the new environment. Additionally, during the transition from one culture to the other, immigrant person needs to do over and over again, selective adaptations and to undergo processes of differentiation not only for inculturative and position conferring functions but also to help their children to achieve a sense of proper dignity and of unconditional acceptance as well as affirming their worthiness ans individuals.

Therefore, to migrate is to be born again, not only because of the social nature of human personality and its inextricable relationship to the cultural environment in which  person design its own identity but because person has to restructure its cognitive and affective abilities by introducing new meanings, gestures, words to function effectively and to develop the necessary coping mechanisms between itself and the new place. In addition, immigrant Hispanic families must undergo changes that parallel society changes so they can (1)  continue being the matrix of their members’ psychological development, (2) accommodate to the new society and its culture; and (3) insure some continuity to their own culture. And this process of learning a new set of coping mechanisms and strategies must be done overtime, in such way that family continuity is maintained while the members go through the process of accommodation.

As part of the central focus of this workshop we have identified some external factors that are affecting immigrant Hispanic families. Therefore, the ability of immigrant Hispanic families to live their identity and to meet their tasks has been weakened by circumstances beyond their control. Although in opportunities these families are capable of playing an important role as agents of evangelization and of constructive change in society, there are negative aspects of the same society -domestic violence, migration laws, discrimination, substance abuse among others- that worked to the detriment of their actions and weaken family relationships too.

We cannot conclude this presentation without pointing out some possible pastoral responses to immigrant Hispanic families needs.

The Catholic Church has historically been an advocate of family life. Historically too, the United States Catholic Church has been an immigrant Church. It is extremely important that the different organizations and components of United States society and Catholic Church become aware and sensitive to the cultural conflicts and demands that immigrant Hispanic families face. As Church we must be aware that the disintegration of immigrant Hispanic families implies the non-operation of a basic support system within the society, and within the basic faith community of the Church.

The development of a comprehensive Hispanic family life ministry must e a priority for all dioceses with strong Hispanic presence.  It is not sufficient to bring member of the Hispanic community to the office staff. It is not sufficient to translate to Spanish the sacramental preparation and i ts liturgy. There is a need for a Hispanic Family Life minister who accompany these couples, parents, children and to provide means to strengthen their marriages, their families, their parenting skills. A minister that plays a role not only as cultural translator but as mediator and model. A minister who foster positive feelings toward immigrant families cultural identity and who simultaneously help them develop a social commitment to the larger society. A minister who celebrates and proclaims those Hispanic values that constitutes their major gift to the American Church and Society.

Christian family life is a basic religious and theological reality in which the spiritual life of its members is nurtured by God’s grace. Consequently, Christian family must stand as a CENTRAL PRIORITY in the life of the Church. In spite of the many changes that the faith community has suffered throughout these twenty centuries, family continues to  be the first small faith community, the source of spirit and of life, that provides the natural framework for the emotional and spiritual support essential for the faith growth and for the religious development of its members. The family remains a vital means for preserving and transmitting Gospel values.

As Church,

  • we need to encourage programs that support, enrich, enhance and care for Hispanic families in cultural transition,
  • we need to support families in the fulfillment of their functions, rather than provide substitutes for such functions,
  • we need to promote the inherent strengths of immigrant Hispanic families, including their great capacity for self-reliance, and stimulate self-sustaining activities on their behalf,
  • we need  to provide family life education which highlights the importance of family in the church and in the society, which increases a better understanding of their functions and problems, which promotes knowledge of the economic, social and demographic processes affecting immigrant Hispanic families and their members, and focus attention upon the rights and responsibilities of all family members,
  • we need to provide opportunities for Hispanic parents to make them an integral part of the spiritual and psycho-educational faith development process of their children,
  • we need to provide provide interventions for broken and hurt immigrant Hispanic families but we too need to begin to prevent these situations to happen .

AS CHURCH WE NEED TO CHANGE THE TRADITIONAL HELP-GIVER MODEL FOR THE EMPOWERMENT MODEL.

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PROGRAM OF FORMATION ON PASTORAL CARE FOR SENIORS (5)
Ignorance and fear of death overshadow life, while knowing and accepting death erases this shadow.” Lily Pincus- British social worker and psychotherapist
Although the final outcome of death is the same for all humans, cultures vary in how they conceptualize death and what happens when a person dies. These different conceptions have a noticeable influence on people’s lifestyles, their readiness to die for a cause, the degree to which they fear death, their expressions of grief and mourning, and the nature of funeral rituals.
A good death is one that allows for social adjustments and personal preparation by the dying person and his or her family. This is a time when the dying person attempts to complete unfinished tasks, to say farewells, and for the family to begin to prepare for life without the dying (Kellahear, 1990).
Fears about death that we may relay publicly may differ from what we may believe and express privately, which may be different from the fears that we may not be consciously aware that we are exhibiting.
Alvarado, Templer, Bresler, and Thomson-Dobson (1995) found a strong negative correlation between death anxiety and belief in after life. That is, as the degree of certainty in afterlife increased, levels of death anxiety
decreased.
COPYRIGHT: DR. G. MARQUEZ

PROGRAMA DE FORMACION: CUIDADO PASTORAL DE PERSONAS DE LA TERCERA EDAD (5)
Ignorancia y miedo a la muerte ensombrece la vida, mientras que el conocimiento y la aceptación de la muerte borra esas sombras. Lily Pincus- British social worker and psychotherapist
Aunque el momento final de la muerte es igual para todos los humanos, las diferentes culturas varían en cómo conceptualizan la muerte y lo que sucede cuando la persona muere. Estas diferentes conceptualizaciones tienen una gran influencia en la forma de vivir de las personas, la disposición a morir por una causa, el nivel de miedo a la muerte, las expresiones de dolor y duelo y la naturaleza de los diferentes rituales funerarios.
Una buena muerte conlleva el ajuste social y la preparación personal de quien va a morir y de su familia. Este es el tiempo en que la persona trata de completar las areas que no ha hecho, dice adios, y para su familiares es el tiempo de prepararse para vivir sin el moribundo (Kellahear, 1990).
Nuestras expresiones en público acerca de nuestro miedo a la muerte se pueden diferenciar de las que creemos o expresamos en privado e incluso pueden ser distintas de las que tenemos a nivel inconsciente.
Alvarado, Templer, Bresler, y Thomson-Dobson (1995) encontraron una correlación negativa entre la ansiedad ante la muerte y las creencia de una vida después. Es decir, cuanta mayor es nuestra certeza de una vida después de la muerte menos ansiedad experimentamos.
COPYRIGHT: DR. G. MARQUEZ

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PROGRAM OF FORMATION ON PASTORAL CARE FOR SENIORS (4)
The Bible speaks on aging. There are Bible teachings on the nature of aging, characteristics of the aged, responsibilities of older people, and the care of older people.
Christian ministry to the aged involves caring for each elderly individual:
*as a person created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) *as a person for whom Christ cares (Matthew 25:31-46).
In the Bible, old age is considered the positive and good fulfillment of a life devoted to God. Both the blessings and responsibilities of aging are to be accepted with gratitude and in a sense of stewardship, “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment” (2 Timothy 1:7).
In our Christian past, old age was seen as an integral part of a spiritual journey which gave meaning to the whole of one’s life. The goal of this journey was known to be union with God in the beatific vision. The characteristic condition of old age, with its frailties and dependency, could be an occasion for spiritual transformation and transcendence – for acknowledging the fundamental truth of the human condition, our dependence on God and on his love and mercy.
Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

PROGRAMA DE FORMACION: CUIDADO PASTORAL DE PERSONAS DE LA
TERCERA EDAD (4)
La Biblia nos habla de la vejez. Hay enseñanzas bíblicas sobre la naturaleza de la vejez, Características de la vejez, Responsabilidades de las personas mayores, y el cuidado de la vejez.
El misterio cristiano de las personas mayores Incluye cuidar de cada persona mayor:
*como una persona creada a imagen y semejanza de Dios (Genesis 1:27)
*como una persona a la que Cristo cuida (Mateo 25:31- 46).
En la Biblia, la vejez es considerada como la culminación de una vida dedicada a Dios. Ambas, las bendiciones y las responsabilidades de la vejez deben ser aceptadas con gratitud y con sentido del servicio. ”Porque Dios no nos ha dado un espíritu de miedo, sino uno de fuerza, de amor y de justo juicio” (2 Timothy 1:7).
En nuestra tradición Cristiana, la vejez es vista como parte integral de nuestro peregrinar espiritual , la que le da sentido a toda la vida del ser humano. Es alcanzar la meta de este peregrinar: la unión con Dios en visión beatífica. La característica esencial de la vejez, con su fragilidad y dependencia, es ocasión de transformación espiritual y de trascendencia – cuando reconocemos la verdad fundamental de la condición humana: nuestra dependencia de Dios, de su amor y de su misericordia.
Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

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PROGRAM OF FORMATION ON PASTORAL CARE FOR SENIORS (3)
Almost all of our major problems involve human behavior, and they cannot be solved by physical and biological technology alone.

Our society relates health changes to retirement rather than to age
changes: Retirement should be viewed as a process as well as an event. Further, retirement may affect the lives of other people and not just the retiree. The change in status that accompanies giving up the work role requires socialization to new roles and shifting to a new way of life.
Carl Gustav Jung: -considered that the human psyche is “by nature religious” . -viewed the first half of life spent in preparation for living and the second half in preparing for old age and death. -described the main task during this period as to re-evaluate values and goals, to engage in self-evaluation can develop new values, interests, and understand the true meaning of life.
Erick Erickson: -presented the older age as a period of getting a new meaning in life by appreciating the past, present and future. -the analysis of successes and failures gives a sense of integrity.
Aging does not destroy the continuity between what we are now, what we have been, and what we will be (Vander Zanden, 1978).
Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

PROGRAMA DE FORMACION: CUIDADO PASTORAL DE PERSONAS DE LA TERCERA EDAD(3)
Casi todos nuestros mayores problemas tienen que ver con nuestra conducta en la vida, y ellos no pueden ser resueltos con tratamientos físicos ni con la tecnología biológica solamente.
Nuestra sociedad tiende a unir los cambios de salud a el retiro en lugar de a nuetro envejecimiento. El retiro debe ser visto como un proceso en lugar de como un evento. Más aún, el retiro afecta la vida de otras personas y no sólo la de la persona que se retira. Los cambios que se original cuando nos retiramos requieren que aprendamos nuevos papeles sociales y que adoptemos una nueva forma de vivir.
Carl Gustav Jung: -consideraba que la psique humana es religiosa por naturaleza. -veía la primera mitad de la vida dedicada a prepararnos para vivir y la segunda mitad de la vida dedicada a prepararnos para envejecer y morir. -describía la meta principal de esta época así:
re-evaluación de nuestros valores y metas,
esta re-evaluación nos lleve a desarrollar nuevos valores, intereses y a -entender el verdadero significado de la vida
Erick Erickson: -presenta la vejez como el período de obtener un nuevo sentido de nuestra vida por medio de la apreciación del pasado, presente y futuro. -el análisis de los triunfos y de los fracasos contribuye a crear un nuevo sentido de la integridad.
Envejecer no destruye la continuidad de quienes somos ahora, de
quienes fuimos y de quienes seremos (Vander Zanden, 1978).

Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

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PROGRAM OF FORMATION ON PASTORAL CARE FOR SENIORS (2)

“Growing old doesn’t have to mean growing slow or growing ill, ” Dr. Gene Cohen, deputy director
National Institute on Aging.
The aging body does change. Some systems slow down, while others lose their “fine tuning.” As a general rule, slight, gradual changes are common, and most of these are not problems to the person who experiences them. Sudden and dramatic changes might indicate serious health problems. A program of regular, thorough health check-ups and self-examinations will identify changes that may be cause for concern.
•    About 30% of people over 60 have a hearing impairment, but about 33% of those 75 to 84, and about half of those over 85, have a hearing loss.
• With aging, peripheral vision is reduced. Degeneration of eye muscles and clouding of the lens are associated with aging. Serious vision impairments such as cataracts, glaucoma, and blindness affect between 7% and 15% of older adults.
•    Some loss in taste sensitivity takes place with aging. There is also a loss of smell, but this is not severe.
•    Skin changes leave the older person vulnerable to discomfort and harm with both: cool and hot temperatures.
• Aging adults are vulnerable to broken bones. In addition, joints stiffen and connecting ligaments between bones lose their elasticity.
•    The digestive system is very sensitive to emotions: may experience an upset stomach or lack of appetite when lonely, depressed, or worried. It is fairly common for older people to have less frequent bowel movements.
•    The heart, which undergoes muscle changes as we age, must pump harder in order to carry the blood to all parts of the body. Changes in circulation make the older person more susceptible to the development of “little strokes” (TIAs) than when younger.
Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

PROGRAMA DE FORMACION: CUIDADO PASTORAL DE PERSONAS DE LA TERCERA
EDAD(2)

“Hacernos viejos, no necesariamente significa hacernos lentos o enfermarnos” Dr. Gene Cohen, director National Institute on Aging.
El cuerpo de los ancianos cambia. Algunos sistemas se hacen más lentos y otros pierden su energia y vitalidad. Como regla general los cambios se producen gradualmente y sin problemas para las personas que los sufren. Cuando los cambios son súbitos y dramáticos pueden ser indicación de serios problemas de salud. Un programa regular de exámenes de nuestro propio cuerpo, de visitas al médico y de análisis frecuentes nos ayudan a identificar aquellos cambios que pueden ser causa de preocupación para nosotros.
•    Cerca del 30% de las personas mayores de 60 años tienen problemas escuchando. Cerca del 33% de las personas entre 75 y 84 años y la mitad de las pesonas mayores de 85 años sufren un pérdida parcial o total de su sentido del oído.
•    Con la edad, la visión periférica se reduce. Cambios degenerativos de los músculos de los ojos y opacamiento de los lentes del ojo se asocian con la edad. Serias dificultades como las cataratas, la glaucoma o la ceguera suele afectar entre un 7% y un 15% de los ancianos.
•    Alguna pérdida de la sensibilidad del gusto acompaña al proceso de envejecimiento. Tambien suelen presentarse algunas pérdidas del sentido del olfato pero éstas no suelen ser severas.
•    Cambios de sensibilidad en la piel hace más vulnerable a la persona mayor tanto a las temperaturas frías como a las calientes.
•    Los ancianos son más vulnerables a partirse los huesos. Los tejidos de sus coyonturas y los ligamentos que las conectan suelen perder su elasticidad.
• El sistema digestivo se hace muy sensitive a las emociones. Suelen experimentar malestares estomacales y pérdida del apetito cuando se sienten solos, deprimidos o preocupados. Es bastante comun que los ancianos sufran de menos movimientos intestinales –estreñimiento.
•    El corazón experimenta cambios musculares con la edad haciendo que necesite bombear más fuerte para poder llevar la sangre a todas partes del cuerpo. Cambios en la circulación hace que las personas mayores sean más susceptibles al desarrollo de pequeños infartos cerebrales.
Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

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PROGRAM OF FORMATION ON PASTORAL CARE FOR SENIORS (1)

Pastoral care derives it name and nature from the meaning of shepherd and suggests the work of the shepherd with the flock.

Cannon Law: Pastoral Care as a necessary service for parish life.

Catholic theology: Pastoral care for the sick and infirm is one of the most significant ways that members of the Body of Christ continue the ministry and mission of Jesus.

Pastoral care is a responsibility of all the baptized.

Developmental stages throughout the life cycle with unique psychological characteristics, developmental tasks, and social roles:

· Childhood 0 to 14 years

· Adolescence 14 to 20 years

· Young adulthood 21 to 40 years

· Middle adulthood 40 to 60 years

· Late adulthood 60 to 70 years

· Old age 70 and beyond

Old people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. However, in spite of several physical and psychological changes THE POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH, NEW LEARNING, PRODUCTIVITY, AND CREATIVITY CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE LIFE CYCLE.

Honoring the traditions is the foundation of a strong family: No matter what culture we are from, when incorporate the traditional beliefs of honor and value for our elders, we show our children the value of respecting those that gave us life, and how we learn from the wisdom of our elders. Then, together, as a family, we grow stronger.

Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

PROGRAMA DE FORMACION:

CUIDADO PASTORAL DE PERSONAS DE LA TERCERA EDAD(1)

El cuidado pastoral deriva su nombre y su misión del significado de la palabra pastor y sugiere el trabajo de éste con su rebaño.

El Código de Derecho Canónico dice que el cuidado pastoral es un sevicio indispensable en la vida parroquial.

La Teología Catolica nos dice que el cuidado pastoral del enfermo y moribundo es una de \ la formas más significativa que tienen los miembros del Cuerpo de Cristo de continuar el ministerio y la misión de Jesús.

El cuidado pastoral es responsabilidad de todos los bautizados.

Etapas de desarrollo del ciclo de vida: todas tienen características psicológicas unicas, metas de desarrollo y papeles sociales propios:

· Infancia 0 a 12 años

· Adolescencia 14 a 20 años

· Joven adulto 21 a 40 años

· Adulto 40 a 60 años

· Persona mayor 60 a 70 años

· Tercera edad 70 y más

Las personas de la tercera edad tiene abilidades regenerativas limitadas y mayor facilidad para desarrollar síntomas y enfermedades que loa demás adultos. Sin embargo, a pesar de los cambios fisiológicos y psicológicos típicos de esta edad EL POTENCIAL DE CRECIMIENTO, DE APRENDIZAJE, DE PRODUCTIVIDAD Y DE CREATIVIDAD CONTINUA EXISTIENDO HASTA EL FINAL DE LA VIDA.

Honrar las tradiciones es la base de toda familia sana: no importa qué cultura tengamos, cuando incorporamos la creencia tradicional de rendir honor y de valorar a nuestros ancianos estamos enseñando a nuestros hijos el respeto por aquellos que nos dieron la vida y cómo aprendemos de la sabiduría que ellos tienen. Asi, todos juntos, crecemos como familia sana.

Copyright: Dr. G. Marquez

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El PROPOSITO de este programa de formación es ofrecer a los miembros del Ministerio de Vida Familiar de la comunidad Hispana de la Iglesia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús el conocimiento y entrenamaiento necesario para que puedan dar un apoyo efectivo a todos los miembros de la Tercera Edad de la parroquia.

Con este fin se brindarán clases sobre las necesidades espirituales, sociales, emocionales y fisicas de las personas de la Tercera edad asi como el significado y proposito de sus vidas no solo para ellos mismos sino para su familia, su grupo social y su comunidad de fe.

Además, este programa proveerá las habilidades a los miembros del Ministerio de Vida Familiar para que puedan dar ayuda y cuidado a los miembros de la Tercera Edad de la comunidad y a sus familias durante tiempos de enfermedad, muerte y duelo.

LAS BASES TEORICAS Y PASTORALES DEL PROGRRAMA SON:

1.- El modelo de desarrollo psico-social de Carl Jung (1955)

C. Jung divide la vida de la persona en cuatro etapas de desarrollo: infancia, juventud, madurez y tercera edad. En las dos primeras etapas el ser humano está orientado hacia la sociedad: para conocerla, aprender a vivir en ella y dar una respuesta en la misma. En las dos últimas etapas –madurez y tercera edad- la persona se vuelve hacia su interior, y comienza a cuidar de la parte que generalmente ha sido más descuidada, su vida espiritual. De forma tal, que todos los exitos ligrados en la la juventud comienzan a tener “su justo valor” y se comienza un proceso de encuentro consigo mismo y con su razón de ser y de existir. Comienza así a iluminar su vida y a cuidar de sus necesidades espirituales.

2.- Todos los escritos que tienen que ver con los miembros de la tercera edad dan una gran importancia a la religion y al cuidado espiritual de los mismos. Muchos estudios y articulos recientes sugieren que el cuidado religioso y espiritual de las personas de la tercera edad tiene un gran impacto en que éstan se sientan peans, realizadas y con major salud física.

Esto se debe fundamentalmente a que el cuidado pastoral de las personas de la Tercera edad les ayuda en su proceso de encontrar un sentido y un propósito a sus vidas, sin contar con el beneficio que se deriva de que estas personas participen en grupos de apoyo encaminados a su desarrollo espiritual –grupos de oración, grupos de estudios bíblicos, ritos espirituales y meditaciones (Marche, 2006). Para todos Este apoyo espiritual es imprescindible cuando se pasa por el proceso de aceptar las limitaciones y los achaques propios del dolor crónico, la dependencia de otros, la soledad.

3.- El magisterio de la Iglesia ha definido la importancia de las personas de la Tercera Edad dentro de la familia, de la sociedad y la comunidad de fe. Recientemente, el Papa Juan Pablo II en su Exhortación Aposteolica Familiares Consortio (27) plantea que existen culturas donde se tiene una verdadera veneración y amor por los ancianos. Desgraciamente, existen otras culturas que les separan de la familia o que les ven solo como personas inservibles que ocasionan gastos y trabajos a las generaciones mas jovenes. Es de vital importancia que los ancianos continuen presentes en la vida familiar, que tomen parte activa y resposable dentro de ella, sin que por eso la nueva familia pierda su autonomía y respeto por sí mismos. No podemos olvidar que los ncianos tienen la importante misión de haber sido testigos del pasado y ser una inagotable fuente de sabiduría para los más jeovenes y para el futuro. La actividad pastoral de la Iglesia debe ayudar a que cada anciano descubra y haga buen uso del papel que tienen los ancianos dentro de la comunidad social y ecclesial pero particularmente dentro de la familia.

De hecho, ‘LA VIDA DE LOS ANCIANOS CONTRIBUYE A CLARIFICAR LA ESCALA DE VALORES HUMANOS, MUESTRA LA CONTINUIDAD DE LAS GENERACIONES Y MARAVILLOSAMENTE DEMUESTRA LA INTERDEPENDENCIA ENTRE LOS HIJOS DE DIOS”.

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Desde el siglo XVI todos los immigrantes que se han movido a los Estados Unidos –ingleses, noruegos, alemanes, italianos, judios, hispanos- han venido y continuan viniendo en la busqueda de “la tierra de libertad y de oportunidades” no solo para si mismos sino para sus familias y sus descendencias.

Desde mediados del siglo XIX las escuelas en los Estados Unidos han jugado un papel crucial en el ajuste de los niños irlandeses, italianos, judios… -immigrantes- a esta sociedad. El sistema escolar represento y representa para estos niños el puente entre la cultura native y familiar que les ha moldeado sus personalidades desde antes de nacer y la cultura de la sociedad a la que han llegado y a la que deben ajustarse.

El sistema escolar ha sido visto y es visto por nosotros, los padres inmigrantes, como el vehículo que ha hecho y puede seguir hacienda realidad el avance social de nuestros hijos, de nuestra raza, de nuestro grupo étnico, de nuestra comunidad. La escuela ha sido, es y sera el primer peldaño en la escalera que nos lleva a la libertad y a las oportunidades.

No es fácil la tarea que tiene la escuela. Idealmente, la escuela debe respetar el language, la cultura, y la tradición del/de la niño/a inmigrante al tiempo que le introduce e integra gradualmente en la sociedad Americana que le acoge. La acción que las escuelas deben llevar a cabo se relaciona directamente con el buen o mal concepto de sí mismo que los niños tedran en el futuro

Mientras los maestros llevan a cabo su tarea proveyendo información y participando activamente en el proceso de su educación, los niños imigrantes necesitan sentir y crecer en el respeto a sí mismo. El aprecio de si mismos es no solo un factor determinante en el future social de estos niños sino que va a tener mucho que ver en el aprendizaje del idioma ingles y con el respeto que el niño sienta por sus raices historicas, por su identidad étnica y racial, y consequentemente con el aprecio que tengan a sus padres y al comportamiento social de estos.

Todos y cada uno de nosotros tiene una idea de si mismo que se ha venido hacienda desde el mismo momento de su nacimiento. Esta idea de quienes somos, de cómo somos, y de cuánto valemos se ha ido moldeando por medio del cómo se nos ha dicho que somos, del cómo creemos que somos, y de nuestros éxitos y fracasos.

A esta pintura interna que tenemos, contribuyó los calificativos que nos fueron dados desde que nacimos en nuestros hogares, en las escuelas, en la sociedad en general. Tambien los juicios que fuimos hacienda de nosotros mismos a medida que ibamos viendo cómo eramos aprobados o desaprobados por la sociedad en general, a medida que ibamos viendo como ibamos funcionando en la vida. Esa imagen que tenemos de nosotros mismos tiene un valor que nosotros le atribuimos o le quitamos de acuerdo a como vemos que la sociedad valora los atributos que poseemos y de acuerdo con nuestra “efectividad” social.

Asi la escuela pdra despertar en los niños inmigrantes la idea de que de ellos puede esperarse mucho, de que ellos seran un relevo efectivo y mas capacitado par alas generaciones presentes, de que ellos seran un elemento contributivo a la sociedad Americana, de que ellos podran construir un mundo major.

O de que ellos no pueden estar con el resto de los niños porque ellos son “desventajados”, porquie al hablar un idioma que los maestros no conocen se hacen “raros”, que al no conocer el idioma oficial del pais ellos necesitan de una educación “especial” o “remedial”, que al ser “inferiores” socialmente ellos no deben aspirer a otra cosa que a aprender oficios, que se les diagnostican problemas de ajuste o emocionales porque han sido socializados con patrones culturales distintos a los de los jueces/educadores y que por ellos nos conocerlos los juzgan como inadaptados.

Los estudios han demostrado que las personas que buscan ayuda sufriendo problemas psicológicos en la edad adulta, lo hacen generalmente porque tienen la idea y los sentimientos de que no sirven para nada, de que no valen nada; es decir, es porque tienen una pobre estima de si. Y las personas que tienen un pobre concepto de si mismos tienden a sufrif de mucha ansiedad, miedo, inhibiciones en la vida. Son pesonas que no pueden dar mas porque no se atreven. Asi sufren, no solo por no poder dar mas, sino por no atreverse a dar mas.

Por tanto, cuando el niño o la niña inmigrante es “aplastado”por la rueda del sistema educacional, difícilmente podra “levanter cabeza” más tarde en la vida.

Los padres inmigrantes/minoritarios tenemos que saber esto porque somos los responsables de lo que les suceda a nuestros hijos. No solo la escuela. Nosotros tenemos que saber y reconocer que ninguna cultura es superior ni inferior a otra. De la misma forma que ninguna lengua es superior ni inferior a otra sino diferente. Cada cultura/lengua surgio y se desarrollo para cumplir una meta: ajustar al nativo a su medio ambiente natural-geográfico, historico-politico, económico-social. Y por tanto, esa lengua y esa cultura modelo e hizo de cada uno de nosotros lo que somos hispanos. Ni superiors, ni inferiores a los nativos estadounidenses, sino sencillamente diferentes.

El niño hispano no es inferior al nino Americano, sin que tiene sus mismos derechos, sus mismas habilidades, sus mismas capacidades, su misma dignidad, y por tanto, merece el mismo respeto. Lo único que el niño hispano no tiene es el conocimiento del ideioma y la cultura Americana. En esto es como lo que le sucede al niño Americano que vive en un pais latinoamericano y no conoce el idioma y la cultura hispana.

Los padres hispanos tenemos que ayudar a nuestros hijos a sentirse orgullosos de su herencia y cultura hispana, de su YO hispano. Los padres hispanos tenemos que estar concientes de que, en la medida en la cual nuestros hijos aprendan el idioma y la cultura Americana seán más ricos. No porque se estan “americanizando” y haciendose superiors, sino que el idioma ingles y el conocimiento de la cultura Americana les estan dando los recursos necesarios para ajustarse productiva y sanamente a la soliedad en la que viven ahora. En la medida en la cual nuestros hijos pongan junto a su herencia, cultura e idioma hispano la herencia, cultura e idioma ingles, podran ser capaces de desenvolverse eficazmente en dos medios ambientes distintos: el de su hogar y el de la sociedad en que viven.

Pero no se puede aprender ingles sin tener seguridad en si mismo. Ni con un YO inhibido. Aprende ingles el que tiene un yo fuerte, firme, orgulloso de ser.

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