The Students We Share

Book excerpt: Millions of students in the US and Mexico begin their educations in one country and find themselves trying to integrate into the school system of the other. As global migration increases, their numbers are expected to grow and more and more teachers will find these transnational students in their classrooms. The goal of The Students We Share is to prepare educators for this present and future reality. While the US has been developing English as a Second Language programs for decades, Mexican schools do not offer such programs in Spanish and neither the US nor Mexico has prepared its teachers to address the educational, social-psychological, or other personal needs of transnational students. Teachers know little about the circumstances of transnational students' lives or histories and have little to no knowledge of the school systems of the country from which they or their family come. As such, they are fundamentally unprepared to equitably educate the "students we share," who often fall through the cracks and end their educations prematurely. Written by both Mexican and US pioneers in the field, chapters in this volume aim to prepare educators on both sides of the US-Mexico border to better understand the circumstances, strengths, and needs of the transnational students we teach. With recommendations for policymakers, administrators, teacher educators, teachers, and researchers in both countries, The Students We Share shows how preparing teachers is our shared responsibility and opportunity. It describes policies, classroom practices, and norms of both systems, as well as examples of ongoing partnerships across borders to prepare the teachers we need for our shared students to thrive.