“The American DREAM and Immigrant Students”

The article's major thesis is that numerous immigrant students come to America in search of a better life. The foreign pupils struggle mightily to fit into American culture. They are facing deportation, have few resources, and some are even separated from their families. The writers advocate for giving immigrant students the opportunity to seek high-quality education through both state and federal legislation, such as the DREAM Act.
The writers examine the subject of immigrant students by examining current issues with the use of reliable secondary sources. Some of the topics covered include relations with parents, dealing with the divergent cultures, operating on minimal resources, and facing the threat of deportation. The authors then examine state and federal legislations focusing on immigrants. It is clear that undocumented immigrants face the threat of being denied an opportunity to pursue education and even gainful employment in the country.









Zimmer et al. “Charter Schools in Eight States Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition”

What is the main argument?

The research paper argues that there might be some effects of the chartered schools introduced in the United States in 1992. The author compares the chartered schools and the traditional public schools in terms of the students’ population and performance. The researchers hypothesizes that since the chartered schools are privately owned, it is likely that they encourage social segregation and stifle the limited resources that was available to the public schools. To quell the debate surrounding the effects of chartered schools, the authors propose an empirical study that would reflect the reality in eight different states.

How do the authors advance their argument?

The study uses a longitudinal research focusing on students’ performance across eight different states. The states where the authors collected data included Chicago, Philadelphia, Ohio, San Diego, Milwaukee, Florida, Denver, and Texas. The strategy was to seek answers to four critical research questions that would help understand the effects of the chartered schools and differentiate them to the traditional public schools. The questions included a)what are the characteristics of students going to chartered schools? b) Do students who transfer from traditional public schools to chartered schools have negative of positive effects on their test-score? c) Does attending a chartered public school have any effect on the rate of students’ graduation and probability of proceeding to college? d) Do the chartered schools have any effect to the performance of neighboring public school?



Rumberger and Gandara “Seeking Equity in the education of California’s English learners”

What is the main argument?

The authors argue that the many English learners in the state of California do not get the quality education they deserve. The chapter points out that the Williams v. State of California lawsuit report established that there is significant inequality between the English learning students and the native speakers. Since the state is squarely responsible for the discrepancies, the authors argue that it also has the powers to solve the problem. The author asserts that the lack of good language skills affects the performance of the minority students and even their life after school.

How do the authors advance their argument?

The authors use secondary data to reveal statistics with inequality between the English learners and the native speakers. The survey focuses on seven areas where the authors believe there has been a lack of attention for the ESL students in California. Some of the areas of concern included access to trained teachers, limited learning time, and inequitable access to learning facilities. The chapter then offers comprehensive recommendations to bridge the gap between the English learners and the rest of the students’ population.



Ochoa “Academic profiling” Ch. 5-6, Conclusion

What is the main argument?

In chapter 5, the author argues that Asian American students go through intense racial discrimination from both the students and the faculty. The fact that they look different makes people develop stereotypes of what the general population of a particular race behaves. In chapter 6, the author argues that it is not easy to change the perception of those who perpetuate racism in learning institutions.

How does the author advance his argument?

The author expounds on his arguments by giving specific excerpts of situations that pointed to racial acts in learning institutions. The explanations become clear as the audience is able to reflect on what happens to minority students in campuses. The author is also keen to give examples of positive comments on racial differences. There is also the use of secondary sources to support the assertions of the author.



Analysis

From the analysis of the four texts, it is evident that they all focus on the plight of minority races in the United States. Pang et al looks at the challenges immigrant students go through in genera while Rumberger and Gandara is specific on the educational challenges foreign students go through because of language difficulties. Zimmer et al. is specific in looking at the inequality effects caused by chartered schools while Ochoa looks at the prevailing discriminatory perceptions facing minority students. Therefore, while the four texts look at the issue of minority races education in different ways, they have the same message. There is a lot to be done to support the educational programs of foreign or minority races students.