Among School Children

Mrs. Zajac’s church holds Mass in English and Spanish. The English Mass is always quieter without children, and people spread out in the pews. The Spanish Mass includes children and lots of talking, and they tend to sit together in the front pews. Father Joyce, the parish priest, initiated bilingual services to try to bring the communities together. Mrs. Zajac’s student, Judith, teaches Sunday school at her family’s Pentecostal church where her father is a pastor. Judith teaches her lessons using things she learns from Mrs. Zajac, such as disciplining difficult students and having a commanding presence. Judith’s father left Puerto Rico looking for better opportunities, as wages and work in Puerto Rico lagged behind the mainland United States. He sustained an injury after moving and welfare partially supports him, which is a stereotype of Puerto Ricans who move to the mainland.

Mrs. Zajac sees racism often as a teacher. She hears white parents and other teachers complain about Puerto Rican students or their children learning Spanish. She feels angry when people are rude to her students, even when they are behaving well. She notices how classes of white students do not receive the same rudeness.