Citation:

Rodriguez, V. C., Gillen-Oneel, C., Mistry, R. S., Brown, C. S., Chow, K. A., &

White, E. S. (2015). National and Racial-Ethnic Identification: What It Means

to Be American Among Early Adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence,

36(6), 807-839.

Authors Credibility:

Victoria Rodriguez in the Department of Education at the University of

California is part of the Latino minority. Since she is part of such a minority

ethnic group, she is interested in the way other Americans view her specific

ethnic group, hence her reasoning for writing this article.

Authors Rationale:

Rodriguez herself is part of a minority ethnic group so she has definitely seen

differences in education between her ethnic group and others. Her reasoning

for writing this article is so that others are aware of the diversion of ethnic

groups within education. Due to the fact that adolescents are unaware of the

ethnic identification of what it is considered American, Rodriguez wrote this

article in perspective of being on the other side of the argument.

Authors Central Argument:

Before the article begins, the abstract discusses the mixed-methods study

explored by early adolescents on national American identification, and

meanings attached to being American. Rodriguez argues that the most
impressionable time on a person is in their youth. She argues that early
adolescence is the best time to push American values and identification on
youths.
Significant points the
author(s) makes about the
ethnic or racial student
groups culture in relation to
the academic learning
environment.
1) Self-identification is one
important belief that entails the
use of hyphenated American
labels, such as: African-
American, Chinese-American,
or Pan ethnic labels, such as
Asian or Latino.
2) Racial and Ethnic diversity
among students with different
backgrounds is a key value to
the author, specifically
students who are not identified
as American. The author
states that African Americans
and Latinos have less positive
perceptions of America.
3) The author states that feeling
like you belong and having
pride in American goodness,
certain American cultural
behaviors, and having
personality traits related to
American ideals, such as being
free are important to
ethnic/racial inclusion.
Note: You may address one of
the above categories more
than once if necessary.
Relationships the author(s)
make between the points at the
left and some of the academic
indicators listed in my Social
Construct Lecture located in
D2L.
1) Self-identification is important
because certain colleges allow
admissions based on race or
gender or cultural background.
It can also have a negative
affect because in certain
schools, such as African
American majority schools, it
could be argued that students
in these schools have fewer
opportunities than in a diverse
learning environment.
2) Studies showed that after
desegregation in the 1960s in
the South, test scores and
grades tended to go up for
school that were more diverse
versus schools that were more
homogenous, for examples
grades and GPA were directly
affected by diversity.
3) Students that identify as
American or with American
values are considered to have
it easier in fitting into our
diverse country than students
with backgrounds who are
considered to have un-
American values.
Apply your Learning:

In my opinion, diversity is incredibly important to any healthy classroom

environment. I would agree that more diverse and integrated classrooms

lead to more successful futures for students. As a future educator, I think

that knowing the different backgrounds of each student is important in

teaching and meeting the basic needs for each individual. For example, I was

enrolled in a course, which required volunteering at a lower-income leveled

after school program for a majority of African American students. Being part

of their community while volunteering really made me understand the

different perspective these students have versus students considered

American. In conclusion, if you treat each student as equal as you would

any other and push for American values and ideals, students from all

backgrounds will have greater opportunities for success.