Abstract
Jennifer Altavilla recommends the book The Other Side of Assimilation: How Immigrants are Changing American Life by Tomás Jiménez. Bruce Baker recommends The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein.
Keywords
Few books have enlightened and inspired me as much as this one. Jiménez argues that the beliefs, habits, and values of established Americans are the product of interactions with immigrants. This book made me realize that I, the grandchild of immigrants and an educator who works with students classified as English learners, had never truly understood how my identity has been shaped by my relationships with immigrants. I believe that reading this book has made me a more humble teacher, a more informed ally, and a more forceful advocate for my students and their families.