Social Action Plan 1

Social Action Plan

Ximena Lopez

Elizabeth Robinson

HD 361: Social and political Context of Human Development

6/25/2017
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My social plan that I chose to work on was Free on the wheel English Classes for working

people. This means I would be helping people that want to learn English. Due to the lack of time

or financial problems they are unable to go to school. For an example many people who work in

factories do not have time to go to school. By bringing the class to their job it will allow them to

keep the job they need in order to provide for their families and allow them to learn English.

Learning English is not only necessary to be able to communicate with other people but it opens

doors in the work field. On top of opening doors in the working field, workers will be able to

understand what their bosses are telling them. They will be able to understand their work policies.

Being able to read and understand the policies, will allow the employees to realize if the supervisor

respecting their rights. If their rights are being violated they will be able to report it. The reason I

chose this as my social action project was due to a memory that I have of my childhood.

My Family and I migrated over to the United States back in 2001. One day my mom and

dad decided to take my brother and I out to get some ice cream. As we were walking to the ice-

cream shop we wear sharing stories, and making jokes, we were not paying close attention to the

streets we were walking on. After some time, my dad realized we were lost, we had only been in

the U.S for a few days so we did not know the streets well. My dad was hesitant about asking for

direction due to the fact that he spoke English poorly. My mom did not know any English at all at

that time. My dad finally decided to ask a couple who was passing by for directions. I remember

his voice was shaky and his hands got sweaty. My dad put together a choppy sentence but he was

able to get the point across. The couple told him to continue walking straight and he would get the

ice-cream shop soon. My dad thanks the couple, as we were walking away the couple mock my

dads broken English, I saw my dads face turn red, he put his head down and continue walking.

He never spoke about that they again, but he did sign up for English classes. I would see
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him and my mom go to work before the sun came up and I would see them come back once the

sun was down. I could tell they were tired their faces looked drained. But they still manage to get

enough energy to go to school in the evening. Soon they were both able to speak English and

understand it with no problem.

In order to get a better idea of the needs of the people who work in factories I diced to

interview two workers and one of the managers. The first person I diced to interview was Andrea

Gonzales. She is a mom to three young kids. Her husband works in the same company as she does,

he did not want to participate in the interview. Andrea I been in the U.S for ten years almost, and

I still dont speak English What has been holding you back from learning English? well when I

first came to the U.S I did not plan to stay, I just came here to work collect a good amount of

money and I was supposed to go back to Mexico but that did not happen. I was working two jobs

so I did not have time to go to school. The little time I had off all I wanted to do was sleep. During

my second job I met my husband, we had three kids and I just dont have anyone to look after

them in the afternoon, and on top of that have to clean the house and cook lunch for the next day.

Have you tried taking weekend classes? Oh yes the weekend classes. I did try taking those

weekend classes but due to my job I would miss a lot so I never really understand the lesson nor

the homework.

Carlos is an immigrant who migrated to the U.S 8 months ago. I came to the U.S because

the situation in my country is really bad, there is a lot of gangs and you cant make a living with

the money you get paid. Have you taken any English classes since you got here? I have and I

really liked them, but I stop taking them when trump stared detaining people on the streets, I cant

get deported, this is my only chance to a better life. I only come to work and I go back home
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thats it, I try learning English through my phone but tis not the same as having the teacher in

person.

The third person I interview was a manager, who works closely with his workers. My

name is Jesus and am the manager of the company. I stared like many of my co-workers here. I

was one of the many people who would do the hardest job for very little pay. How did you end

up getting a manager position? Well I was a decent worker I was never late and I did what was

ask of me. I was always asking questions about different positions in the company, and what were

the requirements. I notice that the majority of the higher and decent pay positions require English.

How did you learn English and was that method flexible with you work schedule? I took English

classes at a school near my house. I enjoy taking all the classes in person. They try to give me a

virtual class but its not the same as having the teacher there just in case I had a question. I had to

miss dinner with my family many times in order to make it to my class. I felt terrible my kids

wanted to spend time with me, but in order to give them a better future I had to learn English.

How often do you think works are not aware of their rights? Many, it sad to say to say it but Many

workers are not aware of the company policies, which is horrible because they are not fully aware

of what the company is allow to do and what the company is not allow to do.

Learning about all the different struggles that prevent people from going to English school

gave me a lot more information than I expect, and it also inspire me to create more action plans in

order to help the community. A few things I learn from Andrea was that people often focus on

working hard from day to night in order to get good amount of money, but they do not make time

to grow in a professional level, they get stuck in one spot. I also learned that parents struggle to

find people to care for their children, or they might not have anyone at all. I also notice that Andrea

still follows her traditional role as a female in her home. She is the one that cooks the food for her
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family and if she does not do it, her family would not have food for the next day, this prevents her

from making it to the afternoon classes that are offer near her home.

Carlos had to cross the border illegally in order to get a chance for a better life. He expresses

the fear he had of being deported, he mentions he sacrifice so much in order to come to this country,

and he was not willing to risk it in order to learn English. He also shared his struggle

comprehending what he was being taught when taking online classes.

Jesus was a perfect example of the American dream that drives many people to leave their

native land behind in order to migrate to the U.S. He mentions the importance of learning English

in order to move forward in the work field. It was not easy for him learning English, the classes

did not often work with his schedule, he had to miss dinner with his family, and he struggle with

comprehension, but at the end he was able to dominate the language and get a better position with

higher pay. He also mentions the importance of knowing English in order to be aware of the

policies of the company, and the rights of the workers. Unfortunately, many people do not know

this information due to the lack of English comprehension.

Reading the book The long Haul by Mile Horton help me realize that on time you do not

need a big army to get something done. When I first started thinking of this project I felt out of

place because I have never taught English to older people. As I was reflecting back on the book I

remember reading how Miles stared a strike without really knowing what he was doing. He was

able to do it because he saw the need of the people around him, he noticed they were all being

treated unfair by doing such a hard job and getting such little pay.

This Social Action project I was able see what are the needs of the community I live in. I

was able to connect with the people I was interview throughout this project, not only because we
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come from the same community, but I saw and felt all the struggles they mention when I was

growing up. Hearing this stories empower me to really put this plan in action. I stared telling my

friends about my idea and a few of them were really interested in the project.

As we were talking about different strategies as how to get people to sign up in the program

we came up with a list of places in which we could post up flyers. The list included community

centers, schools, libraries, and social media. The next thing we started planning was the approach

as how to split the students between the tutors. We thought the best approach was to pair up the

students with the tutor who live close to their work area, in order to prevent out tutors form

wasting to much gas, and avoid the possibility of being late to the session. In order to create lesson

plans that allows us to teach English properly I would have to get advice from a professor whom

major in English language. I would look for professor willing to donate lesson plans like that we

do not have to charge our students, because at the end of the day that is our main goal to provide

free English classes.

Once I am able to get the program running I would like to expand the program outside my

neighborhood and to companies farther out like Long Beach, San Pedro, and City of Industry. I

feel that many people would benefit out of this program because they do not have to go out of their

way in order to learn English. I believe is a convenient way because out tutors would go to the

students work place and teach them English during their lunch hour.
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Reference

Gonzales, A., Sanchez, C., & Corona, J. (2017). A little bit about you. Angelo's drapes.

Horton, M. (1998). The long haul. New York: Teachers College Press.