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California, Texas, and Mexico to observe first-hand what was happening, interviewing nineteen educators and also collecting public domain data with the help of counselors and administrators. I was endeavoring to understand the educational experiences and the cultural backgrounds of students from migrant families, focusing on how their relo- cation during the school year affected their participation in music education experiences. Te work culminated in two publications and several presentations. Te first publica- tion was titled “Students from Hispanic Migrant Families in Michigan Classrooms: Considerations for Instrumental Music Programs” and was published in the Michigan Music Educator in 2007,2 rector in 2008.3


then reprinted in the Florida Music Di- Te focus of that article was to disseminate


the information gathered from my research to the Michigan music educators and WMU graduates whose experienc- es and desire to better serve their students from migrant families had inspired the sabbatical project. It described a variety of experiences basic to Hispanic culture and migrant families as well as ideas for engaging Hispanic students in music classes. Te second, titled “Instrumental Music Experiences from Mexico,” provided an overview of music in Mexican culture and was published in the Music Educa- tors Journal in 2008,4


which is a national refereed journal,


disseminating information beyond the Michigan roots of the project. Tis article is a follow up of these publications, especially the former.


Context


One of the most important things that I have learned is that our ability to empathize grows as we learn about the lives of others and the history surrounding their families. With- out empathy, teachers can become like vending machines, providing a product that the consumer (student) can take or leave (pass or fail). It is the desire to reach out and learn the students’ stories and the stories of their families that sets good teachers apart and provides for the kind of connec- tions that engage students in their schoolwork at a deeper level. How much do we know or understand about immi- grants and migrants in the United States?


Immigrants have played an important role throughout the development of the United States. New immigrants have historically done and continue to do jobs that are labor intensive and oſten unpleasant due to difficult working conditions such as extremes of weather or manipulating heavy industrial equipment. Many industrial jobs have been automated but most agricultural jobs still require a hu- man touch, especially for harvesting delicate produce. U.S. farmers depend on seasonal workers and migrant workers to keep their farms running, with migrant workers playing a primary role in this work force throughout the 20th century and beyond. Nearly all of these migrant workers are Mex-


9


ican but, more recently, Hispanics from Central America have been included in this group.


As indicated by the Census Bureau, prior to 1970 Hispanic origin was determined indirectly by working with surnames or reports of language preference, and it is difficult to get a clear picture of population change. Te 1970 census was the first to specifically include “Hispanic” as a descriptor of origin. As reported in my earlier work, data from the 2000 census show that between 1990 and 2000 the Hispanic pop- ulation in the United States increased by 57.9 percent.5


Data


from the 2010 census indicate a subsequent growth in the Hispanic population in the United States of 43 percent, four times the overall 9.7 percent growth rate during that period (2000-2010). Approximately three-quarters of Hispanics in the United States indicated they were Mexican. Regionally, the South had a 57 percent increase in Hispanic population and there was also significant growth in the Midwest with a 49 percent increase in Hispanic population.6


Te data


correspond to both logical points of entry from Mexico and traditional movement of migrant workers and their families from the primary states of California and Texas in the winter to Northern states like Oregon, Washington, and Michigan in the summer. More recently, a PEW Research Center study from 2016 indicates that the growth rate in the Hispanic population slowed significantly between 2007 and 2014 due to a drop-off in immigration from Latin America and a declining birth rate.7


A 2015 story from Interlochen


Public Radio corroborates the trend, stating that there is a decline in the migrant workforce in Northern Michigan and indicating that possible causes include stagnant pay rates, immigration concerns (i.e., traveling as undocumented workers), and people getting an education and moving on to a different career.8


In the mid-20th century, farm workers began to organize and leaders like Cesar Chavez helped to bring prominence to the plight of the migrant worker. Te movement sparked a national awareness of the conditions experienced by farm workers and also the founding of numerous organizations and departments over the next twenty years including the Community Service Organization, the National Farm Workers Association (later called the United Farm Work- ers), the Binational Migrant Education Initiative (BMEI) of the U.S. Department of Education, and the Nation- al Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME), among numerous others at federal, state, and local levels. Te union-style organizations endeavored to improve the working conditions for the workers while the education-based organizations endeavored to improve the educational experiences of the children of migrant workers.


Te Binational Migrant Education Initiative (BMEI) has its roots in California where in 1976 a group of interest-


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