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Assignment 9

The feeling as if I did not belong or when I was being treated like an outsider occurred when I got married and became a new mom. I was raised in a Hispanic community and attended a Catholic school – for elementary and middle school. These elementary and middle school years were filled with a fairly predictable environment. Everyone new one another and shared the same values and traditions. For High School, I attended an Independent Prep School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Here the environment was very different, however, I did not feel like an outsider. The majority of students were from different parts of New York or from other countries. Everybody worked together as a community and promoted an inclusive environment.

When I got married I moved to the Gramercy Park area over 20 years ago. As a young and new mom, my dream was that I would continue the Catholic School tradition with my kids. I put my son in the local Catholic School nursery program because according to the school, those students would get preference for their K-8 program. My son was the only Hispanic student in the class. From the get go we felt that we were being treated like an outsider by other parents. The class was primarily comprised of Irish students and run by class moms and a teacher that was seeking her certification. Although we participated and paid our tuition, dues and other costs, my son was not accepted to their K-8 program. When we questioned why he was not accepted, we were told that we had not attended weekly masses on a regular basis.

Following this incident, I left the school feeling devastated. I questioned my beliefs, who I was as a Hispanic woman, and even what was wrong with me. My frustration led to me reject the Catholic Church. I felt devalued and needed to redefine myself. Nevertheless, through the process of self-definition, hard work and perseverance my son has had an amazing education at a Manhattan private school. He has graduated from college and has an amazing job.

Oppression can come from institutions like “Catholic Schools. However, like Collins discusses in “Learning from the Outsider Within”, these experiences are opportunities to re-examine our culture and ourselves.