Where Are You From? Why Am I Here? Rewriting the American Migration Story

• In Event: Shifting Stories, Shifting Landscapes

Abstract

As the U.S. undergoes a demographic transformation, we must turn our attention to the lived experiences and emerging questions confronting our increasingly transnational students of color. Towards this reorientation, this paper explores the migration stories of five second-generation American teachers of color. Through an exploration of family mythologies, these educators contest the promise of education as a path towards the American Dream, while rewriting their migration stories to hold contradiction and multiplicity at the center of their story. I argue that understanding how these teachers negotiate their identity and location within the U.S. alongside their societal role as citizen-makers, offers new possibilities for how we prepare teachers and teach students.

Author

• Meghan Phadke, Miami University