From the Barrio to Washington: An Educator's Journey

by Keith Taylor, Armando Rodriguez, Lionel Van Deerlin (Foreword by)

Overview

What would be the odds of a poor Mexican boy who migrated with his family to southern California in the 1920s rising through the ranks of the American education system to become the first Hispanic principal of a junior and senior high school in San Diego, the second Hispanic to be a college president in California, and to serve in the administrations of four U.S. presidents?

Armando Rodriguez spoke no English when he first set foot in the United States and was just old enough to start school in a district with few Spanish-speaking teachers. But with parents who emphasized the importance of education and who taught him the value of hard work, Armando Rodriguez became fluent in English, received a doctorate in bilingual education, and was instrumental in developing the field of bilingual education while serving as Assistant Commissioner of Education for the nation.

Rodriguez recalls his inspirational journey from a short child who was so dark he was nicknamed "Shadow" to being influential in shaping education on district, state, and national levels. Some still call him Shadow, though it is now spoken with respect and admiration for an immigrant who overcame many obstacles to become an instrument of change for his country.

"Armando Rodriguez offers the gift of his fascinating life in this timely and candid autobiography of a poor immigrant child who arrived speaking no English and climbed the entire staircase of the American dream to power in Washington."--Eleanor Holmes Norton

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826343833
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	12/31/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Keith Taylor is a retired U.S. Navy officer and was a longtime columnist for The Navy Times.

Armando Rodriguez lives in El Cajon, California, with Beatriz, his wife of fifty-eight years.

Lionel Van Deerlin is a former U.S. Congressman from San Diego, California, and is professor emeritus of journalism, San Diego State University, and a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Table of Contents

Foreword     ix
Preface     xi
The Early Years, 1921-34     1
Junior and Senior High School, 1934-40     9
An Immigrant, an Emigrant, and a Soldier, 1940-43     23
The Girl from Across the Street, 1944-45     35
A Civilian Again, 1945     43
A College Man, 1946-49     49
A Teacher, an Administrator, and Almost a Politician, 1949-62     57
A Political Animal, 1962-66     75
Help from the Anglos     85
Working for Lyndon, 1968     91
Travels with Randolph Hearst, 1969-70     105
Coping with Washington Society and Its Politics, 1971-73     117
President of East Los Angeles College, 1973-78     127
Back to the Seat of Power, 1978-83     141
Retirement Doesn't Mean Not Working, 1983-2001     157
Capitalists in the Soviet Union, 1988-2001     167
Christy and Roddy     177
My Final Retirement (So Far), 2006-7     115
Index     193