By Juan Montoya
When his kids were young, Andres, living with his ex and in-laws in Central Michigan, would surround them with learning aids.
Whether it was hand-made blocks of wood representing ones and tens to help them learn numbers and the decimal system, alphabet cards, or children books, the kids were exposed to learning. Since they lived in a Native American community there were few role models for them to follow.
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Nonetheless, his children learned to read and spell at an early age, even before they attended the schools on the reservation. Whenever he was in town or passed by a garage sale, he would buy children's books and take them to their home. Sometimes he could not find something that was aimed at their age group but he bought them anyway so they would have them available as they grew up.
One weekend, Andres took the kids and his father and mother-in-law to a Mexican restaurant in Lansing. It was in the early 1980s and Mexican food was not as readily available across the United States as it is today. They had lunch, a margarita, and then got in their car and headed home in the Michigan countryside about an hour away.
As they passed an empty parking lot, the kids' grandmother turned to the older girl – Melissa, aged about 5 or 6 – and said:
"Melissa, look, a kitty cat."
"Where, grandma?," the child asked.
"Over there," said her grandmother pointing to the parking lot.
The child turned and looked and said:
"No, grandma, that's not a kitty cat. That's a jaguar."
Her grandmother and grandfather have since passed away, and Melissa is now the director of education of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Central Michigan.
When his kids were young, Andres, living with his ex and in-laws in Central Michigan, would surround them with learning aids.
Whether it was hand-made blocks of wood representing ones and tens to help them learn numbers and the decimal system, alphabet cards, or children books, the kids were exposed to learning. Since they lived in a Native American community there were few role models for them to follow.
Nonetheless, his children learned to read and spell at an early age, even before they attended the schools on the reservation. Whenever he was in town or passed by a garage sale, he would buy children's books and take them to their home. Sometimes he could not find something that was aimed at their age group but he bought them anyway so they would have them available as they grew up.
One weekend, Andres took the kids and his father and mother-in-law to a Mexican restaurant in Lansing. It was in the early 1980s and Mexican food was not as readily available across the United States as it is today. They had lunch, a margarita, and then got in their car and headed home in the Michigan countryside about an hour away.
As they passed an empty parking lot, the kids' grandmother turned to the older girl – Melissa, aged about 5 or 6 – and said:
"Melissa, look, a kitty cat."
"Where, grandma?," the child asked.
"Over there," said her grandmother pointing to the parking lot.
The child turned and looked and said:
"No, grandma, that's not a kitty cat. That's a jaguar."
Her grandmother and grandfather have since passed away, and Melissa is now the director of education of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Central Michigan.