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Sonia Nieto
Katy Kon Burley
ESE 440
November 30, 2015
Jacksonville State University

Sonia Nieto: Multicultural Educational Scholar

Introduction
Sonia Nieto defines multicultural education as an anti-racist education that is firmly
related to student learning and permeates all areas of schooling. She is a published multicultural
educational scholar. She was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. She has several years of
teaching experience from the elementary school level all the way through the collegiate level.
She attended New York City public schools. She has a bachelors in elementary education, a
masters in Spanish and Hispanic literature, and a doctoral degree in curriculum studies, bilingual
education, and multicultural education. Sonias research and publishings focus mostly on
multicultural education, teacher preparation, and the education of Latinos and other culturally
linguistic diverse student populations. She has received numerous awards and attended many
conferences as the key note speaker.
Sonia Nietos Childhood and Dream to Teach
Sonia Nieto was born in 1943, fourteen months after her older sister. She also has one
younger brother. Sonias father and mother met in New York. They were both immigrants. Her
father arrived in 1929 and her mother arrived in 1934. Sonia was raised without a bilingual
education, although, she only spoke Spanish at her home. Sonia and her siblings all learned to
speak English in a full inclusion classroom. They picked up on the language very quickly. Most
young children are able pick up on other languages just like Sonia at an early age. Most children
have this cognitive ability because his or her brain has not begun the pruning process yet. Sonia
knew from age ten that she wanted to be a teacher. Teachers were the only professionals that she
had ever seen. She did not know anyone who had even attended college in her immediate family.

Sonias brother had autism, and that kept her parents very busy. Sonia faced many obstacles as a
child. She faced these challenges and used them to fuel her fire to pursue and education, and use
that education for the betterment of others. She credits a life changing experience to when her zip
code changed. She remembered when they moved from their apartment on the fifth floor to a
middle class neighborhood, and because of this move her life changed. She was given different
opportunities because of this move. It was a different world from the low class neighborhood she
started out in.
Challenges Sonia Nieto Faced
Sonia Nieto grew up in a very challenging time for women, but especially for women of
any race other than white. During the forties, fifties, and sixties, the world was male dominated.
The place for women was in the home, and the place for any women of any color other than
white was especially in the home. Sonias parents were immigrants from Puerto Rico, who did
not originally speak English. They successfully ran their own grocery store. Sonia was the first
person from her family to complete high school. After completion of high school Sonia took a
job teaching at P.S. 25 in the Bronx, the first fully bilingual school in the Northeast. Sonia was
instructed not to come to school until at least 7:45 am, because it was unsafe. Home visits were
also discouraged because, You never know what could happen. Sonias first job made an
impact on her, while she endured unsafe conditions for the betterment of her students. She used
this setting to fuel her passion. While she was an educator at Brooklyn College, she was arrested
for sit ins and demonstrations. While conducting research on multicultural education, she had to
travel around the world. She wanted to be a pioneer in the field of multicultural education, but
she had to make sacrifices where her family was concerned to achieve this. Sonia Nieto is
married to Angel Nieto, a former teacher and poet and childrens book author. They have three

daughters, and they now have twelve grandchildren. Sonia Nieto achieved her goal of being a
multicultural educator.
Sonias Internal Fire Fueled by Challenges
Sonia Nieto used her passion of teaching to continue her education. She has published
books, articles, a memoir, and been the keynote speaker for several meetings. She has published
the following books: Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education,
The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities, Language, Culture, and
Teaching, What Keeps Teachers Going?, Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools, Why We Teach,
Dear Paulo: Letters From Those Who Dare Teach. She has received numerous awards such as:
1997 Multicultural Educator of the Year Award from the National Association for Multicultural
Education, Annenberg Institute Senior Fellowship (1998-2000), Outstanding Language Arts
Educator of the Year from the National Council of Teachers of English (2005), 2008 Social
Justice in Education Award from the American Educational Research Association, Honorary
doctorates from Lesley University (1999), Bridgewater State College (2004), DePaul University
(2007), & Manhattanville College (2009), Henry T. Trueba Lifetime Achievement Award,
Distinguished Career Award from the American Educational Research Associations Committee
on Scholars of Color in Education, American Educational Research Association Division K
Legacy Award.
The Usage of the Research Sonia Conducted to Write Her Books
Many of Nietos books are used for teacher preparation and teacher in service throughout
the country. With Nieto being the award recipient that she is, she is frequently asked to speak at
different conferences. This allows her to share the data that she has found while conducting her

ongoing research. She is currently a professor of language, literacy, and culture in the department
of teacher education and curriculum studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Sonia
Nieto said, "Before you can really get to know your students, you have to get to know yourself."
Some of her books begin to explain how an educator can implement these practices in his or her
classroom. With all the research Nieto has conducted she has found many things. Diversity is a
resource and not a problem. Teachers should explain that speaking two languages is as asset and
not a deficit. Sonia mentions in one of her recorded interviews that when she had one of her
daughters in daycare she struggled to explain this concept. When Nieto dropped her daughter off
they said, Oh, she has no language, because Nieto spoke to her in Spanish. In reality she
understood Spanish but that was not the language the daycare workers chose to speak. They just
assumed because she did not speak English that she would struggle. Nietos daughter actually
picked up English almost immediately and to this day can easily speak both languages. This
proves the point that Nieto researched that students do not need to be separated from their peers
to learn another language. Students with any type of previous schooling need to continue with
their schooling. Parents and community members need to be involved in their childs education.
Teachers should try to understand other ethnicities and races. Teachers should have academic
standards, while identifying with students characteristics. Teachers should also recognize that
students are actually the best teachers. A teacher can learn a lot from his or her students while
teaching them.
Puerto Rican Students like Sonia Nieto
Most of the students that Sonia Nieto can relate to are Puerto Rican. Growing up, Sonia
noticed there was no literature that had anything to do with Puerto Ricans. This allows for a gap
in the promotion of literacy for Spanish speaking students. Even today there is a lack of literacy

dealing with these same students. Sonia wrote a book on Puerto Rican students in the United
States. This book was important to her because as a teacher, she did not have these kinds of
resources. This book was written over thirty years ago. Nieto once encountered a student at
Brooklyn College who did not know that Puerto Ricans could even write books. Sonia wanted to
affirm Puerto Ricans in the community of writing. Sonias research for this book finds that
Puerto Rican students have some of the highest dropout rates for any Spanish speaking group in
the country, even though they have been attending school in the United States for many years.
These students achievement levels continue to be some of the lowest in the country. Sonias
research shows that what we learn about minority groups in ESE 440 is true. These children are
suffering educationally. In the book Puerto Rican Students in the United States, Sonia mentions
that nothing will get better for these students until teachers face his or her obligation as a teacher.
Brad Henry once said, A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love
for learning. Sonias concepts she discusses in this book do just that. When a teacher does not
reach his or her obligations they forfeit their responsibilities. When teacher does that he or she
forfeits a childs hope and dreams for a better tomorrow. When this happens, the nations future
is forfeited. This research is something that keeps Sonia going as a teacher.
Sonias Theory to Igniting Students Fire
Sonias continued research for the book The Light in Their Eyes has proven that learning
is about so much more than course content, classroom experience, test scores, and final grades.
Learning is a much bigger concept than that. Learning is actively constructed. It is developed on
experience. Learning is creating and re-creating new ideas. Sonia found, while writing this book,
that teachers spend a lot of time teaching the basics. This is a very important thing to do, but it
does not allow children to reach his or her full potential. This concept just assumes that students

cannot do more but they actually can. In this book, Sonia explains how real world experiences
can give advantages in the school setting. With the way that curriculum is set up, sometimes
students get left out. For example, if there was a Puerto Rican student in the class, and the
teacher did not teach any type of Puerto Rican literature, then the student could have possibly
had the chance to contribute, but now he or she does not even get the opportunity if the literature
is never discussed. Teachers need to learn to work with what students do have rather than
focusing on what students do not have. This goes back to allowing the student to reach their full
potential and not focusing so much on final test scores. Sonia writes that all students have some
type of capacity to learn. It might not be on the same level as his or her peers but they can learn
something. Sonia reinforces the thought in almost all of her books that cultural differences are
not a bad thing. They influence learning and they allow students to reach out. Sonias book, The
Light in Their Eyes reaffirms the fact that sometimes coursework can display negative messages
and devalue people. This makes it very hard for non-majority students to identify with school.
Then that leads to a decreased effort in school work. Teachers should take this and use it for the
greater good. They should learn to identify with his or her students. A teacher should build on his
or her students strengths.
What Keeps Teachers Going?
Sonia researched what can keep teachers going. Angel Nieto has mentioned before that
Sonia must have the happy gene. She always tries to be a glass half full type of person. She
considers herself to be an optimistic person. Sonia thinks that it is important for teachers to be
hopeful. If teachers are not hopeful then they should not waste their time even teaching. Sonia
has always has fierce hope that things can always be better. She wishes for change in the whole
system, not just in students. Sonia is also an impatient person. As a scholar, Sonia is impatiently

patient. This affirms how she is in the education field for the long haul. Sonia technically retired
at one point, but she continues to research and share her findings with others, simultaneously
hoping for the change she wishes to see. This is what keeps her going. Sonia has also written
books about why teachers choose to teach in the first place. Some teachers choose to teach
because there are still some kids out there that actually need us.
Conclusion
Sonia Nietos research is greatly available for usage in my own personal classroom. Her
research has proven that to be the best teacher for all students, then teachers must learn to let go
of their own personal biases. Sonia is proof that you do not have to speak only English to
become a successful learner. I find this especially useful in my own classroom because I am
pursuing a degree in Spanish education. Sonias research will help my students to see how
beneficial it is to speak more than one language. I want my future students to know that the
possibilities are endless. His or hers life can be as successful as Sonias. She started off with
many challenges and then over the years became a phenomenal writer. She has raised bilingual
successfully educated children. She married a great man who has many accomplishments of his
own. She has been a token in her family. She is a great example for what all teachers should
strive to be. Even if an educator does not speak a second language, he or she should always try to
be accommodating. A students ability to speak more than one language should always be looked
at with a positive view. All teachers should try to provide an inclusive environment that students
feel safe in. Future educators should make an attempt to be a trailblazer in their work. Sonia was
a trailblazer in her work and has written so many useful multicultural pieces. Sonia believes that
anyone who has walked into a classroom knows that teaching and learning is all about a
relationship. Relationships can be used for good or bad. If a teacher has a negative relationship

with a student, then he or she could damage their learning experience for the rest of that students
life. Overall that could be challenging and could possibly not ever be reversed. Sonia believes
that you should never stop learning. Teachers should never lose sight of why they do what they
do. Teachers should always hope to better their students and hope for a better and brighter
tomorrow. Affirming diversity in the classroom is more than saying you are doing so.
Acknowledging and affirming diversity can only lead to the greater good. It benefits everyone.
Sonias research proves that being different is not a bad thing, and a positive thing can always be
pulled from a negative thing.

Works Cited

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Brain Based Learning | Brain Based Experts | Brain Based Learning Forum, Articles from Jensen
Learning Certified Experts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from
http://www.brainbasedlearning.net/
Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. New
York: Teachers College Press.
Nieto, S. (2000). Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Nieto, S. (2005). Why We Teach. New York: Teachers College Press.
Nieto, S. (n.d.). Brooklyn dreams: My life in public education.
Sonia Nieto. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://insidetheacademy.asu.edu/sonianieto
Sonia Nieto. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.tolerance.org/author/sonianieto
Sonia Nieto. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from
http://www.ysursa.com/history/pdf/Multiculturalism Debate.pdf
Teaching Multicultural Literature . Workshop 1 . Commentary . Sonia Nieto. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 30, 2015, from https://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop1/commentary3.html
Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.sonianieto.com/