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Show Thursday, October 3, 1W6 THE DAILY UK RAM), Provo. Huh stresses of look illustrates By KATHLEEN KERNICKY Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentin- 2Bernardo PLANTATION, Ha. Anilu wanted to disappear hen the nun asked her to stand in wont of her new American class-ma- tes. ZZ It was Bernardo's first day of School in Flushing, N.Y. Her fami-Zhad just arrived from Cuba. None of her classmates spoke Spanish. She spoke little English. t. But the shy 1 1 year-old understood the sister's questions: What is your f name? And where do you come from? J "I said, 'My name is Anilu J Bernardo and I come from Koo-ba,- '" Bernardo says, affecting the Spanish-lace- d accent she shed long ago. On her first day of school in "America, she cried. ' It was May 1 96 . Bernardo and ' her brother and father had fled the "island with only their clothes. The young Castro government had closed Bernardo's school. Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, in Santiago. After dreaming of living in exciting places like New York City, "the moment I set foot in the United States, it was traumatic," '- Bernardo recalls. "All those dreams were gone. Being plunged vinto an environment where you don't speak the language was very difficult. I was very scared." No w 46, Bernardo has drawn on those experiences to pen her second young-adu- lt book, "Fitting In" (Arte Publico Press, $14.95), a collection of short stories about n girls who find themselves straddling two cultures ' in South Florida. The book was published last month. Characters such as Sari, who is embarrassed when her grandmoth- . er speaks to her friends in broken English. She, and others, reflect One conflicting roles of bicultural who yearn for accep, teen-agetance by their American peers ' while acting as translators and a bridge between two cultures for their parents and grandparents. "A lot of times, I did resent it," -- 1 Cuban-America- rs says Bernardo, who often acted as and translator for her a grandmother, to whom "Fitting In" is dedicated. "It was. 'Why are you calling me back to do this?' You're forced to translate things that are adult matters. And every for young kids. They arc dealing with the kind of things a child of any culture can relate to. They are universally popular." Carole Juarez G., spokeswoman at Arte Publico Press at the Uni an versity of Houston, sees "Junior high is tough for any child anyway. For us, it was even worse because we didn't want our friends to hear our accents. It's a terrible thing because you are proud of your parents. But at the same time, you are ashamed when you hear them struggle with a second language." Anilu Bernardo (immigrant) kid had to do this." But Bernardo's stories transcend the experience of All teen-ag- e girls will find truths in Bernardo's recounting of these delicate years, when the smallest difference in style or the slightest twinge of an accent can cause hurtful teasing or embarrassment. "Junior high is tough for any child anyway," says Bernardo, who lives in Plantation, Fla., with her husband, Jim Reynold, an engineer, and two daughters, Stephanie Forkey, 20, and Amanda Reynold, 10. "For us, it was even worse because we didn't want our friends to hear our accents. It's a terrible thing because you are proud of your parents. But at the same time, you are ashamed when you hear them struggle with a second language." Books such as Bernardo's that portray the struggles and successes of bicultural children are a growing force in children's and young-adu- lt literature, librarians say. "That kind of book is filling a big need," says Marlene Lee, youth services coordinator at the Broward County (Fla.) Public Library. "There's a big interest in multiculturalism in children's literature, even in the big picture books Cuban-American- s. increasing awareness in the education process for literature that represents different ethnic groups and books that children in the classroom can relate to." two cultures brieScsinqi Arte Publico publishes numerous books for Hispanic children and teens, including "Sweet Fifteen" by Diane Gonzales Bertrand; "The Desert Is My Mother" by Pat Mora; and "Hispanic, Female and Young," an anthology of stories by Hispanic women writers and eighth-grad- e girls from Spanish Harlem. Bernardo knows her experience as a child in the 1960s is both different and the same as that of children arriving in the United States today. "The children coming now are experiencing a lot of what we went through. The shock of another language. The shock of another culture. But there is more help for them," Bernardo says, noting the English classes for immigrant children in South Florida schools. "I was petrified of speaking up in school, of reading or answering questions because of my accent. I wouldn't raise my hand if it was a difficult word." That changed when Bernardo left New York after one year and moved to Miami to live with her mother. The Miami junior high school was teeming with Spanish-speakin- g students, new arrivals from Cuba. At Coral Gables High School in the late 1960s, there were the typical teen cliques, Bernardo says. n The girls stuck American-bor- n The together. girls stuck together. "You still feel a subtle pressure to become Americanized. To jump into the melting pot and blend in," says Bernardo, who graduated from Florida State University in ter was a baby. She started writing books two years ago. Bernardo's first book, "Jumping Off to Freedom" (published in March by Arte Publico Press), is the modern-da- y story of a Cuban father and son who cross the Florida Straits in a homemade raft. She hopes her books will appeal to all children and foster understanding between the American-bor- n and the new American arrivals. "What I'm trying to show is. we are all the same. Certain situations are going to bring out the same emotions, the same feelings, the same fears. ... Teen-agenot wanting their parents around, that's a universal thing." Cuban-America- rs 1971. After a time as a social worker, she earned a master's degree in communications and directed the public information office of the state Department of Transportation in Fort Lauderdale. She left there in 1987 when her younger daugh o Pag B5 at your fingertips. Now online at http:www.daily-herald.co- m ft 0(fi) ( 1 selected tutor can make the difference A carefully goals are crucial. "If they want a perfect score, I can't guarantee that. I would say that situation is DALLAS Susie, 7, struggles not a match" between her with reading. Algebra mystifies and thegood client. Jimmy. Jane, 15, postOnce goals are determined, ask ed disappointing PSAT scores. to set up a tryout session or two to Their concerned parents work with make sure the personalities fit. (If the kids, but worry that they're not the tutoring is in your home, you doing enough. may want to unobtrusively listen In these scenarios, a carefully in.) The tutor should have a lesson selected tutor can save the day. plan for all sessions, including the . But first be sure you need one. tryout. Verify with the child's teacher or Afterward, says a parent school counselor that intervention should ask the Magid child whether he or is necessary. she is learning the material and "You don't want the child to get how the two are getting along. too far ahead, because then they're Review the material they covered bored," says Lynn Magid, a tutor the session. If the tutor during and of "A Guide to Dal- doesn't make the grade, resume las Learning Specialists" (Dock-er- y the search. House Publishing, $20). "The most important thing for Next, you can ask at the tutoring is whether the kid is going school's office for a list of tutors to be receptive," Phillips says. appropriate for your child's needs. When the goal is to improve in These tutors typically haven't been a particular subject, the tutor may screened; that's up to you. But you help the child with homework (but can ask a counselor whether there not do the work) and help the child has been particularly good feedfor tests. But the tutor should study back about any of the candidates. also bring in supplemental materiAnother option is that old relials; Yenne and Magid often incorable: word of mouth. Ms. Magid porate the computer into their curand Elaine Yenne, a tutor and Engriculum. lish teacher at Parkhill Junior High If the goal is to reach a certain in the Richardson Independent score on the SAT, the tutor may School District, say most of their test the child at each session. g clients find them through personal acadeas well as strategies referrals. mic material should be on the Sometimes the child knows agenda. another student whose grades have Improvement can be charted in come up with the help of a tutor. many ways, including report cards Or a mom networks with other and test scores. Magid's students parents until she finds a highly rec- - also have a folder that documents ommended choice. A parent may progress. be acquainted with an educator If progress is slow, Yenne says a neighbor or Sunday she will switch tactics, which often I socially school member, for example does the trick. h tutor. J who knows of a Says Magid: "If the child is your goals stagnating, I tell the parent that j Think about what are for your child and be ready to something else is going on here. i discuss them with the prospective We go for a psychological evaluai tutor. For example, a young child tion," which may show that the may be sounding out every word child is lagging developmentally as he or she reads, so the meaning or that there's a hidden learning j is lost. Your goal is to improve the disability. If the tutors do the job, their J reading flow. 5 You'll want to interview the reward is to be let go. But how do i tutor. During the interview, you you know when it's time? When they're boning up for the should supply the tutor with sam- that's easy. "Once they have from SAT, tests and homework your j5 pie child, suggests Billie Phillips, a score they want, it's over," Yenne says. ! guidance and counseling services 1 Richardson Otherwise, it may be a gray area the for specialist for example, where a student 1 school district, outside Dallas. J The tutor will probably want to pulls a low C up to a B for two - consecutive grading periods. In J test your child to pinpoint weaksuch a case, Ms. Magid says, you more. and J nesses and strengths "I also want to see how they prob-- J can reduce the tutoring frequency how they work," Yenne and continue to monitor. Sometimes Magid has to cut the cord says. The tutor will review test results herself. "I tell them, 'Try it in with you and set goals. Be realistic school and call if you get stuck.'" Sometimes the student pulls the about your goals, Phillips warns. "You can't meet with a tutor once plug. 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