The Early Years

Rosales was seven years old when he came to the United States with his family in 1962 to escape the new government of Fidel Castro. His father, who was a captain in the Cuban army under President Fulgencio Batista before Castro's rise to power, had left for the United States two years prior to escape execution.

 

Rosales admitted that when his mother brought them to the United States to join his father, they "didn't know anything about race and race relations." But, that soon changed as the Rosales family found themselves in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement filled with all the fears and hates that came along with it. It was within this pseudo tolerance the family was politely told there were "other" neighborhoods where they would "feel more comfortable."

 

"There was a sense of discrimination, not only because of race, but because of nationality," Rosales said.

 

Since Rosales did not know how to speak English, and there were no Bilingual programs, he was put into kindergarten instead of first grade when he entered grammar school in the United States because he needed to learn the alphabet. It took Rosales 10 years to get through grammar school, which was originally supposed to be first through eighth grades.

 

"In fourth grade I just couldn't read," Rosales said. "The English grammar was so perplexing. The 'ph' for an 'f' sound, the 'sh' 'gh' and 'th' combination and the silent 'e' doesn't exist in Spanish, but the 'ch' combination does. I couldn't differentiate between 'shop' and 'chop.'"

 

While still in high school, Rosales became an American Citizen. After graduation he entered college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to major in Spanish Education. Rosales became inspired to teach Spanish speaking immigrants who were struggling to learn English because "I knew what it is to be in those shoes," he said.

 

After graduating from the U of I Rosales went on to teach Bilingual education in some of Chicago's most culturally congested neighborhoods, Humboldt Park. At that time the Bilingual curriculum was in its early years. Rosales found himself teaching English to Polish, Italian and Spanish children. It wasn't unusual for 40 or more students, of mixed cultures, languages, and ages...sitting in one classroom...at one time. Besides the overcrowded quarters, it was quite a challenge when the only languages he knew were Spanish and English.

 

Books and teaching aids were also scarce. The school's budget didn't provide for current materials as those found in wealthier tax districts. So, Rosales made friends with the janitors at the more affluent schools and when books were being thrown out, Rosales would be able to pick them up. These books enabled him to teach at a level that assured every student could mainstream, all within one year, every year.

 

However, a more difficult task by comparison was to pull the classroom shades down in order for his students not to witness the drug and gang activity that was a constant, three floors down. During his years as a teacher, Rosales had to confront intimidation and vying for control by gang leaders who would insist their members wear a beeper in the classroom.

 

Home visits were always a reminder of how destitute some of his student's families were. One in particular always stuck out in his mind.

 

"I remember knocking on the door and being asked to wait for a while outside it. Once the door opened I was greeted by a disheveled young woman in a bathrobe. A man was under a blanket on the living room's let-out sofa. The children were in a room behind it with only a curtain to separate the two. The mother listened impatiently to my concerns about her son and within a few minutes ushered me away. The next day I apologized to the boy for disturbing his family. He snapped back, 'that wasn't my family...that was my mother's customer'."

 

Rosales stayed in the Chicago school system for 11 years before returning to the U of I for graduate school and taking an administrative position.