Interview with Gloria Arteaga Hinton, November 25, 2009

Interview Summary

She describes her childhood in Cali, Colombia, her education, and the decision to move to the United States. She talks about her arrival to the United States, the scholarship that she received to study "Fish Nutrition," and the importance of learning English. She describes her decision to move to Lexington, Kentucky to learn English. She talks about her first jobs delivering newspapers, cleaning houses, and working at a restaurant while she took English classes at the University of Kentucky. She talks about her friends and family in Lexington. She describes her experience working in a veterinary clinic and her work as a babysitter. She describes her transition from animal science to education. She talks about her experience working at a kindergarten, an elementary school, and later getting her Master's degree in teaching Spanish from Ashbury College. She comments on the foundation of her company, Kiddo Spanish. She talks more about her life, the language that her family uses at home, and she mentions her Colombian family's move to the United States. She describes the cultural and linguistic integration experience within her family. She talks about the changes that she has seen in the Hispanic community in Lexington over the years and her participation as an interpreter in schools. She comments on the difficulties facing the Hispanic population, specifically immigrant children. She describes the positive and negative contributions of Hispanics to Lexington. She talks about the problems that are found in the Hispanic community of Lexington, including the difficulties with academic relocation of immigrant children and the lack of help for immigrants, specifically with the cultural transition. She describes her work as a teacher of Spanish and Hispanic culture in an elementary school in Lexington. She mentions teaching methods that she uses in her culture classes that incorporate the "core content" of arts and humanities. She talks about her participation in bilingual education, how she conveys the Hispanic culture and the way students learn to respect other cultures. She comments on the importance of bilingual education for American and Hispanic students. She talks about the future of the Hispanic community in Lexington, the importance of education, and the challenges that Latinos face.

Interview Keyword

Employment--Kentucky Empleo--Kentucky Families. Familias. Culture. Cultura. Language. Idioma. University of Kentucky.

Interview LC Subject

Immigrants--Kentucky Lexington (Ky.). Teachers--Kentucky Teaching Hispanic Americans--Kentucky. Education Emigration and immigration

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.