Illinois MEES Goals Cobden Hoopeston Oswego     Activities     Collaborators     Images     Success Stories Oswego, Illinois Success Stories Written in the voices of Project MAX staff (All names have been changed for confidentiality.) Andrés was a child who had big trouble sharing with his little brother and a lot of problems in school too. His mother was always complaining about him and his little brother. I suggested that if the family spent time together talking and playing, they would have fun and enjoy one another's company more. At first, I started playing and reading with the boys. Then I invited the parents to join us, and they accepted. That made Andrés so happy because he had Mommy and Daddy reading to him and playing with him. However, Andrés was still refusing to do his work from school. I kept encouraging him to do his homework, be nice to his little brother, and stay out of trouble in school. I also encouraged Mom and Dad to give him all the time they could. Now this little guy is doing his homework all by himself and getting good grades. He stays out of trouble in school. His parents pay more attention to him, tell him to do his chores without yelling at him, and spend more time with him. Not only does Andrés share with his brother, but he also gets along much better with other kids. On the first day of home visits last year, little Ana tagged along to all the houses, begging the Home Visitor to come to her house and play. However, her mother was uninterested in participating in Project MAX. She said she couldn’t be bothered with school stuff. The youngest of five and starved for attention, Ana persisted in asking for visits. Finally, the Home Visitor was able to persuade her mother to enroll. At first, Ana’s mom, Eva, was reluctant to get involved in PACT activities. She herself had never attended school in Mexico and felt inadequate to teach her child. She worked nights in a factory and slept days. The children prepared their own meals and had little contact with their mother. Their father worked late in the fields. Although Eva had picked up some English in the factory, she started attending ESL classes occasionally to improve her skills. In class, she was extremely defensive and pushy. In the spring of 2002, Eva lost her job in the factory and called me to translate for her at the unemployment office. Her job loss caused money problems at home and tensions escalated. Her sons, ages 10 and 13, started getting in fights with other children at the migrant camp. These fights carried over into shouting matches between Eva and the other mothers. Soon it looked like the whole camp was turning against her family. Right about this time we started holding parenting workshops using the “Padres Activas de Hoy” video series. Our plan was to hold the workshop at the library but, due to the lack of childcare, many parents were unable to attend. At the last minute, we decided to try holding the workshop in the field at the camp. Eva volunteered her TV and VCR for our use. She had never attended our workshops before, but now she and a reason – her TV was going! She participated in the discussions about discipline and how parenting had changed since she was a child. Eva attended two out of the three workshops and, a few weeks later, asked us to find a counselor for her to talk to. I only took her once, but it was enough to convince her that I cared. Since that time, we have noticed a tremendous change in Eva’s attitude. She attends ESL faithfully and offers to drive other students to and from class. She participates in class and helps other students. At home, she cooks and cleans and takes Ana places with her. We helped her obtain a library card so when she comes to English class, she has started checking out books and videos for Ana. We hope that we can persuade Eva to attend parent-teacher conferences this year to see how Ana is progressing in first grade. We know our work here is not done, but it’s wonderful to see what a boost to Eva’s self-esteem it has been to feel that the Home Visitor and I were her friends. It has made a difference in her outlook towards life and that has impacted her family.