ABSTRACT
The author began her academic career as an instructor in the Puerto Rican Studies Department at Brooklyn College. Ethnic studies was not something she had thought a great deal about up until that time. But as the 1960s ushered in an era of awakening of identity and demands for recognition and social justice, as a young academic she too became inspired by these ideas. She began her teaching career in a junior high school in Ocean Hill-Brownsville in Brooklyn in September 1966, right after returning from her year abroad in Spain. In terms of pedagogy and curriculum, cultural and ethnic pride and academic achievement were key principles that guided their work. Because at the time there were no curriculum guides that focused on Puerto Rican/Latino culture, they had to create their own curriculum and materials.
