Caught in the middle: examining a contentious divide through the experiences of a small Christian school for Mexican immigrants

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, I describe how Escuela Luz del Mundo (ELM), a progressive Christian school that served the Mexican immigrant community in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA was ‘caught in the middle’ between Christians and secular humanists. As the school’s director, I had opportunities to interact with a variety of secular and non-secular organisations and through these experiences learned about their perspectives on the school and its mission. Using the qualitative methodology of self-study, two idents are described that occurred during the school’s existence that elucidate these perspectives. In the first ident, a doctor who worked in the ELM community implicitly expressed his lack of support for the school. In the second, students and parents at a ‘Christian bubble school’ demonstrated overtly negative behaviours towards ELM’s low-ome, students of colour. Literature is reviewed that illustrates the historic legacy in the United States of low-ome students and students of colour being denied access to high-quality educational opportunities. To address this historic legacy, individuals and groups must work across divides that separate and sustain this legacy. The need in Christian education to support the development of students’ empathy for ‘the other’ through meaningful and sustained relationships is also discussed.