The work kids do: Mexican and Central American immigrant children's contributions to households and schools in California

In this article, Marjorie Faulstich Orellana highlights the work immigrant children do as active agents in supporting and sustaining their families, h ouseholds, and schools. Building on the work of sociologists who examine ch ildren's engagement in social processes, Orellana maintains that we should not lose sight of children's present lives and daily contributions in our c oncern for their futures. Similarly, we should not see immigrant children o nly as a problem or a challenge for education and for society while overloo king their contributions to family and school, Integrated into her discussi on are the voices of Mexican and Central American immigrant children living in California as they describe their everyday work as helpers at home and school. These examples illustrate how immigrant childrens work can be under stood in many ways - as volunteerism, as opportunities for learning, and as acts of cultural and linguistic brokering between their homes and the outs ide world.