As summer break concludes and classrooms once again fill with students, educators are preparing for the usual back-to-school queries. However, this year, alongside questions about summer adventures, teachers should anticipate discussions about immigration, possibly sparked by a seemingly innocuous children’s song.
This past summer, amidst ongoing news coverage of family separations at the U.S. border, my own daughter, a bright and observant six-year-old, brought home a song from her summer camp that immediately raised concerns. She returned one afternoon cheerfully singing a tune about deportation, a song she clearly didn’t grasp the deeper meaning of.
“I don’t want to go to Mexico no more, more, more.
There’s a big fat policeman at my door, door, door.
He grabbed me by the collar, he made me pay a dollar.
I don’t want to go to Mexico no more, more, more.”
My parental instincts kicked in instantly. I questioned her about the origin of the song: “Where did you learn that song? Did your teacher hear it? Do you understand what it’s about?”
She readily identified a classmate as the source and confirmed that the teacher hadn’t been present when it was sung. She explained she joined in singing because she enjoyed the rhyme.
“I think it means the person doesn’t want to go to Mexico, like on vacation,” she offered, reflecting her limited understanding.
Intrigued, I probed further, “But what about the policeman? Why is he asking for money at the door?”
Her innocent interpretation was that the policeman was perhaps a neighbor collecting a debt, much like our friendly neighborhood police officer. However, one element of the song did puzzle her.
“What’s a collar?” she asked.
After explaining what a collar was, her follow-up question was even more telling: “Why would the policeman grab her by the collar? Did she do something wrong? Or was he a bad policeman, like the ‘Bad Cop’ from ‘The Lego Movie’?”
This simple children’s rhyme had opened up a complex conversation I hadn’t anticipated, about a song I was unfamiliar with and unprepared for her to be singing. My mind raced to the harrowing news reports and personal accounts detailing the plight of migrant children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The stark contrast between my daughter’s innocent world and these harsh realities was jarring.
In a high school setting, confronting such a song would involve a close reading exercise, examining current events to understand the deeply offensive nature of this seemingly harmless children’s rhyme. However, at six, my daughter lacked the necessary background knowledge to discern the song’s harmful connotations. Exposing her to the graphic realities of deportation online or through news articles felt inappropriate for her age.
Unable to fully explain the gravity of the situation, I opted for a gentler approach. I told her the song’s meaning was different from her interpretation and that it wasn’t a kind song to sing. I promised a more detailed discussion soon.
That evening, a quick online search for the “Mexico song” lyrics and videos of children singing it confirmed my unease. The song, while not new, has acquired a disturbing new layer of meaning in the current socio-political climate, making its casual repetition by children particularly problematic.
To further aid our conversation, I sought out children’s literature addressing Mexican immigration. Books had proven effective in discussing sensitive topics with her before. “Malala’s Magic Pencil,” for instance, had sparked numerous questions and a basic understanding of educational inequality.
I ordered “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale,” a story about a rabbit father’s perilous journey to “El Norte” to provide for his family, and his son’s subsequent quest to find him. Reading this book provided a tangible and age-appropriate way to discuss borders, the motivations and dangers of immigration, the ongoing reality of border crossings, and the problematic nature of the “Mexico song.”
In older classrooms, questions about sensitive topics often emerge organically. In my high school library and writing center, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program became a frequent point of inquiry after its protections were threatened, reflecting the concerns of our DACA recipient students. I developed a brief online research activity and facilitated an open discussion to address their questions. I plan to employ a similar strategy should the issue of migrant family separations arise.
While current events may not be formally integrated into early childhood curricula, children are undoubtedly absorbing fragments of the complex and often controversial narratives circulating this summer. When my daughter and others like her bring their innocent yet probing questions to the classroom, it is crucial for educators to engage with these inquiries rather than dismiss them.
At home, I am committed to thoughtfully weaving in the realities of our intricate world into my daughter’s childhood, preserving her inherent innocence while fostering understanding and empathy. The “M-e-x-i-c-o Song” incident serves as a potent reminder of the need for open, age-appropriate conversations about sensitive topics, even when they surface unexpectedly through a simple children’s rhyme.
