Professional and Personal Background, Employer, Educational, and Nationality Issues of Yasmin Suman, Currently an ESL Teacher in Honduras

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Yasmin Suman is a member of the Honduran National Congress and currently the Assistant Secretary of Education in the Department of Education. She is originally from Honduras. She has served as an English language teacher for the Pastoral Studies Department at the Catholic University of Honduras, and as an assistant to the Director of the Center for Integral Human Concepts and Family Development at the National Association for Hispanic Studies. She has also served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the National Association for the Advancement of Hispanic Education. It should be noted that she did not receive her degree in English Language and Literature from universities located in the United States.

This is not what a resume should show. As a Latino, Yasmin Suman has achieved some measure of “academic success” but should be a lot more proud of her life in Honduras, teaching English as a foreign language and working to improve the lives of her students while doing so. More importantly, she should be proud of being a Honduran-American and how her background and ethnicity have played an integral part in her achievements both professionally and personally. The reality is that if you do not list your nationality on your resume, then the recruiter cannot run a database search to find you based upon job availability. This would be a violation of Fair Labor Laws.

It is important to note that there are some aspects of Honduras and its society that do not mesh well with most Americans. For example, they are considered to be quite socially conservative by our very high standards. (To our great relief, these days there are fewer gang members and domestic violence cases.) Nevertheless, it appears that this particular sector of the Honduran population may need additional support in the United States in the form of programs designed to help them adjust to the greater societal expectations of success. This would not only create a better classroom but also create a better milieu in which to live and engage in civic dialogue.

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