Read pat mora’s poem quoted in "the leader in the mirror." immigrants wrap their babies in the american flag, feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie, name them bill and daisy, buy them blonde dolls that blink blue eyes or a football and tiny cleats before the baby can even walk, speak to them in thick english hallo, babee, hallo, whisper in spanish or polish when the baby sleeps, whisper in a dark parent bed, that dark parent fear, "will they like our boy, our girl, our fine american boy, our fine american girl? ” now read the excerpt from mora’s essay "the leader in the mirror." when i was growing up on the u. s. side of that border, the society around me tried in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to convince me that my mexican heritage was inferior to that of anglo-americans. i hope that today’s educators on the border and throughout this nation are now committed to multiculturalism, to motivating the next generation to draw on their heritage as a resource for learning. the u. s. has been described as the first international country: our varied cultures are our common wealth. how are the two passages similar? both the poem and the essay explain that mexican children feel superior to anglo-americans. both the poem and essay show that immigrants and their children are pressured to forget their heritage. both the poem and the essay describe how immigrant children come to the united states. both the poem and the essay encourage teachers to support a multicultural education in border communities.