Sanchez, George Isidore (1906-1972), an American educator, was a leading spokesman for educational reforms for Hispanic students in the United States. He called attention to the link between extreme poverty and the poor schooling conditions of students whose primary language was Spanish. He was concerned that such conditions harmed children by making them feel frustrated and inferior. Sanchez fought for equal educational opportunities for Mexican Americans. He urged schools in Hispanic communities to offer bilingual education, using Spanish-speaking teachers and teaching various subjects in Spanish. He also proposed greater study about the contributions of Mexican Americans.
Sanchez wrote several books and articles, but his proposed reforms remained largely unrecognized until the 1960’s. At that time, the Chicano movement focused attention on the need for bilingual education and other reforms in Hispanic communities. Sanchez’s book Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans (1940) is now considered a classic sociological study.
Sanchez was born on Oct. 4, 1906, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received a doctorate in education from the University of California at Berkeley in 1934. He was a professor of Latin American education at the University of Texas from 1940 until his death. Sanchez died on April 5, 1972.
