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Creating
Scholars and
Leaders, Rising
through the
Ranks!
Deciding on
where to attend
college is an
important
decision that
will influence
several aspects
of anyone’s life.
Savvy students
will look over a
list of colleges
and universities
of interest,
select majors,
and aspire to
become scholars,
but how can they
achieve what
they want or be
who they wish to
be? Many would
say via role
models while
others via
mentors, however,
it is clear that
education among
Latinos could
stand greater
scrutiny and
improvement if
disheartening
statistics are
to change.
According to the
U.S. Census
Bureau, college
graduates
constitute only
12.4 percent of
the Hispanic
population age
25 and older,
compared to 28.4
percent of the
white population.
More statistics
show that
Hispanics score
lower than white
students on high
school
competency tests
across the board,
and that
Hispanics
capture only a
small percentage
of doctorate
degrees compared
with other
populations.
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Maria
Ramirez |
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For Maria Ramirez,
president of the Latina
Leadership Network (LLN)
of the California
Community Colleges, the
root of the problem is
that many young Latinas
do not know and
appreciate their
culture’s illustrious
history. As she explains
the ‘cultural issue’,
she points back to the
days of the Mayas and
other ancient
civilizations in Latin
America as the height of
intellectual excellence.
“I think history is
crucial,” she states
Breaking past the weight
of Spanish colonization,
the “genderized” Spanish
language and the
destruction and loss of
precious indigenous
knowledge are all
paramount to promoting
and maintaining “la
cultura Latina” and non-sexist
familial values, which
is part of the LLN’s
mission statement.
A fighter against the
criticism that Latinas
don’t value education by
pushing the importance
of learning about “the
high achievements of our
ancestors,”
Ramirez believes that
some Hispanic children
are “turned off” to
education because they
are not aware of their
rich cultural heritage.
However, when students
take culture and history
classes, they see more
of a connection to their
roots. Needless to say,
role models are
essential but also the
need to see Latinas in
high-ranking positions
on campus, not just
entry level-ones
motivates Latinas to
move forward and think
at the highest level.
Today, Latinos
constitute only 3
percent of the
approximately 600,000
faculty in academia, and
most of these Latinos
are not in tenure track
positions. According to
Dr. Jeanett Castellanos,
author of “The Latino/a
Pathway to the Ph.D.,”
such low numbers is a
problem since it limits
their ability to
influence curriculum
changes and have a say
in departmental
decisions. “A school’s
faculty impacts a Latino
student’s retention,
persistence, graduation
and satisfaction,” she
says. “We need vice
presidents and provosts
making executive
decisions.”
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Jeanett
Castellanos |
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Without Latinas in high
places, Latina students
are limited in their
choice of mentors.
Castellanos does not
discount non-Hispanic
mentors—in fact, her
mentor in college was an
African-American man—but
a shared background
between mentor and
student helps with
cultural understanding
and awareness of common
obstacles and challenges.
For Ramirez, role models
and mentors are very
important to success,
however the low number
of them and the failure
to learn Latina cultural
history has played a
role in such a high
dropout rate for
Hispanic students. Not
only are expectations
low but there is also a
need for support systems
on college campuses to
provide students
motivation and adequate
guidance. In trying to
get to the root of the
problem, Castellanos
examines the educational
system as a whole, not
just at the college
level.
“We have a growing
number of minorities who
are in K-12. That’s how
early it starts,” she
says, adding to it that
people don’t necessarily
consider the surge of
Hispanic students moving
into the educational
system and creating a
demand on college
faculties. The lack of
textbooks, facilities
and qualified teachers
all contribute to a low-quality
education. Undereducated
parents and language
barriers only complicate
things further. |
“We lose about 46
percent between eighth
and ninth grade, and 50
percent more between
ninth and twelfth,” she
says.
Castellanos points out
that only 17 percent of
Latinos go to college—a
number that
significantly falls
below the statistics for
African-Americans (28
percent) and whites (35
percent). In order to
increase the number of
Latinos that go to
college, more attention
must be paid to the
foundation levels of
education.
She calls for colleges
to have stronger
relationships with
elementary schools and
high schools. An
important aspect of this
is educating teachers
and administrators to
have high expectations
for their students.
Eliminating tracking,
commonly used to
separate successful
students from those not
expected to do as well,
prevents students from
being locked into a path
that keeps expectations
for their futures low.
Too often, Hispanic
students have the skills,
but lack the proper
preparation and
placement.
Legal documentation also
creates a barrier for
some Latinos. Rosa G.
Perez, the Chancellor of
San Jose/Evergreen
Community College
District in California,
is an advocate for
undocumented students.
“Any Latina leader who
stays close to students
will be moved to
advocate for
undocumented students,”
she says.
Perez is not a proponent
of structured leadership
programs; she instead
supports grassroots
advocacy as the best way.
Her idea of advocating
for students is not to
take care of them but to
give them opportunities
to speak.
“They have to learn how
to fight,” she says.
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All Hispanic students,
not just undocumented
ones, have to learn how
to fight—against
cultural stereotypes,
discrimination, racism,
alienation as a minority
and many other seen and
unseen pressures that
Castellanos identifies
in her book, “The
Latino/a Pathway to the
Ph.D.” Latinas face the
additional stress of the
“Motherhood mandate” and
expectations to put
marriage and family
before education.
A Latina’s cultural
role, although it can
bring stressful and
limiting expectations,
also provides unique
opportunities to
maximize the impact of
an individual’s
education.
“You educate the woman,
you educate the family,”
Ramirez says.
Ramirez applauds the
efforts of institutions
like Cuesta College in
central California to
attract students. In
January 2007, it held a
conference for Latina
high school students in
an effort to demystify
college. The conference,
called Papalotzin, which
is the ancient Aztec
word for “sacred
butterfly,” had speakers
and workshops that
stressed the importance
of making educational
goals. “That’s like a
bridge from high school
to college, showing
students faces of people
who will help them,”
Ramirez says.
Perez worked for six
years as the president
of Cañada College, where
she raised the Latino
student population from
approximately 21 percent
to nearly 45 percent. |
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Rosa G.
Perez |
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This significant
increase enabled the
college to qualify for
federal grants as one of
the only Hispanic
Serving Institutions (HSI)
in the Bay Area. When
Perez first came to
Cañada College, she said
that the school did not
have the curriculum
needed to attract
Hispanic students. For
example, there were no
computer classes taught
in Spanish.
“As community colleges,
our responsibility is to
offer the community what
they need,” she says.
Perez has moved from
being a community
organizer to serving on
national boards that
influences legislation.
She describes herself as
one who won’t let anyone
demean the Latino
community. Her most
important message to
young Latinas is to be
clear for what you stand
for at a young age and
do not compromise who
you are as a Latina. In
her eyes, compromising
is another word for
betrayal.
Castellanos believes
that the attitude of a
scholar is important for
a student who wants to
be successful, and that
education should not
just be about making the
most money. Changing
this attitude should be
important to the
Hispanic community if it
wants its students to
rise through the ranks.
“We need to create a
concept that we have the
responsibility to
develop scholars,” she
says.
By
Esther French and Gloria
Romano
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