Monday's lecture by Dr. Ortega from the UM School of Social work was eye opening for me. I was particularly shocked when he mentioned the statistic that 8/10 Latino students in Seattle, Washington will not graduate from high school. I think that this stat. was particularly hard for me to swallow because I am a native of Seattle, Washington, born and raised in the Seattle city limits and a k-12 product of the Seattle public school system. I had never realized the gravity to which Latino students were suffering within the system in my own community.
After hearing the stat. regarding Seattle and after listening the lecture and reading Dr. Ortega's article I was left with a deep realization of the ways in which social systems in the United States, such as the education system and/or the child welfare system, often marginalize and disadvantage certain groups in the population/community.
I couldn't help but wonder how this could happen? Are there fundamental gaps between social institutions such as school systems and the needs of different groups such as Latinos? In what ways are these institutions structured to favor the privleged in society and leave so many disadvantaged?
Dr. Ortega stated that programs designed to meet the needs of Latinos must encourage and support Latino participation. He also stated that an understanding of cultures, languages and factors such as accountability and accessibility are crucial allowing social institutions and programs to meet the needs of Latinos. So the questions that we need to ask should revolve around how to incorporate these needs into social programs and systems such as the education system.
In conclusion while thinking about the 8/10 stat. tied to Seattle accountability needs to be a major concern. 8/10 Latino students not receiving high school diplomas in a given school district is unacceptable and recognition of the problem/figure is not enough in my opinion, we need to think of ways to serve the needs of all of our students, even if it means restructuring. As a future public school teacher (from Seattle) I am frightened that I will become part of the system which disadvantages certain students. For me the challenge rests in participating in the system while being cognizant of its flaws enough to be able to work to help all of my students and possibly effect change.
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2 comments:
It is interesting how one can become so submerged in their own lives that they are unaware of issues in their own community. This is a major problem with society and contributes to the continuity of the education crisis Latinos face. More people becoming aware of the problem may help the situation but it is not enough. I agree restructuring the system is necessary but culture is also a component of the education problem. I feel as though lower class Latinos receive a lot of influence from mainstream Medias such as movies, television, and magazines. The media needs to put more emphasis on education in attempts to instill the importance of education.
Thank you for your comments! I hadn't fully reflected on the influence of culture regarding this issue and I appreciate you bringing this to light. I am curious how popular media could be influenced to effect positive change?
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