In a 2008 article in the chronicle of higher education
written by Peter Schmidt, “Higher Education is in flux as demographics change,
a federal report shows,” the following is written:
“Despite
the growing diversity at colleges, however, the nation’s minority populations
continue to face major educational obstacles, cautions the report, titled “The
Condition of Education 2008.” Compared with other minority groups, Hispanic
students remain underrepresented in colleges and universities, largely because
many of them are immigrants who have poor English skills and attend schools in
low-income areas. “
It has been reported that 14.1% of the undergraduates in
institutions of education identify Latino/a. With this increasingly changing
demographic, there is a call for reform on education that addresses this influx
of underrepresented populations that are entering in to our schools, and
especially those of higher education. This topic is covered and ideas are
shared on some best practices in the book entitled, “Latino Change Agents in
Higher Education: Shaping a System that Works for All.” It’s a beneficial read
for all educators, and not just those who also identify as Latino/a, but it is
best to first teach us in order to prepare to teach others.
In this book, the
voices of eleven Latino change agents are collected and compounded into twelve
essays that address the demographics, concerns or problems, needs, strategy,
and insight to change the system of higher education. These twelve essays are
divided into four parts: “The Past Cannot Be the Future”; “Systemic Change, Si:
Special Add-On Program, No”; “A Bright Future Necesita Un Grito Fuerte” and
“Beginning the Work of Reshaping Higher Education.” Within each of the four
parts are between 2-3 essays.
In the first part the struggles of educating Latino students
effectively is demonstrated. The essays discuss an overhaul of the curriculum
that is deemed necessary in order best serve the needs of the students. In
taking a look at the curriculum it is necessary to focus on the content that is
taught, rethinking if the content continues to be relevant to the student
population it’s trying to reach.
Going through to the second part there are examples of
states that have made attempts to reform their educational systems as seen in
California’s Master Plan for Higher Education
but with it being more than 50 years old, there is no doubt that it’s
outdated. The environment in which
Latino students are not being challenged to achieve academic success and get
higher degrees is said to be due to the lack of role models for these students.
They often do not see of what they can aspire to be. There is a call made out
to the formed Latino organizations to gather and increase their presence, as
they can play the most pivotal roles in being change agents. With the coming
together of these various organizations we can begin to use our untapped
talent.
In the third part of the topic of the physical environments
of the Latino communities is discussed and the need to increase a sense of
ownership for those living in these areas. Increase a sense of ownership by
becoming political and activists in the spirit of uplifting their community. Another
key element is to act proactively to the issues in these communities, rather
than be reactive to them as they appear. A way to tackle this is working on the
root causes and working on those to establish a strong foundation from which
the community can grow stronger as other issues are solved. With strong
communities and leaders that invest in their citizens can in turn address the
lack of knowing as seen in a lot of Latino households where the opportunities
for higher education are just not known about. In another essay in this section
of the book, the lack of information that parents possess is a major issue.
These parents are not aware of the opportunities that their child can obtain
because it’s not something that is widely publicized to the parents.
In the last part, one of the essays outlines the qualities
that a good leader should naturally have. In this section the topic of
commitment is discussed, the time commitment that a leader must be willing to
put in to the change they want to see if not only in hours and days, but more
in years. It is said that a leader will only make a real change that is worth
noting if they stick to it for five years. Anything less may not be permanent
results. Think about educators in higher education and how often in an attempt
to move up the educational ladder, we change positions before these five year
marks. These changes are sometimes to
other institutions, showing that in order to make real progress in any
environment we must commit to it at least five years.
In this book, authors from all over contributed to unify the
vision that would address the needs of the changing demographics. In reading
this book, one must believe that the current educational system is broken. The
content is no longer reflective of the ever changing student population that we
see in our classrooms and/or offices.
While the full weight of creating a new
system that allows Latino students to succeed should not fall on us, if we
aren’t willing to be the first to yell out for a call of action- who will do it
for us?
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