Navigating the American Education System: Four Latino Success
Stories showcases the educational journey of four Latino/a men and
women who navigated the American education system successfully.
Their success is significant given the multiple and varied
challenges that most Latinos/as encounter throughout the K-20
educational continuum. The purpose of this book is not only to show
and tell, but to describe ordinary people attaining extraordinary
results, who might also stand as good role models for the youngest-
and fastest-growing group-Latinos/as-in this country. Researchers
of this topic offer compelling statistics, such as the following
projection: Out of 100 Latino/a students, a few more than 50 will
finish high school; out of this number, five will enroll in
college; and out of the original 100, less than one percent will
complete a doctorate. While the causes of low academic attainment
for Latinos may vary, including limited financial resources and
cultural differences, the lack of Latino role models in K-20
education may be a significant contributing factor. The expression,
"You can't be what you don't see" is especially applicable to
Latino/a students who seldom see people like them in positions of
prominence and power in educational environments. Across the
country, and in particular in states with high numbers of Latino/a
students, as the K-20 student body becomes darker, the teaching and
decision-making personnel remain light-skinned. Consequently, the
absence of role models for an increasing number of students of
color may contribute to low levels of aspiration. Many attempts and
existing literature regarding the achievement gap of students of
color, especially Latinos/as, seem to have had modest or no impact,
even when statistical analysis and sound rationales are provided.
On the other hand, the stories included in this book offer an
alternative that may have an impact and long-lasting effect in the
lives of students of color. Story messages tend to stay longer with
us and enable us to make sense of complex situations, such as
education, culture, and personality traits-persistence, motivation,
resilience. Consequently, the stories in this book become vehicles
to learn from real-life examples the abstractions of education,
home and school culture, and other factors that contribute to
academic success. Furthermore, the stories encourage people to
write, tell, and share experiences to address ongoing problems;
invite change where change is needed; organize thoughts and seek
meaningful solutions; invite us to become cognizant about how our
emotions direct our thoughts and "move mountains"; enable us to
discover undercurrents that hinder organizational communication;
direct us to pay attention to the little things that matter and
build trust; awaken the good in people through an invitational
approach, as opposed to one that it's mandated; push us to avoid
playing it safe and stick out our emotional necks when dealing with
people; seek authentic voices to make room for new thinking; make
time for people; and allow our voices to define the values we
embrace.
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