HispanicVista Columnists
Latino Education: Improving Literacy
By Manuel Hernandez-Carmona
November 4, 2006
copyrights 2006 @Manuel Hernandez-Carmona
United States population numbers continue to defy all census projections. While the emphasis has been on the three-hundred million milestone, Latinos continue to quietly grow at a rate of about one-million per year. There are already almost seven-million Latino children in American schools. There is no doubt that something must be done to improve literacy among high school students, especially with a booming minority that literally has so much physical, economic and political presence. Because of the up and coming electoral event, we once more hear questions asked to politicians about the growing Latino high school dropout rate. In some states, one out of every two Latino teens quit high school. Forget why, that is simply too many Latino teens left to wonder and sleepwalk in America’s streets. That is a crisis!
What new strategies can be implemented “as soon as yesterday” to help these kids stay in school? How can they (newly arrived teen immigrants) be motivated and encouraged to stay in an already foreign educational environment? When will the United States Department of Education understand that these kids will be motivated to stay in school when a bridge from their “left-behind” culture is provided to walk across smoothly and steadfastly to the “newly acquired culture”? It has taken the United States decades to assimilate European soccer as a sport, but we expect the recently arrived teen to become academically competent in an educational arena at a record time pace. Nonsense!
Why not ask Latino teens what books they want to read? We already know what the curriculum wants them to read? As teachers, we are encouraged to give our students choices. As educators, we know that we know that when choices are provided results are obtained. Why not consider the students’ ability levels? In other words, let us provide choices according to their literacy level not at the level that we think they ought to read. We already know that smaller groups pave the way for more individualized instruction. Then let us use what we know and integrate more culturally sensitive literature. There is no way that a recently arrived teen can hack the classics in one or even two semesters. Impossible!
- How can we base academic goals to encourage students who are expected to fail? It sounds like a paradox, but that is exactly what we are doing. One cannot expect results when the strategies used are the same as in the past. There must be a change in the curriculum! Initiatives are fine, but changes are a must if we are really serious about academic results. There is so much being said about the war and the nuclear threat. These are serious issues! Wars and threats will come and go, but the education of our children has a generational effect that goes beyond our present and lasts forever. Education is and will always be the issue and improving literacy is a goal that we must set forth as a priority today, not tomorrow.
- _________________________________________
- (Manuel Hernandez Carmona is a Latino literature consultant and author
of the academically acclaimed textbook Latino/a Literature in The
English Classroom and a high school teacher in Puerto Rico) Contact
at:
mannyh32@hotmail.com ________________________________________________________
Hernandez-Carmona lives in Naguabo, Puerto Rico and enjoys spending his free time with his beautiful wife, Maria and his seventeen-year old son, Jose Manuel and his newborn son, Josue Esteban. He is a disciple at Abundant Life Church in Fajardo. Also visit: http://www.puertoricans.com/
(Editor's note: Manuel Hernandez-Carmona created a Yahoogroup for the discussion of literature and education. HispanicVista highly recommends this effort and urges its readers to join and participate. Write to Manuel at: mannyh32@yahoo.com or visit and join at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/latinoliterature