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Mountains to Sound Greenway Summer Camps 2010
Hispanics & Education
A summary on the NEA special report on Hispanics & Education: "NEA's Report on the Status of Hispanics in Education: Overcoming a History of Neglect ( PDF, 633KB, 90pp) finds that Hispanic students often face unique challenges in student achievement, influenced by the fact that Hispanics have poverty rates that are two to nearly three times higher than Whites; Hispanics cite Spanish as their dominant language and more than 20 percent say they do not speak English or do not speak English well; and 40 percent of the Hispanic population is foreign born. "
Hispanics & Education
The National Education Association has produced a wonderful report on Hispanics in education and the inequalities in student achievment due to their unique challenges (ex poverty/ language barriers). Here is a brief outline on their report:
They began with the history and demographics of Hispanics (or Latino/as) in the USA, and that they are continuously growing. Importantly, they highlighted some great achievements of this group such as
(1) More Mexican Americans won the medal of honor in WWII than any other racial group
(2) Hispanics challenged segregation and were/are at the forefront of civil rights, and paved the way for Brown v. Board with Mendez v. Westminster 1945
It also clearly identified challenges that Latino/as face such as lack of early childhood schools and resources, discrimination, and immigration challenges (as appropriate). It also correctly identifies that school funding being based on property taxes is an inherently unequal method to increase funding inequalities between schools. This is probably one of the biggest institutional problems for inequalities in school funding and resources.
They also identified better teaching strategies to better help those of Hispanic backgrounds
(1) Relationships are important- students do better in group and student focused education, not rote teacher-centric models
(2) Focus on student strengths- not deficits
(3) The Hispanic community does not see schools as being committed to education their children
(4) Teachers should try to understand the culture/history/language of Hispanics
For those in the community providing support, here are a few of their suggestions:
(1) Make an effort to welcome parents and provide them translation- support them
(2) work with leaders in the hispanic community
(3) advocate for students
(4) work to solve funding/ resource inequalities
(5) provide appropriate cultural training
I think this special report provides some solid research and some clear and effective guidelines to improve the education of students. Importantly, it concludes that while education is necessary for socio-economic change and stability, it cannot be the sole institution to solve problems or change inequalities.
Here is a link for their PDF:
Building Developmental Assets Together
