The Hispanic / Latino/a Student.

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect. 

    The truth is that I was writing about the population growth of the Hispanic / Latino communities in America. We can think about growth from a historical point of view, where parts of America belonged to Mexico / Latin America, but were gained by the U.S. through winning battles. Previous Mexican's remained in America, and so generational growth spurred. This growth entails there there are U. S. born Hispanic and Latinos in America, that possess the same rights as anglo-Americans. According to the President's  Council 1998 “64% of the Hispanic population in the United States is made up of U.S. born citizens (Presidents Advisory Council, 1998)" (Benítez, 1998). There are also individuals who enter America through immigration, and more of what we hear is the illegal entry of Hispanic / Latino/a through the U.S. / Mexico border. If we take an analytical lens, we can see that not every Hispanic / Latino/a is entering America illegally, but because we hear about these stories more often, it is easy to forget about the millions of Hispanic / Latino/a who are living in America, and contributing to the economy, just as the Anglo-American, the African-American, and so on. But what happens is because we hear about the illegal entry more often, this becomes the dominant narrative. And of course perpetuates the stereotypical views that induce prejudices. A current example of my thoughts would be the DACA program. Many individuals benefited from this program as a pathway through the Obama Administration, but now because someone wants to do something a different way, it is the people who chose the DACA program who potentially have to suffer, because of the macro narratives that take place. As an aside - Republicans or Democrats have done or said nothing to find solutions of discuss immigration reform. But the problem with the narrative shaping is the objective behind it all. It is purposely done to create, re-create, and enforce racism, discrimination, and stereotypical views.

     A macro narrative will filter into systems, and of course affect the very microcosm of the individual, in this case the Hispanic / Latino/a. For example: We can think about population growth. If the Hispanic / Latino/a is the fastest growing minority in the U.S.A., we can question: Is America ready for this growth? How is America preparing for this growth? As the population grows there of course are more students who are entering schools, post-secondary and higher education institutions. But the reality is that higher entry rates, don't necessarily mean higher success rates(Benítez,1998). Hispanic / Latino/a students don't succeed or graduate, because they are faced with barriers often purposely created. The racism, prejudices, and stereotypical views are invisibly at play. Often it is the very teacher practitioner, course instructors, and administration that is slowly engraining the attitude of: you are not good enough, or you cannot do this, or you are not capable, or you are not worthy. Researchers collected the following data of an educators response of students who wanted  to attend higher-education: "They [Latinas/os] are not college material" (Cavaos et al, 2010).

     Don't get me wrong, there are probably some good, compassionate teacher practitioners or instructors in the educational system, but these thoughts are written to show that this is how race, stereotypes, and prejudices work in a system. It is easy to mould a young brain into thinking that they cannot succeed, and of course this carries forward. And of course it is easy for a system to decide who succeeds, and who does not succeed. Possessing this awareness does not suggest that this type of behaviour, and attitudes in the education system should carry on. it means that enough is enough.

     We can categorize the narratives as modern genocides, and the modern colonization that takes place in Western societies. This is nothing new, it has been going on for years, but it takes someone to say it, so something can actually be done about it. Acting out of selfish interests, and using race, stereotypes, and prejudices to continue to marginalize the Hispanic / Latino/a communities, in my view is foolish. The population of a nation should be considered human assets. Population is what make-up nations. Populations are the ones who pay the taxes, and contribute to the economy, give birth, have children, use services, and not to forget the military, armed forces, to participate in protecting a nation. It is foolishness to continue to marginalize minority populations. 

​    Whilst I have focused on Hispanic / Latino/a perspectives here, these thoughts can be transferred to any minority. But what is unique about the Hispanic / Latino/a populations, and students is the history that is tied to America, and the population growth. A student should never have to come home to think that he/she is not good enough, or worthy. It should also be noted that this type of discrimination is present in most systems, and is not just isolated to that of America. I have faith in the capacity of the American institutions that they will and are seeing the benefits of inclusion and diversity, for the long-term health and well-being of populations, and the nation of America as a collective, that values all segments.   

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

References: 
Cavazos. J., Johnson. B., M., Sparrow. S. G. (2010). Overcoming Personal and Academic Challenges: Perspectives From Latina/o College Students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9(4), 304-316. 

​Benítez. M. (1998). Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 102, 57-68. 

​Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 19th, 2018. 
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