A Chicano perspective on American education today

A Chicano perspective on American education today

There is currently a debate raging over the quality of education
at primary, secondary and post-secondary levels of instruction.

This well-founded debate is based upon the discovery that the
United States of America’s education system is not functioning
adequately to guarantee the basic opportunities to which all
Americanos, regardless of race, creed or socioeconomic beginnings
are equally entitled under the law, according to the classic myth
of the United States as The Land of Opportunity.

The Chicana/o people are a group to whom this system, or this
myth of equality, has not manifested itself in the form of concrete
opportunities in the form of socioeconomic mobility, something
achievable today only through the educational system.

Therefore, it is no surprise when the people who have
historically benefited from this system begin to take an interest
in the development of new policies ostensibly geared toward the
revitalization, or vitalization of the educational system as a
whole.

The economic status of Chicana/os is below that of the general
population for a number of reasons. Latina/os are typically
overrepresented in some industries and underrepresented in others,
and in disproportion to our representation in the general
population.

For example, Latina/os are typically overrepresented in
agriculture, apparel, restaurants and personal services, with
underrepresentation growing worse in construction, public
administration and education.

While there is promising growth in a few industries (e.g.,
manufacturing, metal, motor vehicle and rubber), Latina/os are paid
far less than white Euro-Americans for the same work.

What does this have to do with education in California?

Everything, if only because education levels are so closely
correlated to socioeconomic status. In addition, the school systems
in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States have
institutionalized the poverty of education by segregation and the
lower allocations of funding that are given to primarily Chicana/o
schools.

A prominent component of the inequality of California’s
educational system is that it is still largely segregated not only
by race and class, but by institutional favoritism for the schools
with predominantly white Euro-American youth from socioeconomically
mobile backgrounds.

This socioeconomic correlation to educational achievement as a
critical factor in economic mobility has largely been ignored,
especially in the powerful circles which perpetuate the myth that
hard work and dedication can overcome all obstacles.

While this was true in the past, it is no longer the case.
Today, a college education is more important than ever for an
individual to "move up in the world."

Unfortunately, as several California economists have suggested,
a large number of Chicanos are prompted to drop out of school for
various reasons, such as growing up in single-parent homes,
alcoholism, poverty or a parent who has dropped out of school.
Additionally, educational marginalization in the Chicano community
corresponds to these reasons, and there are two factors
involved.

One is the institutional factor, which must be considered a
potential variable since institutions could be positive factors to
promote socioeconomic-economic mobility. However, the fact that
they do not should be considered an institutionalized practice of
continued colonial oppression and population/labor force
control.

The second factor involves the sociological continuity which
characterizes the perpetuation of class, and in the case of
Chicanos, socioeconomic status. Thus, the separation of these two
factors is purely theoretical for the purpose of discussion since
they are inextricably related and inseparable.

To illustrate this latter point, a comparison of two school
districts is appropriate. The Ravenswood School District separates
3,000 students, predominantly black and Chicano, into five schools.
There are no libraries, music programs, after-school sports or
science departments. This district spends $1,900 per pupil
annually.

In contrast, Palo Alto School District is 82 percent
Euro-American and separates its constituency into 15 schools, with
libraries, music programs and sports. It spends $3,800 per pupil
annually.

Thus, the education of Chicano youth is characterized by a
racism which excludes Chicanos from what is potentially most
enriching in school life: saving libraries, sports and music
programs for white Euro-Americans.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, schools in
predominantly white areas spend $300 more annually per pupil than
schools in black and Latino areas. Since Latinos make up more than
56 percent of enrollment in LAUSD, there is a clearly
segregationist tendency which excludes Chicanos from the education
to which they have a right under the law.

Furthermore, 16.8 percent of Latino families live below the
poverty level. Since education is the only way to gain economic
mobility in this society, exclusion from the quality education to
which white students have access is a deliberate perpetuation of
racial and class hegemony, with white Euro-Americans constituting
the upper class and Chicanos the lower class.

Access to a quality education is the single most important
factor in the socioeconomic mobility of Chicanos today. Thus,
educational equity for our children is the single most important
goal of the contemporary Chicano movement. Through educational
equity, and equally importantly, a degree of control over the
nature of our education, we will be able to secure the future of
our upcoming generations who will dominate the California
landscape.

Chicanos must put pressure on existing political mechanisms to
increase funding and the size of largely Chicano schools. They must
also place increasing pressure on political, business and
entertainment establishments to promote Chicano education.
Secondly, educated Chicanos must be at the forefront of the
movement. Third, Chicanos who come from radical traditions must
realize that education, demographic and political realities across
the state do not fit into a revolutionary framework.

We must assess where we are right now and move forward based on
the reality of the options available, aiming for high goals but
always for possible ones, or at least aiming in directions in which
a compromise will be a legitimate working solution with long-term
consequences.

Today, with an increase in the Chicano attrition level at
post-secondary levels of education, it is more important than ever
to work toward fair access to higher education for Chicanos. If the
demographic projections are correct, the colonized status of
Chicanos is on the upswing: Things are going to get worse, not
better.

While some call it selling out, a progressive Chicano
participation in future state politics, educational and hiring
policies, will only be realized if Chicanos today look forward to
their roles as the professional educators, policymakers and
activists of tomorrow, working together to secure equal access to
success of Chicanos through education.

Añorve is a graduate student.